Paprika.hu: Hungarian Restaurant and Bar in Takanawa

Two weeks ago I decided to treat myself to a lunch at Hungarian restaurant Paprika.hu. I had wanted to eat there for many months, but never had the opportunity. At Paprika.hu you can get a main dish with bread or rice and a salad at lunchtime for less than 1000 yen . They have a wide range of meat dishes.

In the evening you will be offered a glass of the national drink of Hungary – liqueur Unicum to start or end your meal. It contains 40 herbs and spices and its formula is a big secret. They have a lot of posters about it inside. I was staring at this guy (or was it a water imp?) while eating.

At lunchtime the restaurant was dimly lit with paprika decorations on the walls which seemed black instead of red. Or was it really black? It remains a mystery. I should definitely check it out by coming to Paprika.hu for dinner while sipping a glass (more probably – two) of fine Tokaj wine.

As it was my second encounter with Hungarian cuisine, I decided not to order goulash again. I ate Szekely cabbage, a tasty sauerkraut and pork stew with a generous pinch of real Hungarian paprika.

The portion was huge! I was full before I finished it. But, unlike Country Kitchen in Jiyugaoka, they don’t serve big pieces of traditional Hungarian rye bread at Paprika.hu. The waitress brought five small pieces of French baguette instead.One of the advantages of eating lunch at Paprika.hu was the reduced price of desserts (300 yen instead of 800 at dinner time). I felt obligated to satisfy my craving for Black Forest cake. Alas, it was just a pale shade of the world famous German dessert with cherries.

I should have guessed from the vague photo on the menu. The cake had 3 layers: a sponge layer, a cottage cheese layer and a jelly layer with cherries. Only the sponge layer was sweet. Maybe it is a version suited for Japanese taste.

Information

Hungarian Restaurant Paprika.hu
Address: Tokyo, Minato Ward, Takanawa 1-1-11
Access: a short walk from Shirokane-Takanawa Station.
Open: 11:30 AM – 2 PM, 5:30 PM – 11 PM
Closed: on Mondays.
Discount coupons for dinner: http://www.hungaryshop.jp/paprika/index.html
Distance from airport: About 75 km from Narita Airport.

Article by Olga Kaneda

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