It is said that a reservation at La Bettola is the most prized in all of Tokyo. 
If the difficulty that we had in obtaining one is any indicator, that’s no lie: It took us two months to get our feet in the door! The effort, however, was not in vain.

There are numerous choices on the extensive menu, but one is decided for you. At La Bettola, the chef has decided that everyone will eat four courses, and the cost will be ¥3,990. No arguments from us.

Our starters were a clear sign of things to come. An assorted platter of small tastes included boiled ham, a brightly flavored caponata, and house cured salmon, to name just three. A salad of tuna and avocado sat boldly atop a bed of endive on another plate. No fuss was made in the presentations, generous hands portioned the food, and every bit of attention was focused on flavor. In short: excellence.

Next came the pasta course. We had previously flipped through Chef Ochia’s books in anticipation of our meal, and we were left with a longing for this. And after eating it we were left with a longing to eat even more. Uni spaghetti was rich and buttery, but never cloying. Mushroom tagliatelle celebrated the main ingredient, and spoke of little else. Flavors at La Bettola are intense and focused, to say the least.

Main courses continued in like fashion. Lamb cutlets were tender and cooked to a perfect medium. Tomato-braised pork belly was melting in our mouths; we would have forgotten to chew entirely were it not for the inclusion of slightly firmer celery and carrot. It is hard to imagine wanting for more, but with dessert still to come that’s exactly what we were doing. We quickly finished our bottle of Falanghina Vesevo (¥3,675), and prepared ourselves.

We think of tiramisu as being the equivalent of tamago-yaki at Japanese restaurants: You can base the quality of a restaurant entirely on that one dish. La Bettola’s is one of the best we’ve had. It is light in the mouth, but the flavors of coffee and marscapone are strong, and it is gone as quickly as it arrived. And so were we, back along the extended path to Kyobashi for some much needed exercise.