So you¡¯ve rendezvoused beneath the huge video screen at Studio Alta. You¡¯ve explored Shinjuku, maybe caught a movie or trawled for treats in the gleaming depachika (basement food floor) of the Isetan department store. Now you¡¯re ready for sustenance. Somewhere cool, with good food and premium sake. No problem at all for those in The Know.
That¡¯s the nickname given to the excellent Know by Moto, which opened last November in the basement of the new Tsutaya building. Spacious, calm, stylish but casual, it is nothing like a typical izakaya tavern, more a chic cafe devoted to high-end nihonshu.
As the name indicates, this is a sister operation to the brilliant Gem by Moto in Ebisu. It has the same friendly vibe that makes first-timers feel welcome. And, like Gem, it boasts a superior kitchen that reinterprets traditional dishes and serves them with a dash of extra flair and inventiveness.
Among the current seafood specials, look for the ²Ô²¹³¾±ð°ù¨ (chopped sashimi seasoned with spicy miso) and the spring hotaru-ika (firefly squid) with nanohana field mustard greens.
After you¡¯re done with the snacking and sipping, close the session with a ¡°burger¡± ¡ª either menchi (ground pork) or better yet ebi-katsu (breaded shrimp).
Lunch menu (till 6 p.m.) from ?980; sake from ?570, snacks from ?480; partial English menu; a little English spoken
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