Address - Chiyoda-ku, Kudan-Minami 3-8-2,Lions Mansion 1 Fl. Opening hours - 11:30 to 14:00 and 18:00 to 21:30. Closed on Tuesdays and the third Wednesday of each month Map - Yes Telephone - 3230-2580 Menu - In French and Japanese Credit Cards - No

L'Abeille ("The bee") was a fortuitous discovery. My good friend Hamish had heard that the original staff of La Dinette now have their own restaurant. After a long search on the Net, I finally found the address, and we went.

In the moment I poked my nose in, the waitress said: "Excuse me, were you a customer of ours at La Dinette?". I sure was.

The place is small and cozy. It has just three rooms, one for the kitchen, one containing just one table, and the last two. There are also some seats along the counter.

The menu and its content are exactly the way they were at La Dinette. If you aren't familiar with the place, it was until a couple of years ago one of the best budget French restaurants in town. L'Abeille is its worthy successor, and you will be pleased with the quality of what you will get.

The set (no a-la-carte rders) for just 2400 miserable yen offers you a first dish, a main dish and a dessert. You can have for example a terrine maison, a confit de canard and a tarte tatin, or quiche, roast lamb and chocolate cake. It doesn't matter: all dishes are fresh and wonderfully prepared. Ordering an Armagnac you can end the meal in style and round the bill to 3000 yen.

As an added bonus, the place is usually packed at noon but deserted in the evening. With a bit of luck, you can have the entire restaurant for yourself.

March 2006