Tokyo Food Page

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Gumbo and Oyster
Bar/
Shinjuku: Seafood
▼5369-5017
▽Data

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It seems like oyster
bars are popping up
everywhere these
days, so we weren't
surprised to see one
in the swank new
Shunkan restaurant
complex on the top
of My City depart-
ment store. Gumbo
and Oyster Bar is a
simple but stylish
counter affair,
serving a simple
menu of raw oysters,
seafood cocktails,
pan roasts, and
spicy Louisiana-
style gumbo.

The oysters on the
half shell here are
top quality and are
priced accordingly -
prices on a recent
visit ranged from
Y460-700 per piece,
with imported Kuma-
moto oysters from
Washington state at
the high end. Other
popular starters
here are the seafood
cocktails with spicy
barbecue sauce,
featuring mussels,
clams, shrimp, lob-
ster and clams, and
a combination plat-
ter of most of the
above.

If you want to fol-
low up your starters
with something more
substantial, the pan
roasts are well
worth a try. The
mussel and scallop
one turns out to be
a spicy tomato-based
stew with a good-
sized helping of New
Zealand mussels and
Hokkaido scallops.
Firm chunks of top-
grade green aspara-
gus spears provide a
nice contrast in
both texture and
flavor. The gumbo is
even spicier - it
comes with a do-it-
yourself helping of
jalapeno sauce on
the side of the
bowl, half of which
was more than enough
for this gumbo lov-
er. The flavors are
rich and seafood-
heavy, soaked up by
a big scoop of rice
in the center.

The design scheme
here is white tile,
chrome trim and
black counter, with
a bit of neon-blue
lighting that echoes
the rest of the
Shunkan complex.
Besides the sixteen
counter seats there
are also a few small
tables in back, but
if you're looking
for a more leisurely
sit-down meal you
might prefer one of
the two Water Grill
Oyster Bars (Nishi-
Azabu and Akasaka) -
with the same man-
agement and the same
high-quality sea-
food, but bigger
menus and wine lists
and more spacious
quarters.

Pan roasts and gumbo
are Y1400-1600;
seafood cocktails
are Y1000-2200. Wine
is Y700/glass, and
from Y4500/bottle
(for Rawson's Re-
treat from Austra-
lia).

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

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◎Shinjuku 3-38-1,
Lumine EST Shinjuku
8F. [Shinjuku sta-
tion east exit]
◎Open 11am-11pm
daily.

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