Was our Saizeriya-fan reporter on the verge of tears of happiness or despair as his world was been turned upside down?

If someone were to ask our Japanese-language reporter Ahiruneko what the best chain restaurant in Japan is, he would quickly respond “Saizeriya.” He’s made no pretense of hiding his love for the family-style Italian chain with a broad menu, known for its super budget-dining prices.

In fact, he’s so devoted to Saizeriya that he’s never even stepped foot inside a different Italian-style chain called Olive Hill, managed by the Zensho Group. Part of the reason is that there are far fewer branches of the latter, with only 10 of them located within Tokyo as of this writing. Furthermore, six out of those are found outside of Tokyo’s 23 central wards, making them less accessible to those who live and work in the main part of the city.

▼ Exterior of an Olive Hill location

Recently, Ahiruneko became determined to try Olive Hill out, however, so he made his way to the most convenient branch for him by taking the train to Tachikawa Station…

…then transferring onto the Tama Toshi Monorail Line…

…and eventually getting off at Izumi-Taiikukan Station.

After a short walk, the Olive Hill branch came into sight. Its big sign would be hard to miss!

He went inside and sat down. Unlike Saizeriya, Olive Hill utilizes tablets for ordering.

Even though it was the middle of the day, Ahiruneko couldn’t resist looking at the drink menu. He was surprised to see Birra Moretti, an Italian beer, on the menu for 605 yen (US$3.94).

This was already something that Saizeriya doesn’t have!

“Truly outrageous,” he thought, as he took a deep and satisfying gulp.

Something else he was very curious about was the selection of side dishes to go along with drinking. It looked like most of them were capped at about 319 yen–prices that also put Saizeriya to shame. Here are the two that he ordered.

▼ Marinated Japanese pilchard sourced from Choshi, Chiba (319 yen)

▼ Liver pâté bruschetta (319 yen)

Yep–it was an unquestionable win for Olive Hill. Even just these two dishes alone filled the existing gaps in Saizeriya’s menu.

The pilchard was of an unbelievably high quality for a family-style restaurant chain. Perhaps it was because Olive Hill is a sister restaurant to Hama Sushi, also managed by the Zensho Group? Either way, it was astounding to him that this super-good fish was just over 300 yen.

Similarly, the chicken liver pâté with its pink peppercorn accents proved to be an excellent accompaniment to the bruschetta that was toasted and coated with olive oil and garlic. It was a perfect plate for snacking and nibbling on with no strong liver odor.

In fact, it made him practically obligated to order a glass of red white to accompany it. His impression was that it was slightly deeper and richer than Saizeriya’s red wine.

The house wine (either red or white) was 209 yen per glass. A decanter cost 759 yen, almost double the price of Saizeriya’s.

Now, onto the main food menu. For the most part, Olive Hill’s menu offers similar things as Saizeriya, but one dish piqued Ahiruneko’s interest: the herb-seasoned pork porchetta (860 yen). He didn’t know what porchetta was, so he decided to order it.

He took a moment to admire the roast, which gave off a strong impression of traditional Italian cooking. The plate also looked like it could be from a stylish bar and not a family-style chain.

The texture was incredibly tender. He would have gobbled it all up quickly if he didn’t pace himself. It also paired perfectly with the red wine due to its complex spicy and balsamic flavors.

For a final bite, he wanted to order the aglio e olio pasta (429 yen) to compare it to Saizeriya’s equivalent dish, but the menu item under it caught his eye and he ended up ordering the Gorgonzola cream penne (715 yen) instead. It was so good that he thought it would easily be able to sneak onto the menu at a privately owned restaurant for over 1,000 yen.

Of course, just to optimize the taste, he ordered a last glass of house white wine. His budget day-drinking was accomplished.

On a final note, he appreciated the touch that every table at Olive Hill had its own unlimited powdered cheese and Tabasco sauce.

By the end of his meal, Ahiruneko was on the verge of tears, going through a bit of an identity crisis. While he still loves Saizeriya, his dining experience at Olive Hill was so next-level that he almost felt like impulsively moving in order to be closer to a restaurant location. He also made a mental note to come here on his birthday. In fact, he wouldn’t even be upset if our boss planned the company’s end-of-year celebration here–that’s just how darn good it was.

Photos © SoraNews24
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