Durga - Bengali ****
Takadanobaba

 Address - Tokyo-to, Shinjuku-ku, Takadanobaba 2-9-11, Shibaharaso 1F Opening hours 11:00 to 14:00 and 17:00 to 23:00 Map - Yes, and see directions Telephone - 3202 7699 Menu - In English and Japanese CC - No

Durga is certainly one of the tiniest restaurant I have ever seen. Opened on a shoestring, it has just 12 seats, but it's a pleasure to review. Named after the Hindu Goddess of Fortune, it used to be called Shapla. Now a man from Kolkata (I found that this spelling more closely resembles the original pronunciation) runs it, but apparently with little financial success. I can't figure this one out, because the food is excellent. I give it just four stars just because visually speaking it's so simple to be almost drab.

You will like however its smallness, its homeliness, its warmth, and the many final touches the cook thoughtfully adds to your food. And this is a one-man operation: while chatting in Bengali with a friend or a customer, this guy washes dishes, wipes the tables, prepares the meat and the naan for the tandur, heats up the curries and serves at the tables.

The stuff on the menu isn't spectacular, being rather what I imagine you normally see on Indian tables every day, but very tasty. You can decide how hot you want it.
This is a sort of place, like Yeti, where you can go dozens of times without ever getting tired and where, besides the food, you can at no extra cost gossip with the owner about local events. And in spite of its qualities, Durga is cheap: the last time I went, about a week ago, between the three of us we spent 5000 yen for a very good and very pleasant meal.

Walk on the left side of Waseda Dori towards Waseda and turn left before the Yoshinoya (gyudon shop). Durga is few meters ahead, on the left side of the street. Durga, as you will see, is not the kind of place where you reserve tables or call in advance. No credit cards.

21 October 2005

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