A note on the words: gibier refers to wild game meat such as deer, bear, wild boar, and Japanese badger, prepared here in the French style. Cake sale is a savory French loaf cake, and buri daikon is normally yellowtail simmered with daikon; here it arrives chilled. Medai is Japanese butterfish (barrelfish), served poele (pan-seared) with goat’s milk sauce, and pate en croute is a seasoned forcemeat of four game meats baked inside a crisp pastry crust.
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LATURE on Tabelog (English) — opening hours, payment details and the Japanese address are kept up to date there, not here.
Hello, this is Hangover Meshi. My plans for lunch fell through, so I searched Tabelog to see if I could go grab a bite somewhere. Being able to book a spot on the day for lunch is surprisingly handy, ha. What caught my eye was “LATURE,” a French restaurant in Omotesando. The score was remarkably high — a 4.22 at the time! Thinking this had to be impressive, I decided to go.
It seems there is a second floor as well, but apparently if nothing is said, you are seated in the basement.
Menu LATURE: Lunch Course — 6,400 yen
Menu LATURE PLUS: Special Lunch Course — 8,400 yen
The difference between the courses is whether the main fish dish is included or not.
Since it was my first time here, I went ahead and asked for the one with the fish dish!
Now then, seated at the table with some sparkling wine.
At first glance it doesn’t look like that at all.
A macaron made with deer blood. Apparently the philosophy is not to let anything go to waste. Between the deer fur underneath and the explanation, it hit home all over again: right, this is a gibier (game meat) restaurant, ha! Taking a bite, there is no bloody taste whatsoever; instead, it is mellow and delicious. Deep down, you can sense the flavor of meat.
An enormous pine cone…
Blending right in with that pine cone is a cake sale (a savory French loaf cake). It looks like a pastry, but it isn’t sweet; the cheese flavor is lovely.
The butter knife was shaped like a little bird, which was rather charming.
Yellowtail and radish, I suppose. A chilled buri daikon. It feels like it has become remarkably stylish, ha!
The sauce visible in front is also made from daikon.
Inside like this, there is yellowtail that has been lightly seared on the outside.
A grand gathering of game meats!
Deer, bear, Japanese badger, and wild boar — a true parade of game in a single dish. It looks stylish, has no gaminess at all, and is delicious.
The skin is crisp and the cooking is exquisite. So good!
This might have been the best dish of all. The sauce underneath is goat’s milk. A wonderfully gentle flavor and delicious. Having this or not makes a 2,000-yen difference, but it really feels like something you should add.
And then, the main meat.
Tender, with an intensely rich flavor. Mmm, delicious! Truly that gibier character. Not a trace of gaminess!
So overall, everything was delicious and thoroughly satisfying! For lunch, 8,400 yen — or 6,400 yen without the fish — feels reasonable. But since the fish is delicious, adding it for 2,000 yen feels well worth it! However, I realized after getting home that even factoring in the service charge, the final bill didn’t quite add up — what could that have been? I wonder if the charge for the water they asked about at the beginning, whether sparkling or still, was included? I feel I would have enjoyed the meal even more comfortably if that had been mentioned openly! (Though I have no idea whether that was actually the cause of the discrepancy, ha.) That said, including the overall content of the meal, I was satisfied.
LATURE (French / Omotesando Station, Shibuya Station, Meiji-jingumae Station)
Tabelog lunch rating ★★★☆☆ 3.5
I ate here and paid for it myself. Nothing on this site is a comped meal.
One more for the road?
