Brasserie Viron Shibuya — Restaurant in Tokyo

While a bit on the pricier side, the food was very good. Please keep in mind that the main entree is meant to be shared so the price will reflect it.

Lots of bread was served that was refilled as needed and it was very good bread. I would wait for the meals or appetizers to have with the bread because it is served without butter or olive oil.

My husband and I shared some escargot and a boar/venison terrine both went well with the aforementioned bread, especially the sauce from the escargot. Our main entree was was bear on vegetables and mashed potatoes. As game meat, I expected some level of gamey taste to the bear but the met was fine. It was in the thin layer of fat, so if you do not like the taste of game meat, you will want to avoid the fat.

Our companions had mussels in wine and horsemeat tartar. The horse meat tartar was interesting, they prepared it in front of you. Those traveling from North America would be surprised by the fries served with the mussels, it was a quarter of what we usually get in Montréal. They do offer you more fries when you finish.

Note about bears. Bears are a local cuisine in parts of Japan and not often served outside rural areas of Japan but you can still find it. And at the time were were traveling, bears were problematic due to lack of food (apparently this year's harvest was not great) in the mountains and resorted to...

Since 1816 and six generations of millers, The VIRON Mills are very well know if France in the Val de Loire, offering the unique French wheat flour Retrodor (“La Tradition Française”) Executive chef Noriaki USHIO牛尾則明was trained at Viron and has brought the Retrodor to Japan, establishing Boulangerie Patisserie Brasserie VIRON with two branches in Shibuya and Marunouchi. It is certainly one of the best bread shops in Tokyo. We like the Shibuya branch which beside the Boulangerie Patisserie has an excellent restaurant (“Brasserie”) on its second floor. Beside lunch and dinner, VIRON Shibuya is a nice place for breakfast between 9am and 11am. Its offers excellent price for value with a breakfast at 1,500 Yen per person: the place is quiet, the tables spacious (ideal for 4 persons) and it is very adequate either for family gathering or business meeting. The price includes a hot drink (coffee as much as you can drink), two kinds of breads x 2 pieces, plus two viennoiseries (among a choice of 6 or 7 varieties). You will have a choice of 7 French jams (confitures) from the French Maison Francis MIOT. You will be kindly offered to bring back hone uneaten bread and...

Possibly best sandwiches in Tokyo, but some items seem ridiculously overpriced. A typical tuna or chicken sandwich would be 600-700 yen, which is normal, but anything with cheese would push it over 1000 yen! It's cheese, not caviar! Although they do offer comte, which is good. Some pastries are also in neighbourhood of 600 yen, which is a lot higher than similar items in luxury department stores or hotels.

If you stick to more common items It would have been ideal grab and go bakery, if it weren't for a few additional snags: There are no side items that would make it a perfect take away lunch: something like a small salad to go with your sandwich, would be a good option. There are no credit card or e-money options at the bakery (not sure about restaurant upstairs).

I know that they are trying to bring authentic French experience to Tokyo, and they are doing a great job at that, but if they were just a tad bit more accessible with their options and payment systems, they would be a place of choice for many! Maybe start offering custom made sandwiches too, might be a hit...