Lauburu - Basque *****
Minami Aoyama

Address - Tokyo-to, Minato-ku, Minami Aoyama 6-8-18 Opening hours - 18:00 to 22:00, Closed on Sunday Map - Yes Telephone - 3498-1314 Menu - In Japanese and French CC - OK

The Basques are surely the greatest enigma of European history.
Like the Jews, they have remained genetically, culturally and linguistically distinct for millennia. Unlike them, they have no relatives in any significant sense of the term and their origin and position within mankind are a mystery.
The only certainty is that they have been in Europe for longer than anybody else.
Euskera, their language, is one of a handful in the world, and the only one in Europe, to have no known relations. Incredible as it may seem, the following phrase isn't from a Tibetan, Javanese or Bantu text, but simply from a language spoken in Spain and France.
Even more amazing, it would sound just as utterly alien to any human being on Earth but a Basque.

"Antzinako sinbolo mitologikoa, gaur egun Euskal Herri osotik oso zabaldua. Dirudienez beste kultur batzuengandik eratorria (segur asko kelterrengandik), eguzki mugikor bat irudikatzen du. Euskal Herritik oso zabaldu zen euskal herriak astroari zion mirespenarengatik eta gaizkiari aurre egiteko balio zuela uste zutelako. Hala, ez zen arraroa baserri askoren ateetan edota hilarri askotan lauburua topatzea."

Think about it: in a field like modern linguistics where English was shown to be a relative of Punjabi, Euskera just doesn't fit.

And here we come to the subject of our review, because the quoted passage describes the Lauburu, the crosslike thing you see here and which is the symbol of the Basques.
After reading a review on Japanese magazine “Pen”, knowing there was a Basque restaurant in Tokyo, I couldn’t possibly ignore it, so I went with my only true love.

After non trivial difficulties, because (as you will no doubt find out if you decide to go) the place is remote in more than one way, we at last found Lauburu's well hidden doors.
With its terracotta tile floor, light brown walls and wooden roof, the place is very warm, friendly and welcoming. It's also not very large (just 24 seats altogether) so that, with a bit of luck, you can have the pleasure of hearing the happy crackling and smelling the sweet aroma of the pork meat almost always roasting over coals on a spit in a brick hearth.

The menu is rich and contains almost exclusively meat. Food here is certainly excellent, but definitely not healthy and, to define it in one sentence, one could say that it’s European peasant cuisine with very simple and explicit flavors. It's not particularly cheap, and their wonderful terrine maison at 1200 yen is by far the cheapest entry in their menu. Several dishes cost as much as 3000 yen, but the quality of everything is immediately evident: their baguettes for example are not only fresh, free and available in any amount you may wish (this is simply, as I will never tire to emphasize, just the way it should be in a French or Italian restaurant worthy of any respect) but probably the best I have ever had in Japan. Portions are huge and everything looks wonderful, so much that I spent most of the evening staring at other people’s dishes, envying them bitterly.

The young waiter and the cook/owner used to work at Aux Baccanales and work with speed and competence. We started our meal with the mentioned terrine maison then we ordered a 3000 yen steak, an excellent grilled fish, a salade nicoise and a goat cheese salad. Our one faux pas was ordering two glasses of excellent Josmeyer eau-de-vie: they cost 2100 yen (no, your eyes are not betraying you, it says 2100) yen each.
We left the place eight thousand yen each lighter, but happy.

By the way, the Basque cook of Spanish restaurant Pintxos Bepo (another excellent Basque restaurant, Tel. 3597-0312), says the food here is exactly what he used to eat at home, so apparently it's the real thing.