Blue Entrance Kitchen 東京中目黒店 — Restaurant in Tokyo

To sum it up: overpriced mediocre food. Deceptive reviews because apparently they offer a free drink if you leave a review (before getting your food). If you haven’t had decent tacos or Mexican food before, of which there is plenty in Tokyo now, you might rave about this place like many of the reviewers have, but the truth is the food is just ‘okay’, but the pricing is way too high. Had the wagyu birria 2pc plate for 2900(!) yen. The dipping soup was decent, good size tacos (went with flour torts) with enough meat, but no toppings other than the cheese and a tiny bit of onions and cilantro sprinkled on top of one taco, barely enough for one taco let alone two. Note that there are NO free hot sauces or condiments on the tables at all, which should be a given in any Mexican restaurant even in Tokyo, so had to pay +200 extra for a tiny thing of normal store-bought salsa, not even house made. The meat might as well not be wagyu since it’s stewed, but was probably better quality than what my friend had in his carne asada taco (dry and gristly). Friend also had a hot chicken taco which also had dry meat and was disappointing. We reckoned they probably pre-cooked everything for the lunch rush as nothing tasted made-to-order. The three of us all pretty much agreed on our impressions of the place. If they cut the prices by at least 30-40% it might be a decent lunch option but for the lacklustre quality of food it’s way overpriced. The servers were all nice, but minus points because it’s one of those “QR code only” menus even tho there’s loads of idle staff roaming around who could easily take orders or answer questions (pet peeve of mine, trend that started overseas during covid times but has unfortunately stuck). The interior is very cool and stylish though, that’s the main thing they have going for them IMO😅. Lots of people lined up and waiting to get in at lunchtime too which would have added to the disappointment but luckily we got seated before the rush. Anyway, bottom line, style over substance, the pics and reviews might look good but taste just didn’t deliver, and the pricing is just too high for what you get. Probably...

REVIEW DOES NOT REFLECT FOOD, ONLY A WARNING FOR FOREIGNERS THAT MIGHT VISIT. I’m writing this review to share an unfortunate experience, perhaps it’s because my friends and I were foreigners or maybe a simple misunderstanding between us. Regardless, this review isn’t about the food (we didn’t get to try it) and the 1 star review is simply a reflection of the service, or lack thereof.

We visited this establishment today and once you enter, like many places in Tokyo that are popular, there was a lineup. This restaurant is somewhat underground, so the lineup spans up a staircase and across the sidewalk near the bus station. My friend entered the line and waited for us, while we (2 guys) stayed outside. The reason we did this was to not overcrowd an otherwise tight staircase, and we had thought that once it’s our turn to be seated, we’d both come down and join him.

Unfortunately, this whole ordeal seems to have upset some of the Japanese locals and started talking about us negatively in Japanese. I was unable to catch everything since I opened the translator app too late however, it was something along the lines of calling us “foreigners who just cut lines” and something about how they think we should get booted out of the line per some rule? Again, this is Google Translate and I couldn’t capture the full context but sure enough the waitress came later on and booted us out of line - after we waited already for about 20-30 minutes. We can chalk it up to miscommunication or culture ignorance, however we feel as though this was something that could have been easily explained and rectified. We had good intentions in waiting outside and not wanting to cram the staircase but if that’s the preference of the staff and locals, we could’ve easily just been told to come join our friend and wait patiently instead of being removed entirely.

Once again, this review isn’t about the food because from social media it looks lovely but more-so a warning for foreigners visiting to not make the same mistakes we did because the people there aren’t exactly the friendliest or understanding and unfortunately the cultural/language gap does not...

Don't get me wrong—this place makes excellent and really delicious tacos 🌮. If it weren't for the issues I'll mention below, I would have happily given it five stars.

First, they sell a single wagyu taco for 1,900 yen, and it comes with a large side of onion 🧅 rings. You could assume the taco costs about 1,000 yen and the rings about 900. However, if you order a set of two tacos, it costs 2,900 yen—an extra 1,000 yen—but without any side dish like onion rings. How does that make sense? No idea.

Second, even though the tacos are tasty, the "wagyu" beef they use is absolutely ordinary—just like in any other taco. Since it’s cooked well-done, it could be any regular beef. They're likely using the "wagyu" label (assuming it’s real) to attract customers, especially foreigners.

Third, as mentioned in other reviews, the tables are way too close together. You're basically elbow-to-elbow with strangers loudly talking next to you, which isn't very pleasant.

And fourth, there were quite a few small flies flying around the restroom—something I’ve never seen in a restaurant in Japan before.

On the plus side, they do provide disposable gloves so you can eat without getting messy.

If money isn't a concern and you're nearby, I can definitely recommend checking this place out. If you’re thinking of traveling a long way just for it, you might want...