Tokyo Food Page

---

Tribes/
Kagurazaka: African
▼3235-9966
▽Data

---

Tribes is a cozy,
late-night drinking
and dining spot with
an engagingly exotic
atmosphere. Every
surface is covered
with colorful
African paintings
and ornate wood
carvings from the
owner's collection,
while the sound
system pumps out
lush Afro-pop. Wild-
life videos pro-
jected on one wall
add a charming
Discovery-Channel
touch to the pro-
ceedings. The young
Japanese staff are
friendly and enthu-
siastic, helping to
set a relaxed mood.

Tribes's menu bills
itself as French-
African fusion, a
sign that they're
aiming for something
more sophisticated
than the typical
ethnic eatery. Some
of the dishes are
less fusionized than
others though - for
example the kebabs
are fairly straight-
forward skewers of
grilled meat (with
various dipping
sauces), and our
Nigerian BBQ chicken
was simply coated
with layers of spicy
chili powder. Some
of the meats are
out-of-the-ordinary
- we enjoyed the
gamy flavors of our
grilled ostrich with
Egyptian moroheya
(mulukhiya) sauce,
but unfortunately
the frog-meat dishes
were unavailable
(our waiter solemnly
informed us that
their frogs had all
escaped).

A grilled sea bass
with mayonnaise was
the first sign of
French influence,
accompanied by a
very nice dill-sea-
soned zucchini; the
grilled scallops and
zucchini were also
very good. But the
highlight for us at
Tribes is definitely
the couscous. It
comes with tender
chunks of stewed
lamb (tajine) in a
fantastically rich
sauce, seasoned with
an authentic palette
of North African
spices - our only
complaint is that a
single order isn't
quite big enough to
share.

(We should also note
that the kitchen can
be slow when the
place is crowded,
and many people seem
to drop in for
snacks and a drink
rather than a full
meal.) The wine list
features some good
values in African
wines - we had an
excellent South
African Cabernet
Sauvignon for Y4500.
You can also opt for
cocktails, African
beers, and odd
choices like Giraffe
Beer, a Danish brew
chosen solely for
its Africa-themed
name. Dinner for two
with drinks general-
ly runs around
Y8000-11,000.

---

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

---

◎Wakamiyacho 10-7.
[from Iidabashi walk
up Kagurazaka-dori
and turn left just
before Bishamonton
Temple; Tribes will
be on the right
after about 60 sec-
onds - it has tinted
glass windows and
shares a building
with a place called
Rubiyat"]
◎Open 7pm-3am
daily.

---

戀Tokyo Food top