Tokyo Food Page

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Manuel/
Shibuya: Portuguese
▼5738-0125
▽Data

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This is Tokyo's
first Portuguese
restaurant, serving
hearty, traditional
country-style fare
that's cooked up by
Manuel himself in
the kitchen and
served with good
humor by the friend-
ly English-speaking
staff.

The menu is
straightforward,
with a handful of
daily specials,
vegetable- and
seafood-based soups
(something one
doesn't see a lot in
Tokyo), plenty of
fish and seafood, a
few stews, and as-
sorted risotto-style
and baked rice
dishes. Cod seems to
be a popular item,
with no fewer than
five representatives
on the menu; we were
also intrigued by
the stewed pork with
clams - an unusual
combination.

We began a recent
visit with a starter
of sauteed shrimp in
garlic - big succu-
lent shrimps pre-
pared simply, with a
not-too-timid help-
ing of garlic (an
ingredient we en-
joyed in many of the
dishes here). An-
other favorite was
the Portuguese-style
chicken stew - very
tender chunks of
chicken in a rich,
herb-infused tomato-
based stew. Rice
dishes here are
served either
risotto-style or
baked in a pan, and
prepared with octo-
pus, clams, cod or
duck. We tried the
baked rice with
duck, which had a
chewy, slightly
burnt crust but was
otherwise much
plainer and less
complex than Spanish
paella, which is the
inevitable compari-
son.

Portuguese wines are
a real Tokyo bar-
gain, and the list
at Manuel is no
exception. The most
expensive is only
Y4200 (oddly enough,
that's the one des-
ignated as their
house wine), but
there are some de-
cent selections in
the Y3000 range. If
you're in the mood
to splurge you can
try some of the
older Port wines on
the after-dinner
menu. Several dif-
ferent vintages - up
to about 40 years
old - are available
on any given night.
In the interest of
scientific inquiry
we sampled 10-, 20-,
and 40-year-old
Port, and we can
report that it does
get much mellower as
the age (and price)
increases. Port is
Y550-2000 per glass;
dinner with drinks
is around Y3000-4000
per person.

Manuel is under the
same management as
the Australian wine
bar Arossa. Located
just across the
street, Arossa makes
a convenient stop
for an after-dinner
drink, and if you
time it right you
can take advantage
of Arossa's after-
10pm happy-hour
discount (20% off
the regular price of
wine by the glass).
[See branch review]

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▼Photo (small)
▼Photo (large)
▼Map for AU phones
▼Map for DoCoMo

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◎Shoto 1-25-6.
[walk on Tokyu-
honten-dori two
blocks past Bunkamu-
ra and turn right on
a small side street;
Arossa is immediate-
ly on the left, and
Manuel a few meters
farther down on the
right]
◎Open noon-2, 6-
10pm (LO). Closed
Wednesdays.

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