A note on the words: sangenton is a three-way crossbred pork raised for a sweeter fat; beurre blanc is the classic French butter-and-wine sauce; and Provencal here means the vegetables, olive oil and herbs of the French south. Prices are as of this writing (August 2026).
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bistro Sante on Tabelog (English) — opening hours, payment details and the Japanese address are kept up to date there, not here.
I want to eat something good today as well. This is Hangover Meshi. Trouble: I may have found somewhere very good indeed. We were going for a drink around Roppongi, so I booked “bistro Sante”. Down a back alley in Roppongi. Kohien and Shishi are nearby, but I had no idea there was a Provencal bistro at the end of this lane. News to me.
Inside it is calm and stylish. Very pleasant.
We decided to pick our way through the a la carte menu.
First, though, a beer.
It was meant to be the house foie gras pate, but they had run out that day,
so instead they made up the cured ham plate with cheese alongside.
The honey poured over it is a welcome touch.
This marinade has a refined acidity to it. Delicious.
The base dressing must be very well made. And the dill they add smells lovely.
The octopus is sliced from the head, which keeps the price down — and if that means eating octopus well and cheaply, it is quite enough. The celery is crisp with a faint sweetness.
Mm, that is good. I want to make it at home.
Crisp outside, fluffy within. Chips as stylish as their name.
Eaten with the cheese scattered over them and dipped in the sauce alongside.
This is good too! Exactly right for picking at slowly over a glass of wine.
There was a fish baked in pastry limited to two orders a night, so we asked for it.
We were told it takes thirty minutes in the oven, so order it first.
And this pastry dish is superb.
A showpiece that embodies the royal road of French cooking.
Put a knife into the golden pastry and it gives with a light crack, the scent of butter rising as it opens.
Inside is white fish, whatever came in fresh that day, with a filling that concentrates the savour of the sea. The moist sweetness of the flesh and a rich mousse built on fish stock lie one over the other. Superb.
The sauce is beurre blanc. Its acidity and the depth of the butter suit the fish beautifully.
The flavour is classical rather than clever, and the satisfaction that comes from careful cooking and fragrant pastry is exceptional. It looks magnificent and it tastes true: order this one.
And this was delicious as well!
The thin coating is fine-grained and fried to a fragrant brown, and one mouthful in the juices of the sangenton pork unwind quietly. Delicious! The moist, tender flesh layers the sweetness of the fat gently over the savour of the lean, and the more you chew the better it gets. Because it is finished thin, it is very light. The vegetables and olive oil on top must be what makes it Provencal. A fresh acidity and the scent of herbs lighten the richness of the cutlet and leave a pleasant finish. It goes well with the balsamic sauce around the plate, too.
Well — every dish was genuinely good. There were plenty of other things on the menu that looked worth having, so I intend to come back for those. If you want careful, delicious cooking with wine, and classical southern French food, this place comes highly recommended. For Roppongi, I thought it very good indeed.
bistro Sante (bistro / Roppongi Station, Roppongi-itchome Station, Nogizaka Station)
Tabelog dinner rating ★★★☆☆ 3.6
I ate here and paid for it myself. Nothing on this site is a comped meal.
One more for the road?
