Next January, the eyes of the gastronomic world will be fixed on Nihonbashi as Denmark¡¯s Noma restaurant, recently voted top again in the World 50 Best list, opens for an extended pop-up inside the Mandarin Oriental Hotel. No need to wait that long to discover this rapidly reviving neighborhood, though: The number of dining options is expanding fast.
The hottest place in the area is actually run by one of the oldest-established companies. For three centuries, Ninben has been making and selling katsuobushi, the dried-cured bonito that forms the basis for most of the dashi soup stock used in Japanese cuisine. Three years ago it set up a counter in its store dispensing hot dashi broth, much like the Japanese equivalent of an espresso bar. This Dashi Bar has proved so popular that it¡¯s now spawned a full-scale sit-down restaurant.
Called Nihonbashi Dashi Bar Hanare, it offers a range of dishes made using katsuobushi. At lunch, there are set meals; in the evening, a la carte options too. Everything is simple, light and wholesome, thanks to the rich savor of the bonito. It¡¯s also highly affordable, which is the other reason why the lines outside can be an hour long at peak times.
Coredo Muromachi-2 1F, 2-3-1 Nihonbashi-Muromachi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo; 03-5205-8704; ; open 11 a.m.-10 p.m. (L.O.); nearest stations Mitsukoshimae and Shin-Nihonbashi; no smoking; lunch from ?950 per head; dinner from ?1,500 (plus drinks); major cards; Japanese menu; little English spoken.
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