Gyros Hero
Located less than five minutes from Takadanobaba station, Gyros Hero is the ideal spot for a study date, and yet I rarely find it full of students, or full of anyone for that matter. Inspired by the Greek islands, the white and blue motif of this casual sidewalk café/restaurant is clean without feeling sterile. With wireless internet, and even an in house computer, provided, I head over here when I want to focus and get some work done. It doesn’t hurt of course, that I hardly have to spend money to do so.
With gyros costing only ¥390 (¥580 for a gyros set), I can eat a great hot lunch here, for less than a coffee at Starbucks, and, unlike Starbucks, they don’t kick you out after an hour. My favorite is the classic tzatziki gyro, the cool yogurt flavor mixes well with the ground meat, fresh tomatoes, and soft bread. The last time I went they also had a tasty lamb gyro special for the day, which was a treat. Vegetarians can try the mozzarella and tomato gyros, Greek salad (unfortunately short on the feta cheese I found), or falafel and fries, which is great, albeit small.
At such low prices, I wasn’t expecting much in the way of service. Recently deciding to brave the outdoor patio, my friend and I were still a bit chilly, even with the provided blankets. Without our even having to ask, the cheerful manager/owner(?), who remembers the customers’ names, came outside to make sure we were alright, and set up a space heater by our table.
So what are the downsides? Well, there is only one. Part of the charm of this place for me has always been the “jyan-ken potato”. Every customer used to play “rock, paper, scissors” with the manager for a free small order of French fries. On my last two visits, however, this game has been noticeably absent. I’ve been too shy to ask why, but on your next visit, see what happens and let us know…
Well believe it or not, there are people here in Japan that actually don’t like sushi. Fair enough. But the other day I talked a friend, who doesn’t like sushi, into trying it out one more time before giving up, in a place of my choice.
So I took her to Midori Sushi in Umegaoka, a sushi restaurant which gets a top grade in my black book for taste.
Imagine my surprise then when I stumble across delicious authentic CHEAP Thai food (actually run by Thai people) in the heart of Shinjuku station.
Hungry in Shibuya around noon? Curry-Yasan (カレーやさん) will totally take care of that. Be prepared to enter a queue though, which might make you wonder if Yon-sama is eating in there.
Tokyo Foodie.com 