The home-style Italian dishes here are prepared with precision and served with poise. The Japanese chefs are led by Chef Tomari, who trained for three years in Piedmonte, Italy.

While quality is close to Tavola, Igosso strays further from traditional Italian tastes, with dishes from Japan, Spain and other cuisines served on the regularly changing special menu.

The venue looks like a retro cabin, with a quaint dining space and an elongated bar that gives diners front row seats to the open kitchen.

The mozzarella cheese with caponata salad (¥108) combines two healthy chunks of fresh buffalo mozzarella with stewed organic eggplant, zucchini, onions, peppers and tomatoes. This cool dish is refreshing and lightly seasoned, allowing you to enjoy the subtle flavors of the natural components. The steak tartar (¥45) brings together delicate Wagyu beef with garlic, capers, boiled egg, onion, mustard, scallions and lemon. The zesty tastes mix together for a complexly flavored, carnivorous treat. The roasted mushrooms (¥42) are stuffed with Italian ham and garlic, served on top a bed of olive oil—a classic dish for those who like it old-school.

The homemade lasagna (¥98) was the only misstep. The hand-pulled pasta was impressive, the sauce genuine, and the ricotta cheese mouthwatering, but the beef fillet cuts were undercooked and chewy in the center. If the meat wasn’t so rare, it would have made an enticing non-traditional lasagna.

DETAILS

What: Kitchen Igosso

Where: 23 Guandongdian Beijie, 关东店北街23号

Telephone: 6592-4563

Our Rating: 4/5 stars

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