A fresh future for healthy dining
The Japan Times, Friday, April 16, 2010
The Japan Times, Friday, April 16, 2010
We have seen the future. It’s a bright, cheerful place, where farmers are heroes and everyone munches on raw food. There are posters and didactic messages everywhere, and the enthusiasm seems almost otaku. Welcome to Noka no Daidokoro (“Farmhouse Kitchen”), the taste of things to come.
Set up by a brash, media-savvy company called Kunitachi Farm — it does actually have its own land, though mostly it works with a network of independent farmers — there are now three Noka no Daidokoro restaurants. The first opened in 2007 out in one of Tokyo’s western suburbs. But it was the launching of the second branch in Ebisu the following year that really announced the company and its distinctive style to the world.
Two giant glowing plastic daikon radishes flank heavy doors that lead you into a temperature-controlled room filled with fresh vegetables. You may be asked to wait in this chilly antechamber while your table is prepared. It’s a momentary discomfort — think of it as produce purgatory before being admitted into the inner sanctum...
Noka no daidokoro
Ebisu South One 1F, 1-7-8 Ebisu-Minami, Shibuya-ku
(03) 3719-4831
Open: Daily 11 a.m.-3:30 p.m. (last order); 5:30-11 p.m. (last order for food 9:45 p.m.)
Nearest station: Ebisu (JR & Hibiya lines)
Smoking: Not permitted
Price per head: Lunch from ¥800; dinner from ¥4,800, also a la carte
Cards: Major cards accepted
Language: Japanese menu; little English spoken
Reservations: recommended
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