Restaurant Review

Restaurant name: Arossa 銀座

Location: Ginza, Tokyo, Japan

Overview

Located on the eighth floor of the Loft building in Ginza, Arossa is a bistro that specializes in New Zealand cuisine. They have another location in Shibuya, but we chose their Ginza restaurant for the nice window seats. Guests have a great view of the Tiffany & Co. building as well as the Bulgari building right next to it, which really emphasizes the feeling of being in one of Japan's most high-end shopping districts. Although their dinner options have much more variety, this specific blog will focus on their brunch course, which they offer at an incredibly reasonable price of 4,500 yen. 

What They Offer

You may as well bring your passport, because the food at Arossa is as close as it can get down under. Almost all of their ingredients are sourced from New Zealand, such as their beef, lamb, to even salmon and oysters. They always have more than 200 different bottles of New Zealand wine, so anyone can find the perfect pairing with their food. 

Brunch Course Menu

・Seasonal Fruits with Buratta

A creamy buratta with diced orange and dried tomato in olive oil topped with dried flowers. The slight acidic fruit paired beautifully with the slightly sweet cheese. 

・New Zealand Oyster (optional)

A large oyster with a lemon slice and some salt from New Zealand. 

・Salmon, Cashew Nut Cream with Beets

Diced ORA king salmon in a cashew sauce with some beets and pomegranate. ORA king salmon isn't wild caught, but the water in which they grow them are so clean that the taste and quality is at par with their wild counterparts. 

・Today's Vegetables

Roasted red turnip and pumpkin with two sauces; citrus and basil. Some bread was also served to soak up any remaining sauce.

・Roasted Grass Fed Beef from New Zealand

A portion of grass fed beef from New Zealand in a dark, onion-based sauce, decorated with some roasted vegetables. Can be switched to grass fed lamb if requested.

・Hokey-Pokey

A New Zealand dessert, consisting of ice cream mixed with crumbs from various cookies and toffee.

Ambiance

Due to one wall being entirely a window, more than enough sunlight pours into the dining area. The walls are decorated with colorful New Zealand themed art and empty wine bottles, giving the restaurant a friendly ambiance that welcomes anybody passing by. The owner, who waited our table, was thoroughly informed about the ingredients and his friendly attitude without a doubt further contributes to the overall dining experience. 

Criticism

The one criticism I would have about Arossa would be that some of the portion sizes could be improved. I ordered a glass of New Zealand black tea, which I expected would come in a tall cocktail glass, but was slightly disappointed to see that all I got was just a few sips worth in a short wine glass. The main grass fed beef was also on the smaller side, although the taste itself couldn't have been better.

Rating

・Food quality 5/5

・Service 4.5/5

・Ambiance 4/5

・Value for money 4.5/5