Address - In Akasaka: Minato-ku, Akasaka 5-1-3, TBS Garden Opening hours - All opened every day from 11:00 am to 9:30 pm. Map - See below Telephone -See below Menu - In Italian and Japanese CC - OK

La Granata has three branches: two (called La Granata and La Granata Moderna) are in the same basement of the TBS building in Akasaka, the third is in Ginza.

La Granata - Akasaka 3582-3241. Click here for the map, but remember to look for the building next to the old TBS Kaikan.
La Granata Moderna - Akasaka 3582-5891. Click here for the map
La Granata - Ginza 3535-6334. Click here for the map

Granata is an Italian restaurant with a long and illustrious history: in the '80 it was the favorite of all Italian expats, but times have changed, and it no longer has the immense advantage it used to.
I hadn't been there in some years, so when a friend mentioned it as a possible venue for our dinner, I decided to go. And it was a good choice, because La Granata has changed greatly.
The old TBS building is being demolished to make room for something newer, so LG has found refuge in the building next door, the TBS Garden Building. The building itself is sort of hidden, so you have to be kind of struggle to find it. Alas,the new La Granata is way smaller (just seven tables) and rather anonymous. Service is punctiliously solicitous, as always, but the old atmosphere has gone.
The menu is also disappointingly short, which in a relatively expensive restaurant like this is a no venial sin.
All our food was good, and I even got grated pecorino (sheep cheese) instead of parmesan for my amatriciana, exactly as I would have in Rome. On the other hand, the bacon was American bacon, completely different from the one we use. Desserts were excellent and there was a splendid assortment of good grappas on offer.
And yet, as I mentioned, it somehow doesn't suffice, and I can't help thinking that at Il Bacaro I can get more for less without even trying.
If I had little reason to go to La Granata before, I have even less now.
The branch in Ginza is much smaller and crowded, stylish but just too busy, service less perfect than in Akasaka and the food, while tasty, does not seem to be all that great.