A Train Journey to Elegant French Dining
Published: July 11, 2019
If you head up Mitsume-dori Avenue from Kiba Metro station, you might notice a railway carriage shunted behind trees and bushes on the left-hand side, opposite Kiba Park.
This is in fact a sleeping car from the Hokutosei night train, which used to run from Tokyo’s Ueno Station to Sapporo in Hokkaido, and now serves as a lounge and private dining room for A ta gueule ORIENT-EXPRESS restaurant.
Its owner and resident chef, Mr. George Somura, has an interesting history: he worked as a French cuisine chef at the Hotel Okura, then became a culinary ambassador for Japan at the Japanese embassy in Brussels. This was followed by spells on the Orient Express crossing Europe, and then the Eastern & Oriental Express running down from Bangkok to Singapore, before he joined the famous Raffles Hotel in Singapore. His travels and working experience in various environments have enabled him to study not only dishes served up in the rarefied atmosphere of high-class hotels, but also food eaten by ordinary people across the world.
After running a restaurant in Ebisu, Mr. Somura chose Kiba, due to the availability of land for the railway carriage, as the location for his Japanese Orient-Express concept restaurant, which opened in February 2012.
Climbing the stairs to the restaurant feels just like walking onto a station platform, with the railway carriage parked alongside as though waiting to depart. The décor and layout of the main dining area, which seats 36, is elegant and cool in its blue, white, and grey colour scheme, whilst the soaring high ceiling above the kitchen area gives an overall impression of space and light.
Whilst Mr. Somura and his two staff were busy in the kitchen, Mr. Ichikawa sat us down and explained the restaurant’s concept. The dining area, with its iron girders and sloping roof, is based on the image of an English railway station platform.
A ta gueule ORIENT-EXPRESS aims to present French cuisine containing elements of dishes from countries along the route of the famous Orient Express. As well as a reasonably-priced set lunch, the restaurant offers several set menus, ranging in price, as well as a seasonal a la carte menu, which is changed monthly.
The restaurant is well-known for its “gibier” or game dishes, and boasts a seasonal menu which includes deer, boar, grouse, duck and quail – looking around you can’t fail to notice several bleached skulls and taxidermy adorning some of the restaurant’s shelves and walls.
To go with your meal there is an extensive selection of wines to choose from: 150 according to Mr. Ichikawa, who is happy to make a recommendation to go with a particular dish or meal. And currently, the restaurant is having a summer campaign promoting a range of international beers from countries along the routes of the Orient-Express and the Eastern & Oriental Express.
Whilst we were talking with Mr. Ichikawa, we were treated to a dish of Angus filet of beef, covered in crisp flaky pastry “Agatha Christie Style”. This was served in a red wine sauce, accompanied by black Savoy cabbage and two types of long string beans, and topped with a grating of horse radish. The beef, which was tender and medium rare, was deliciously succulent.
A dessert appeared, consisting of lavender-flavoured (yes!) crème brulée and a small glass containing watermelon, melon, and iced sherbet – very refreshing. These were served on a magnificent tray decorated with an amazing dragon and peacock carved from carrots; the whole affair proved to be a feast for both the eyes and the palate. All this was followed by coffee.
Mr. Somura held off replying to our questions whilst he focused on making sure that his staff were properly fed. “You can’t expect me to chat with you whilst I’m cooking”, he said, “otherwise, I shall burn their lunch”. Lunch appeared to be a simple plate of potatoes, sardines, leaf and tomatoes seasoned with thyme, but looked delicious and filling, too.
We left Mr. Somura to feed his team, and Mr. Ichikawa escorted us across to the carriage’s converted lounge with its old-fashioned atmosphere, where Mr. Somura joined us later.
Switching between Japanese and English, he talked passionately and at length about food and he obviously cares deeply about what he creates.
A ta gueule ORIENT-EXPRESS’s clientele comes to Kiba from all over Tokyo, often introduced by word-of-mouth recommendation. The restaurant also caters for family and company events, anniversaries and weddings.
So, anyone wanting to experience quality food with an individual touch from a well-travelled chef, in an elegant and unusual setting should climb on board A ta gueule ORIENT-EXPRESS for the culinary journey of a lifetime.
Story and Photos by Jeremy Hutchinson
