Selsalsale is a Japanese-Italian fusion restaurant located in Ebisu known for its high cost performance and good food. I read that the chef never trained at any high caliber restaurants but is very creative. There is only 1 dinner course priced at 6500 yen for about 10 dishes (in reality 13). Even though it does not have a Michelin star, it has garnered very high scores on tabelog and seems to be loved by many locals. When I posted this on Instagram, quite a few Japanese reached out to me and made comments like "oh you know this place? I like it!" and "I love coming here", stuff like that. Anyway, I came here with two of my local Japanese friends (if you're reading this, thank you so much for making the reservation for us!) and thought we'd have a lovely dinner with a bill that doesn't blow a hole in your wallet....so I thought...before I get to that, let's take a look at the photos!
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| Their claim to fame dish - capellini with snapper |
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| Custard egg with cured ham |
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| Spanish mackerel |
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| Conger eel fritter |
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| Crab risotto |
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| Burrata cheese with mushroom puree and truffles |
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| Claim to fame dish - Creme brulee foie gras with toast |
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| Oyster Pasta |
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| Wagyu beef with bone marrow infused mashed potatoes |
Now that you've seen the photos, did you think it is worth 6500 yen? Actually if it was a flat 6500 yen or with a minimal 10% service charge, yes I would think so too! However, when you factor in drinks (like a simple juice and coffee), consumption tax of 10% and another 10% to 12% of service charge, the bill sky rocketed to 10,000 yen per person.
Now, if all the dishes were great, I'd say ok it's worth it. Unfortunately, that's not the case. Apart from 3 dishes which I thought deserved honorable mentions - the capellini, creme brulee foie gras, and the burrata with mushroom puree, the rest of the dishes were very mediocre, nothing to brag about. Yes the concept and creativity sounded great but the execution seemed off. For instance, I thought the sweet sauce that accompanied the conger eel fritter didn't complement the taste of it, the wagyu beef shouldn't have been sliced so thinly, the oyster pasta wasn't exactly to my liking either. Ah well...perhaps I was just unlucky with this particular menu on that particular evening.
Let me remind you though, these are just my opinions and my preferences. On Facebook, this place has a full 5 star rating and you may actually enjoy and like this place a lot better than I did. For me, well, I wouldn't mind coming back here if my friends want to go here again, but if I had to choose, I think once is enough.
Tabelog website: https://tabelog.com/en/tokyo/A1303/A130302/13166739/
Address:東京都渋谷区恵比寿西1-16-7 ハギワラビル 1F
Budget: 9000+ (Dinner)
My rating: 3-3.5 / 5
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