Buon Appetito at Italian Bar Riso in Morishita
Published: March 2, 2018
Strolling east from Morishita Station on Shin Ohashi Street one’s eyes are immediately attracted to the Tricolore flapping in the breeze outside a storefront painted a vivid red. It’s unmistakably an Italian restaurant; in fact it’s Italian bar Riso, owned by the youthful Yuji Okayama. On a recent afternoon Mr. Okayama kindly shared his secrets of Italian food.
“How did I come to be running an Italian bar? Its very easy,” says Mr. Okayama, “I went to Europe on holiday and fell in love with the food and the style, particularly in Italy. I’d worked in the restaurant business from a young age and it was my dream to have my own place. I decided on Italian, studied the food and opened here in 2013. Thanks to the support of our local customers we’re still here!”
Italian bar Riso offers a variety of pizzas, from the Margherita at 500 yen to a daily special at 800 yen. Extra toppings are available at 100 yen each or 200 for raw ham, so you can design your own if you so desire. Pasta is available: just ask Mr. Okayama and he’ll tell you what he’s got. There are hot and cold antipasto (including the popular blue cheese potato salad), salads, second piattos of aquapazza, chicken, beef in red wine sauce, steak, and so on.
Ten of the fifteen wines available are Italian. Mr. Okayama recommends the Pipoli Aglianico 2015. For dessert there’s ice cream, gateau chocolat or the retro favourite crème brûlée. For special occasions, or if you’re just really hungry, there are two courses: a two-hour, seven dish course for 3,500 yen or a two and a half hour marathon with eight dishes for 4,000 yen. Sounds great!
Mr. Okayama kindly offers to make a pizza. With economical movements the result of years of practice, he turns the imported Italian flour into a base.
A dash of tomato sauce, a drizzle of olive oil, a smattering of fragrant herbs and it’s ready for the oven.
The wondrous smell of baking pizza fills the air and in no time at all the base is ready.
Mr. Okayama adds some salmon, vegetables, cheese, mayonnaise, and it’s done. From start to finish in the blink of an eye, a pizza insalata: doesn’t that look great!
It’s delectable. Above the warm crunchy base, with the unmissable tang of authentic Italian pizza, the fish and cheese combine in a taste sensation where none of the flavours overpowers the others.
“Most of our weekday lunchtime customers are ladies, while families comprise our main customers at weekends,” says the Toyocho born and raised Mr. Okayama. It’s easy to see why; the atmosphere is warm and comfortable, the smell of cooking is irresistible and, most importantly, the food is delicious and very good value for money. It’s a pleasant place to linger, chatting with friends over a pasta or pizza lunch.
If you’re in the Morishita area and fancy some top-quality Italian that won’t break the bank, then Italian bar Riso is the place for you!
Story and Photos by Stephen Spencer
