Ristorante Massa, Ebisu リストランテマッサ 恵比寿

I was really looking forward to my visit to Massa at Ebisu. After all this is the restaurant run by the famous Massa, veteran of Iron Chef and a veritable Tokyo food celebrity. For a recent Saturday night dinner, I sampled the fare with a couple of friendly dining partners from Osaka.

We all ordered the 6,300 yen (not including 10% service charge) dinner set which included a cold entree, hot entree, pasta, main and dessert. Feeling a little splurgier than usual I ordered a couple of items which required a supplement being the lobster pasta (+840 yen) and foie gras (+740 yen) with my main. The cold entree was a pork terrine served with some guacamole, pickled onion and some tiny tomatos. My main criticism of this dish is that the meat itself did not really taste of anything much- not a good start but I was happy to keep an open mind. This was followed by a spear of white asparagus served on what I think was some boiled wheat coloured with squid ink. This dish, while it was interesting to look at, was kind of bland.

This was followed by a pasta genovese with chunks of lobster. The noodles were quite nice and chewy, the sauce pesto-ey, not stingy on the lobster and nice enough overall. However I didn't really get the impression that the lobster was fresh, and again the overall taste was on the bland side. The main dish was a small piece of veal which had been topped with grilled pecorino cheese and this was served with a small piece of purple Japanese potato (Murasaki Imo), one baby carrot and an okra. There was nothing wrong with the veal which was cooked slightly pink, but it was not particularly memorable. I was also a little disappointed that the foie gras was put on the plate with nothing to pair with it, which is something that I think foie gras needs.

With my meal I had ordered a little set of wines by the glass. They brought two reds, one white and a port. Even though for some I had to stop the waiter walking off before I could find out what I was drinking, these were mostly pretty interesting and well chosen. Dessert was a very small piece of cheesecake which was served with a medley of fresh fruits. At the beginning of the meal the waiter had asked if there was anything that we did not like for dessert. I was quite specific in terms of what I did and didn't want to eat in the fruit department. Actually anyone who knows me can't make head nor tail of my preferences in this regard, but all I know is that since I was a baby there are certain fruits I just can't eat without keeping my food down. When the dessert came out there had been no attempt to accommodate me, even for the items that I had specifically said I didn't eat. I understand that the world doesn't revolve around my needs, but why ask if all you are going to do is ignore what is said? I'm not sure what the 10% charge for service was actually for...

Even if I turn a blind eye to this faux pas, the food at Ristorante Massa is far from exciting and I would regrettably hesitate to give an unreserved recommendation.


リストランテマッサ (恵比寿)
初めて行くレストランに心を躍らせて恵比寿にあるマッサに足を運んだ。マッサのシェフは、テレビ番組「料理の鉄人」にも出演していたそうで、言わば「東京のフード・セレブ」である。ある土曜日の夕食時、大阪の友人らと私の三人はここで、6,300円(サービス料10%はふくまれていないが・・・)のコースを各々注文することにした。コースは、冷たいものと暖かい前菜の二種類に加え、パスタからメイン、デザートが用意されていた。気分が乗っていた私は、メインにロブスターのパスタとフォアグラを追加料金(それぞれ840と740円)で堪能することにした。冷たい前菜は、厚切りポークにワカモレとピクルスにトマトを添えたものである。残念なことにポークには味がなく、あまり美味しくなかったが、次の料理に期待をふくらませた。暖かい前菜には、細長い白アスパラガスの上にゆでた麦のようなものをのせ、ソースにイカの墨で仕上げたものである。これも見た目は興味深いが味気のない料理であった。

気を取り直して、ロブスターのジェノベーゼ風パスタを用意してもらった。麺は歯ごたえがよく、野菜ベースのソース(pesto-ey)は惜しむことなく使われており大変美味しかった。しかし、ロブスターに新鮮さがなくこれが理由でせっかくのパスタも台無しになってしまった気がした。メインには、小さめの子羊の肉にペコリーノチーズ(グリルされたもの)と千切りされた紫イモのトッピングで、それにちいさな人参とオークラが添えられたものだった。子羊の肉は、ピンクがかった色でちょうどいい焼き加減ではあったが何か物足りない・・・フォアグラは単品で用意され、それ以外に何も出てこなかったことが心残りで仕方がなかった。

食事と一緒に私たちはグラスで赤ワインと白ワインを人数分注文した。レストランのワインリストはよく厳選されていて良かったが、ワインの説明はこちらから聞かないと教えてくれなかった。デザートのチーズケーキはさまざまなフルーツと一緒に用意されていた。実は、食事を始める前に、フルーツは苦手だということを伝えたので残念に思った。私の友人なら誰でもフルーツが苦手なことを知っているし、ここは私が大人にならないといけないことは分かっている。ただ、最初にフルーツが苦手なことをレストランに伝えたことがキッチンに周知されていないことが理解できなかった。10パーセントのサービス料は、このサービスでは納得がいかなかった。

残念だが、リストランテ・マッサはお勧めできるレストランではない。 

http://www.massa-ebisu.com/
Tel: 03-5793-3175

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