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The other day, I went to this French bistro called "Buvette" after work. The restaurant is located in Tokyo Midtown Hibiya, directly connected to Hibiya Station. On weekends, there is always a long line of people waiting to get in... I couldn't understand why so many people were lining up for this place, but I wasn't really interested in waiting in line on my day off, so I decided to visit on a weekday night and it was not crowded, so I just had some wine and left. The restaurant closes at 22:00, with last order at 21:00, so it's not a place where you can drink late into the night, which is quite healthy (laughs).
When I entered the restaurant, the staff asked me if I wanted to have a meal or just drinks, and when I said I wanted to eat a little, they explained the last order time. There were both counter seats and table seats available that day, but I chose to sit at a table. The menu is available in a booklet, but you can also order using mobile order by scanning a QR code. This makes it easy as you don't have to call out to the staff loudly and reduces the chances of mistakes.
I ordered the following dishes:
VENDREDI (Friday limited) CREVETTES SAUTÉES à l’AIL Garlic Shrimp 1760 yen
TERRINE de CAMPAGNE Country-style Terrine 1100 yen
TARTIFLETTE Tartiflette 1430 yen
BLEU d' AUVERGNE Bleu d'Auvergne 1100 yen
BREADS Bread 330 yen
First, they brought out the TERRINE de CAMPAGNE Country-style Terrine. It was served on a small plate with olives, pickles, and grainy mustard. The terrine was quite substantial. At first, I thought it might be a bit expensive, but the portion was generous and the terrine had a nice meaty flavor without any strong taste. The pistachios and other nuts inside added a nice flavor. I would recommend this dish if it's still available.
The wine was flowing nicely. I started with white wine. There were quite a few glass wine options available, including 2 sparkling, 3 white, 1 orange, and 3 red. I looked at the menu and decided I wanted to try a Riesling, so I chose the ZIND HUMBRECHT RIESLING TURCKHEIM. It was 1430 yen per glass. This is a Riesling I've had before at other places and at home. It's quite well-known in Alsace. The wine is made from grapes grown in the village of Turckheim. The vines in Turckheim are around 35 years old, relatively old. The wine has a concentrated grape flavor with a hint of minerality. The soil in the area is gravelly, so there is a slight mineral taste. The wine has a slightly pale golden color, and the aroma is citrusy with the aromatic flavor and sharp acidity typical of Riesling. I didn't see the bottle, so I couldn't determine the vintage, but I think it's a young one. The alcohol content is around 12.5%. At another French restaurant, a glass of this wine was priced at 1800 yen, so it's more reasonable here. However, the bottle itself costs around 3500 yen, so it still seems a bit pricey. Drinking wine at a restaurant is always expensive.
Next, I tried the VENDREDI (Friday limited) CREVETTES SAUTÉES à l’AIL Garlic Shrimp. This is a limited menu item for Fridays. It consisted of large prawns sautéed with garlic and olive oil, served with crispy garlic toast. It was enjoyable.