L'Amitié

As the “university town” of central Tokyo, Takadanobaba has a reputation as a district with several student-friendly eateries that are easy on the wallet. It thus comes as a slight surprise that one of Tokyo’s finest French bistros would make its home here, but L’Amitie takes it as a personal point of pride to provide fine French eats at a supremely affordable price point. But realistically, the affordability is just the icing on the cake: L’Amitie is said by critics and a passionate portion of the French expatriate community to be one of the most authentic French restaurants in the nation’s capital, if not in the entire country. The menu teems with classic French fare: escargots with garlic parsley butter, roasted lamb shoulder, beef cheek in red wine, each of them prepared to perfection with some of the finest ingredients that head chef and owner Miyashita Kiyoshi can get his hands on. But no French bistro is complete without desserts, and visitors can rest assured that L’Amitie delivers in spades. His background in Parisian restaurants serving him well, Chef Miyashita (with the assistance of his wife) serves up feather-light ile flottante (“floating island” meringue) and petit pot caramel. Unfortunately for eager prospective guests, and fortunately for Chef Miyashita, L’Amitie’s intense popularity means its calendar is often booked solid. The restaurant opens its reservations only a month in advance, and they are often filled out before the hour is up. It’s a running joke that it only took so long for L’Amitie to receive its Michelin Bib Gourmand because the Michelin inspectors were unable to reserve a table for 20 years. Michelin Guide: 2020 - Bib Gourmand