Un Soir à Shibuya in Bordeaux is a restaurant that may not look like much, but where you can dine on simple, authentic Japanese cuisine, the antithesis of the chain restaurants that abound everywhere.

I discovered Un soir à Shibuya a little over a year ago during a previous stay in Bordeaux, and had fond memories of it. If you can’t stand all those Japanese chains opening on every street corner with menus that all look the same and a cuisine that’s almost industrial, you’ll find a pleasant and reassuring authenticity here.

So I didn’t hesitate for a second to return, in a livelier atmosphere than the previous time, when the shadow of COVID still weighed too heavily on the profession.

The concept of the restaurant

Un soir à Shibuya is a Japanese restaurant, but a real one. ! By this I mean that, unlike the dozens of restaurants you’ll see anywhere with the same sybaritically-named menus, the same dishes, the same ingredients of mediocre quality and often of dubious provenance, here you’ll find a smaller menu and dishes prepared to order in a less standardized way.

If you’re unfamiliar with Tokyo, Shibuya is the city’s liveliest business district, best known for its ever-crowded crossroads. It’s also the fashion and youth district.

The setting

This is a very discreet restaurant in the old part of Bordeaux, in a very lively and busy district.

Not even a sign, you can walk right past it without even noticing.

The interior, too, is sober, warm and unpretentious.

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The menu

You’ll find a wide range of set menus, but only a limited choice of dishes…which is generally a guarantee of freshness. Il prendra tout le temps nécessaire pour m’aider à choisir mes plats.

The dinner

The welcome is very cordial and I recognize the owner who welcomed me so well on my first visit here. I’m very surprised, however, that he recognizes me, and we have a long chat over dinner.

One of the things we talk about is the restaurant, which turns out to be the former Muraille de Chine that belonged to his parents, and which I vaguely knew from my Bordeaux days but hadn’t made the connection. It’s been 12 years since they opened.

He’ll take all the time needed to help me choose my dishes.

Here we go!

Crispy duck maki.

The appearance is nothing like what you see in the unauthentic Japanese restaurants I loathe. It’s very “homemade” and high quality.

You can feel the taste of the seaweed, the duck is crisp and hot, and you can tell it’s homemade to order. Plus it’s really hearty.

The best maki I’ve had in a long time.

For the main course I had the Katsu Curry.

Here again, it’s very copious! There’s meat, rice, vegetables…and a perfectly spiced curry sauce.

It’s very crispy, not greasy at all and the chicken is melting.

I enjoyed it very much.

For dessert, I’ll have …. the only one on the menu. The Yuzu Iced Mochi.

It’s good, but not really my cup of tea.

With my coffee, the boss, like last time, will offer me a whisky.

The atmosphere

Pleasant and friendly.

The service

Very warm, humane and attentive.

Bottom line

I was very happy to discover this restaurant last time, and I was even happier to return. It’s a real change from all the industrial, standardized, soulless Japanese that pop up on every corner, and the staff are lovely. And when it’s time to pay, you don’t feel like you’ve been robbed!

I’d love to return.

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