Toshio Kawashima serves meat croquettes. The specialty dish is lightly fried and then slowly cooked in the oven.
14:14 JST, September 17, 2024
The red building of Shiseido Parlour is one of the symbols of Ginza.
Shiseido Parlour Restaurant, with over 120 years of history, serves Western specialties and pursues aesthetics in every detail of tableware, decor and customer service. It is the meat croquette, on the traditional menu, that has increased the restaurant’s fame. I enjoyed the dish that many great cultural figures have loved and written about in their novels and essays.
The meat croquettes I ordered, priced at ¥3,100 including tax, were brought to my table with great care on a plate. The two oval-shaped croquettes were placed side by side in the rich tomato sauce, which was spread out in a beautiful circular pattern.
As soon as I bit into it, a rich béchamel sauce oozed out of the crispy batter, harmonizing perfectly with the sweet and sour tomato sauce. The veal and ham inside added to the mouthfeel and flavor.
The recipe was developed in the early Showa era after the restaurant’s third chef marveled at a croquette served at a luncheon. Toshio Kawashima, 44, the current chef, said: “We make the sauce from scratch and form the meat into a cube. The recipe has remained unchanged since it was first created.”
Shiseido Co. began as a Western pharmacy in Ginza in the early Meiji period. The restaurant grew out of Japan’s first soda fountain, modeled after the one in the United States, which opened in the pharmacy in 1902. It offered soda and ice cream, which was rare in Japan at the time, and a bottle of facial lotion as a prize with every soda, helping to make the soda fountain a popular spot in Ginza. Orange and chocolate syrups were on the menu to mix with soda.
Left: The stained glass windows date from the early Showa period. Right: Shotaro Ikenami wrote in his book: “I was amazed. The chicken and rice was served in a silver bowl.”
It started serving authentic Western food in 1928. The restaurant was mentioned in the books of many famous novelists such as Ogai Mori, Osamu Dazai and Shotaro Ikenami. Hideko Takamine, a great actress from the Showa era, also loved the croquette. The restaurant staff carries food on a silver plate and serves it to the customers. Because the staff often polishes the silverware by hand, it keeps its beautiful shine.
Atsuo Akutsu, 56, who is in charge of public relations, said: “We have taken good care of our quality items and have continued to use them. One of the charms of this restaurant is that it has preserved the memories of the good old days.”
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Shiseido Parlour Restaurant
Address: Tokyo Ginza Shiseido Building 8-8-3 Ginza, Chuo Ward, Tokyo
Access: Five minutes walk from Shimbashi Station and seven minutes walk from Ginza Station
Opening hours: The restaurant is open from 11:30 to 21:30. The shop is open from 11:00 to 20:30.
