cant decide between ristorante aso or aroma fresca

[Lucil]

which restaurant will i get a bigger satisfaction??? i have to make a decision between these 2..aroma fresca's rating is very high in tabelog, whereas aso is not too bad....
some chowhounds here also swear by aso... and another japanese blog site rated aso better than aroma fresca...
help give me some suggestions

[Asomaniac]

It depends what you are after. Aroma Fresca is much more Japanese than Ristorante Aso, hence - probably - the high rating. Aroma Fresca has always been incredibly popular here, personally I would not rate it as highly. It is good, but not that great. If you like Italian - Japanese fusion with quite an emphasis on the Japanese part, you will prefer Aroma Fresca.

If you prefer your Italian more, well, Italian, you will prefer Aso. The execution is very good at both places, though I think Aso is perceptively better. Aso's Italian food is not classical Italian food by any stretch of imagination though - it is very innovative, modern Italian with a Japanese slant. The current menu for example (I went last 5 days ago) has a great dish of foie gras, truffle sauce and sea urchin roe. They also used to have a wonderful mix of crab and two kinds of prawn (the crab slightly cooked, the prawns more on the raw side) with a bit of kani-miso in it.

Wine-list wise, I have to admit that Aroma Fresca is much better. Aso has a good wine list, but, oddly, it mainly focuses on French wines and while the Italian wines they do have are all very good, many of the usual suspects when it comes to good producers, there are not many of them, while Aroma Fresca's list is exclusively Italian (at least it was about a year or so ago, I have not been back for a long time).

The good thing is that whichever of the two you choose, you are unlikely to be disappointed.

[Lucil]

hey asomaniac, doesnt matter if i dine solo in both places right? dun think able to drink a bottle.. anything good by the glass??

[Asomaniac]

It is not great at Aso, they only do (or did a bout 9 months ago, ever since, I have only had bottles so don't know if they have expanded their selection) Robert Skalli wines by the glass. He is a big and very good producer (Languedoc), but his basic red and white is not amazing (it is fine, but you'd hope for better at a place like that - as I said, the wine aspect of Aso, given the incredible quality of the food, is not what it could be). Their champagnes are good.

Aroma does a few more, and they were quite good.

[Lucil]

alright managed to secure a reservation... i keep redialing and redialing...i think it was tajima san who answered my reservation. i think he didnt quite understand my question on whether will the restaurant call my country number again nearer the reservation date to confirm the reservation again... asomaniac can u tell me what is the case.. also im looking for someone to be my dining partner on that day.. as i made a reservation for 2 on jan 21st 2009 7pm

[Lucil]

i forgot to mention the restaurant i reserved.. its aroma fresca

[Asomaniac]

I don't know if they will - don't know what they told you. But generally a lot of restaurants here which get booked up tend to confirm reservations a day or two in advance, so I assume it is the same with Aroma Fresca (don't remember, it's been too long).

[kuidaore]

Do you know when you're going? You have to make a reservation 3 months in advance to get into Aroma Fresca. 2 months wasn't enough. We tried...

[Lucil]

yes, i am aware of the 3 months reservation and the timing that the restaurant starts to accept the call. just found out that the michelin guide 2009 tokyo will be on the shelves on november 21st this year