Tokyo Food Page

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★★Cicada/
Nishi-Azabu:
Mediterranean
▼5447-5522
▽Data

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Whenever we want to
illustrate how Tokyo
has become a world-
class city for din-
ing, we can simply
point to places like
Cicada to make our
case. The
Mediterranean-cui-
sine kitchen is
first-rate, with
cooking that's inno-
vative yet somehow
familiar and com-
forting at the same
time. The service is
friendly and person-
al - a splash of
Sicilian sunshine in
the depths of trendy
Tokyo. All in all,
an evening at Cicada
holds the promise of
an exciting dining
experience - both
the menu and wine
list are filled with
pleasant surprises.

The organization of
the menu is the
first sign of an
ambitious agenda -
it starts with small
tapas-sized dishes
to nibble on, fol-
lowed by salamis,
hams, and an impres-
sive selection of
cheeses (of the
goat, cow and sheep
varieties). In addi-
tion to the usual
salads you'll find a
page of vegetable-
centered (but not
necessarily vegetar-
ian) dishes. There
are unfiltered olive
oils from four dif-
ferent countries,
with lovingly de-
tailed tasting
notes.

The food itself runs
the gamut from Span-
ish and Portuguese
to Moroccan, Greek
and southern Ital-
ian. One thing many
of the dishes share
is a natural spici-
ness - something
that's too often
toned down in non-
Asian restaurants
here. For example,
the cauliflower with
ziti and mint deliv-
ers a nice punch of
garlic and spices,
as does the wonder-
ful fava bean and
artichoke combo. The
Moroccan spicy crab
cakes are some of
the best we've ever
had, moist and rich-
ly flavored with
cilantro and other
herbs and a very
piquant sauce. Mo-
rocco is also repre-
sented by a trio of
spicy tajine-style
stews (lamb, chicken
and fish), prepared
variously with
dates, preserved
lemons, olives and
mounds of cous cous.


The chef here (David
Chiddo of TY Harbor
Brewery fame) often
uses ingredients in
intriguing combina-
tions, but in a way
that seems natural
rather than strained
or show-offy. The
dates wrapped in
bacon on top of
parmesan slabs are
one such inspired
coupling; the cake
with crushed almonds
and candied mandarin
orange is another.
The excellent
grilled lamb chops
are subtly enlivened
by anchovy and rose-
mary.

Hearty, robust fla-
vors call for equal-
ly assertive wines,
and the list here
doesn't disappoint.
It's big - some 25
wines by the glass,
over 100 by the
bottle - and there
are some great finds
in the Y5000-and-
under range. The
selection is entire-
ly Old World -
knowledegable
choices from Rioja
and Langedoc-Rous-
sillon, Sicily and
Tuscany, plus over a
dozen sherries (al-
most all available
by the glass). The
wine cellar itself
is an architectural
focal point, and the
liberal by-the-glass
policy means that
you can take your
time plumbing its
depths.

The dining room
feels warm and in-
viting, modern but
not too design-
heavy. Large floor-
to-ceiling windows
look out onto the
street and add an
element of interac-
tion with the Nishi-
Azabu neighborhood.
There's a large
separate bar area if
you just want a
glass of wine and
some tapas, or if
you like to smoke
between courses (the
rest of the restau-
rant is smoke-free).
We prefer the fire-
place in the main
dining area though,
and we're looking
forward to sipping
some sherry by the
fire once the weath-
er gets a bit cool-
er.

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◎Minami-Azabu 5-2-
40. ◎Open noon-3,
6pm-2am (LO) daily.

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