HEARTH — Restaurant in Tokyo

Tonight my family and I had dinner at hearth or better, TRIED to have dinner at hearth.

We were looking for an easy dish near our hotel and ended at this so-called “Italian”, whilst any Italian would have been absolutely appalled by this menu. It was requested of us not to arrive a moment earlier than our reservation, which, okay, may happen if it is busy. When our reservation started, our party was split at two different tables, very odd to do to a family. Following that misstep, 4 of our 7 drinks and 2 of our 7 dishes were served fairly quickly, sparking our motivation once again. However, then mayhem started, when we (after 15 minutes) asked where the rest of our order was, we were struck by a barely-English-speaking waiter trying to gaslight us into believing we didn’t order anything else. When our dishes were finally served (at this point I could’ve cooked it myself), they were not at all what was described on the pictures (think of raw mushrooms, cold bacon and not mentioned nuts on the dish). We asked the staff if it was meant to be like this and they said it was, so after a long day of exploring Tokyo we took our losses and tried to enjoy the very mockery that was made of our meal, we hoped this was the end of the chaos.

Nothing could have prepared us for what happened next, when in an international business district we got a fully Japanese receipt, that not even the restaurant staff was able to accurately translate. After using multiple ways of translation it turned out that there were multiple incorrect charges ont he bill for purchases we did not make. Once again the staff tried to subtly gaslight us into believing we ordered more than we did.

In conclusion, you are better off taking the elevator down to 7/11 in the basement than trying to enjoy anything in this so-called “international”...

First off: make a reservation! Do not plan on getting a table, even on a workday, without a reservation.

The location is located up the stairs in the hotel. There’s a line typically before the doors open.

The galettes are savory and are more akin to crepes, made of 100% buckwheat for their shell. This makes them the only gluten-free option (GF) on the menu.

The duck, egg, and balsamic vinegar galette was divine! I ordered mine without gruyere cheese since I’m also dairy-free (DF).

The chicken, mushroom, and egg galette was also a crowd pleaser.

Everyone in our party loved the pancakes. No matter which variation they ordered, all said they were fluffy and the perfect sweetness. If you do not have allergen issues, this is the best choice by far.

Also worth noting: they can only make two pancake orders at a time per the staff. So pancakes were coming out 40 mins after ordered and well after most of our party had finished. After their first bite, no one was upset.

The coffee was excellent, but only one cup is included in a set.

Surprisingly, the service was rude, even by US standards, from the older male staff / server. The female staff were polite, but not attentive.

This is not a quick eat and leave establishment. Hearth is set up for long conversations with a family member or friend while enjoying quality,...

This restaurant serves top quality food. We ate here last night and both left very impressed with the entire meal. We shared an oriental salad which was obviously crisp and fresh, had a nice variety of ingredients and a tasty but subtle dressing. We followed with a tomato based crab and red prawn pasta which was perfectly cooked, contained a good amount of sea food and had an excellent flavour balance. Next up was a house special galette which was superior to any we've had before. The thin base was topped with a very imaginative mix of ingredients which struck a lovely balance of flavours. Dessert was a purufuwa pancake a la mode. We were told that it would take at least 20 minutes to prepare which was no problem and it turned out to be well worth the wait. Something special is how we would describe it. This was one of those rare times that you start a meal with a very nice first course and each of the following courses just gets better and better. Our summary would be, not cheap, not too expensive, but really good value considering the quality...