Anthology is steps away from the new Coredo shopping center near Tokyo Station. We passed a large wine cellar before entering the warmly lit dining area of the basement restaurant, which was already full with Japanese businessmen and -women. Most of the tables were meant for parties larger than the two of us, so we were shown to counter seating surrounding the glass-enclosed kitchen. Opening the drink menu, we noticed it offered dozens each of reds and whites from up and down California. We picked one from Napa, a deep-purple merlot appropriately named Anthology (¥570/glass). We had just started enjoying its earthy aroma when our appetizers arrived.

The boiled octopus carpaccio (¥950) was soft and plump, Anthology's original sour-plum sauce bringing out the natural sweetness of the eight-legged sea creature. A medium-sized green salad (¥550), crispy and buttery lettuce tossed with a tangy vinaigrette, was just enough for two but had whetted our appetite for more greens, so we ordered a snow crab and mizuna leaf salad with aioli dressing (¥980). Half a dozen rows of leg meat guaranteed a taste of the soft crab with each mouthful of the crunchy mizuna.

Moving on to heavier dishes, we switched to Washington State's Snoqualmie syrah, (¥690/glass), fragrant as perfume and fruity in taste. Our waiter kept up well with our seemingly insatiable appetites, and the deep-fried croquette filled with risotto (¥890) was an especially well-received dish. The large, flattened ball was filled with minced beef and pork risotto that kept each bite hot while we broke off individual pieces. Unfortunately the much-anticipated loaf of garlic bread (¥990), one of the recommendations on the menu, was oily and the inside of the bread was like paste.

However, impressive in taste, presentation and price were the grilled sirloin steak (¥1,580) and pork baked in a salt and egg-white meringue (¥1,360). The steak, sprinkled with salt and pepper before being grilled in front of us in the kitchen, was served medium-rare with Dijon mustard and large home fries. Although not as tender as what we'd have at fancier restaurants, it hit the spot for that not-so-fancy steak craving. The baked pork meat, extracted from the meringue and diced into perfect one-inch pieces by our nimble waiter, was amazingly juicy, especially considering how thickly cut each slice was. The briny meat was delicious wrapped in fresh cabbage leaves.

Even including our black-sesame ice cream (¥210) at the upstairs Anthology café, we found our dinner reasonably priced at around ¥9,000. Next time, we'll be returning with a group of friends to take advantage of their large table seating.