Le Bretagne* - French****
Kagurazaka

In Kagurazaka (here is the map):
1 Fl Confort Kagurazaka ,4-2 Kagurazaka, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-0825
Tel/Fax 03 3235-3001
CC OK. Closed on Mondays. Open 11:30 to 22:00 (last order) - 21:00 (Sunday)

In Omotesando:
Meiji Jingu-mae 4-9-8, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
Tel/Fax: 03 3478-7855

"No matter how eloquently my dog may bark, he will never be able to say 'My grandfather was poor, but honest'". Bertrand Russell.

According to my French friend Michel, crepes are a specialty of Bretagne, hence the name of the restaurant, where they are used not only for desserts, as they are in Italy, but also to make main dishes by filling them with cheese, mushrooms, pork, tomato and so forth. He says that he never found a good one even in Paris, but he likes this, so I guess we should be happy to have Le Bretagne so close. Being a creperie, it offers nothing but crepes.

The place is small and cozy with some tables in the garden where you can enjoy the evening, now that it's summer. The menu, in French and Japanese, is divided in three main sections, the first and the second dedicated to main dishes and the third to desserts. Among the few crepes we tried, I particularly liked the "Provençal" and the "Nordique", but you know, a crepe is a crepe, no matter how well it's made. It's difficult to find great variety within such a limited field. So, even though I enjoyed also the desserts we tried, one of them truly excellent, I wouldn't go out of my way to dine there again. A dinner based on crepes for about four thousand yen apiece is an interesting experience, but perhaps not to be repeated too often.
The Omotesando branch is bigger and nicer, but the food the same.

July 1999

 

* If you are like me, you will wonder why it's "Le", and not "La" Bretagne. I asked on your behalf, too, and it turned out that it's because in this case "Bretagne" is the name of a restaurant, which is masculine.