Address - Tokyo-to, Shinjuku-ku, Takadanobaba 4-9-9 Waseda 13ji Hall 1F Opening hours - From 11:00 am to 10:00 pm Map - Yes Telephone - 3227-5940 Menu - In Japanese and English CC - OK

I am not a soccer fan and I didn't really follow the World Cup, but a few weeks ago I happened to be watching the tube during an interviews with some Turkish fans at "Marmara, a Turkish restaurant in Takadanobaba".
I was mystified, because I have been to Baba every other day for many years, I am very fond of Turkish food and, as I am sure you are aware, I review restaurants in my spare time. How could I have possibly missed it?
I checked via the Net and there it was, right next to the station.
I still find it next to impossible to believe I could have failed to see or hear about it for so long, but in any case I am about to fix the problem.
Remember however that Marmara is very well hidden: standing on Waseda Dori right in front of it I almost missed it, so beware.
The restaurant is named after the island of Marmara, which in turn gives its name to the Sea of Marmara, the tiny one between the Bosporus and the Dardanelles right next to Istanbul. Its quarries supplied Constantinople with marble for its palaces and columns for many centuries during the Bizantyne era. By the way, doesn't the English word "marmoreal" remind you of something?
To go back to food, the place has two floors, but the ground one is tiny: the action is below. Although it isn't much to look at, the room is large and comfy with the kitchen in full view as usual.
The menu is exaustive and, albeit hardly original, it does contains some firsts, among them a very good rice with oranges, a steal at 600 yen and excellent with a kebab. The Sunday I first went an unlikely Turk (he was blonde with grey eyes) played for us his "saz", a kind of mandolin about a meter long. Usually I frown at those who mix food and notes (having but one brain, I can properly take care of just one such task at the time), but he and his music were discreet and gracious enough, plus the man was manifestly as interested in explaining his culture as he was in making a buck, so I listened with pleasure.
We of course ordered Mezze, the assorted vegetables appetizers dish which is one of the best ways to open a meal I have ever found anywhere, plus two pita breads, the mentioned rice with oranges, the so-called Turkish pizza (lamacun) and chicken kebab.
Even if nothing compared with its equivalent at Istanbul, and the place is a bit drab, Marmara is a welcome addition to our beloved Takadanobaba scene.
Just be careful in following the map, or you won't find it. If you can read Japanese, look for the Waseda Cram School (Waseda Yobiko).