あっとらんこ
Shinbashi lunch. On days when I don't feel like putting too much effort into lunch, I decided to go to a casual restaurant and have some pasta. I chose the Power Salad from the menu board (individually priced at 750 yen excluding tax) and entered the restaurant. The lunch set includes all-you-can-eat popovers, all-you-can-drink soup, a drink, and a salad for an additional 350 yen. If you opt out of the salad, it's an additional 250 yen. I chose the salad without the set, which came to a total of 1,100 yen including tax. You can choose from 3 types of dressings for the salad and over 10 different drinks including coffee, tea, juice, and homemade ginger ale. I paid at the register (no IC cards accepted) and received my drink to wait at my seat. While waiting, I helped myself to the popovers and soup from the self-service corner. The popovers were in a covered case, and each one is big enough to fit on one plate. There were chocolate and strawberry syrup, as well as individually packaged whipped butter on the side. The soup was served in a ladle from a thermos jar. It was a vegetable consomme soup, but not very hearty. The Power Salad was served in about 5 minutes. Other menu items seemed to take a bit longer. When it arrived, I was surprised by the size of the bowl. The salad was about 30% larger than I expected. It contained lettuce, kale, prosciutto, tomatoes, avocado, raw mushrooms, oranges, cucumbers, walnuts, and more. I chose Caesar dressing, which I thought suited this salad best. With 2 popovers, soup, and a drink, I was quite full. Initially, I thought 1,100 yen for a salad lunch was a bit expensive, but the generous portion made it worth it. I would definitely come back for this salad. The popovers were like choux pastry shells (thicker) without cream, as rumored, but they were surprisingly moist and flavorful. They tasted great with the strawberry syrup. Despite being hollow, they were thick and large, so you couldn't eat too many even with the all-you-can-eat offer. The small plate only fit one popover, which made me think it was a strategy to prevent people from eating too much, but if they had bigger plates, some people might leave some behind. The soft drink alone costs 390 yen, so the lunch set is a good deal. However, more than half of the customers (mostly women) ordered pasta or rice individually. Going over 1,100 yen with the set might be a bit too much for casual dining. The atmosphere of the restaurant is very casual, more like a cafe-restaurant, with few elderly customers since there are plenty of elderly-friendly restaurants in Shinbashi. There were also few group customers, with many people dining alone and enjoying a leisurely lunch. The relaxed atmosphere makes it a good place to spend time even if you just order a drink.