Want to try all kinds of Japanese dishes but don’t know where to start? This gem with “hidden” in its name has got you covered.
Just recently we learned of a restaurant in Tokyo’s bustling Shinjuku district where you can sample over 35 kinds of Japanese dishes at an all-you-can-eat lunch buffet. Kakurebo (literally, “Hidden Room”) is on the 7th floor of the Adhoc Building in Shinjuku’s Sanchome district, less than a 10-minute walk from our editorial offices. It so lived up to its name, in fact, that it had escaped the notice of even our veteran writers who have been working in the neighborhood for over 20 years.
▼ A sign for the restaurant with “hidden” (隠れ) in its name outside of the building
We took the elevator up and were greeted by a multilingual sign inviting us inside.
Details about the lunch buffet were front and center. 90 minutes of all-you-can-eat dishes and a drink bar for 1,800 yen (US$11.45) for adults/600 yen for kids (ages 6-12) on weekdays and 2,200 yen for adults/900 yen for kids on weekends didn’t seem like a bad deal. Children under six are free.
We’d heard rumors that there are sometimes lines around lunch time, but it was fairly calm on this particular day when we stopped by around 12:15 p.m.
Not only did we see Japanese-style dishes everywhere, but there was also an assortment of cold Chinese-style vegetable sides and other kinds of side dishes.
Hot dishes included ebi shinjo (minced shrimp and seafood dumplings), simmered root vegetables, stir-fried veggies, and stuffed cabbage.
We had assumed that a restaurant specializing in Japanese dishes might lean on the healthy side of things, but there plenty of deep-fried Western-style Japanese dishes as well such as chicken karaage and pork skewers, plus French fries.
The chicken, shrimp, and sweet potato tempura offerings were especially enticing.
For those who need rice to ground themselves, never fear, because there was plenty of white rice and a multigrain rice blend as well. Somewhat unusually, there was also pollack roe udon.
Our first spread looked like this. It was perfect for trying a little bit of a lot of things.
Thankfully, the taste of everything was generally excellent. All of the dishes were seasoned well and at an appropriate level for lunch, whether it was the eggplant stew or the tofu hamburg.
Overall there seemed to be a lot of chicken-based dishes, but there were so many different takes and styles of preparation that we never got bored.
Even if we did, we could always spice things up with some salt, curry salt, matcha salt, or yukari (shiso) salt in the seasonings corner.
Our only potential gripe was that the udon noodles were a bit on the soft side, but the pollack roe accents made up for it in a burst of flavor.
The curry also held a subtle dashi flavor befitting of Japanese-style cuisine that made it pair well with the other dishes as well.
For dessert, we had a few cubes of coffee jelly, almond jelly, and a sliced waffle to round off our meal. All of those little bites sure added up!
Finally, regarding the vibes, we thought the interior of the restaurant was spacious, clean, and modern-looking. We’ll definitely be going back–especially on days when we need to escape the craziness of the office!
It seems that Shinjuku Sanchome will never stop surprising us with delicious places that have been right under our noses the whole time.
Restaurant information
Kakurebo Shinjuku / 隠れ房 新宿店
Address: Tokyo-to, Shinjuku-ku, Shinjuku 3-15-11 Adhoc Shinjuku Building, 7th floor
東京都新宿区新宿 3-15-11 アドホック新宿ビル 7F
Open: 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m., 5-11 p.m. (on Sundays closes at 10 p.m.)
Website
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