Rubaiyat - French ***
Iidabashi

Address - Tokyo-to, Shinjuku-ku, Wakamiyacho 10-7 Opening hours - 11:30 to 14:00 and 17:30 to 22:00. On Fridays, open until 23:00. Closed on Sundays and holidays Map - See directions Telephone - 5228-3903 Menu - In Japanese CC - No

Rubaiyat is not an easy restaurant to find. Hidden in a side street next to Iidabashi station, it's hardly the sort of place you bump into, but a friend of mine did. He suggested we go there, so one Tuesday we all went.

I was attracted by its beautiful name, taken from a famous book of Arab poetry written by a certain Omar Khayyam and which promised a certain sophistication. If you don't know it, click here. Along the wall near the entrance there were many copies of the book in several languages. The guys there obviously like it. When I asked why they chose the name, they said that the restaurant is new, but the family owns a winery also called Rubaiyat (check their site), whose wine is on sale here, and that somebody there liked the book.
It was immediately obvious that foreign customers are the exception rather than the rule: we were warmly welcomed by the owner, who seemed nonetheless surprised to see us. No English or French anywhere.
The interior was elegantly nondescript, just like the menu: the few item in it, not particularly well chosen, seemed almost an afterthought of the wine list, which I am told is very good but has some obvious holes. I ended up ordering a 3500 yen set including appetizer, main dish and dessert to get at least the benefit of a price reduction.
I must point out right away a couple of Rubaiyat's cardinal sins. First of all, here if you want bread you have to order it and, when you do, you get just two lonely slices reheated in an oven. Now, this is unforgivable in any French restaurant, let alone a not-particularly-cheap one like Rubaiyat. Second, the duck in the appetizer didn't even try to hide its provenience (a plastic vacuum pack).
As for the venial sins, we had ordered a salad as a side dish, and both the dressing and the presentation were unconvincing. I ended the meal with a beef stew that was at least OK, if not delicious. The dessert was just a slice of fruit cake that looked like it had just been bought at Little Mermaid. Such a meal and a beer for 5000 yen ... I am afraid it's not enough, and this, as far as I am concerned, settles it.

Wine might be another story, however. The owner is clearly very serious about enology, and as I said I have the impression that Rubaiyat is mostly about drinking, and not eating. My friend Claus, who is a wine lover and connoisseur, soon started talking to the sommelier and in no time had him eating out of his hand. He says their collection is quite comprehensive, especially for such a small place. It includes several famous bottles, some of which were however sold out. As is often the case in Tokyo French restaurants, prices are 15, 20% too high.

Conclusion: Rubaiyat is a place where an Iidabashi resident who doesn't mind spending 2000 yen more than he should might want to go to drink on a full stomach.

How to get there:

From Iidabashi station, walk towards Kagurazaka, turn left at the temple and walk straight for about 300 meters until you see Rubaiyat's sign.