A restaurant for specific tastes: Bistrot Labourer

Japanese Required: A lot
Cost:  2000 or more per person
Good for: Single people, couples, small groups

Bistrot Labourer is a restaurant near Jingumae station. The restaurant is a bit out of the way, but it is very cozy. It had enough space to intimately seat roughly twenty people and then seating for another five people at the bar. I went with a group of friends. The restaurant had three lunch sets: hamburger with miso sauce, fried oyster, and an omelet filled with rice (called omuraisu). I had never had omuraisu, so I went with that. All of the lunch sets came with a salad and corn soup, and the first two options also had bread or rice as a side. The omuraisu came with a desert instead (vanilla ice cream).

Taken from Bistrot's website

The omuraisu was pretty good at first, but the novelty wasn't enough to enjoy the dish. The experience of egg, rice, and ketchup together gave me mixed feelings. On the one hand, I liked the rice's texture and taste. On the other hand, I feel that the flavor of the ketchup overpowered the flavor of the egg, and I prefer the taste of egg. While this isn't something I'd eat again if I had other options, I'd say it's worth trying if you like egg and ketchup. The ice cream was soft enough to eat easily with a spoon without dripping everywhere. A few of my friends had the fried oysters, and they looked rather good. If I were to go again, I'd probably go for the oysters.

The restaurant had an overall pleasant atmosphere. Everyone was talking and laughing, and the servers were very nice. I would probably go there again for lunch if I was in the area with a couple of friends. It seems to be a very local-only restaurant, so I doubt it gets particularly busy in the afternoon. For anybody interested in visiting Bistrot Labourer, more information can be found in their website: http://www.nagoya-labourer.jp/