A16

I'm originally from the Bay Area and A16 is a really big deal in San Francisco. It's one of those restaurants "foodies" love to name drop and get excited over. They used to have a quasi-famous chef working for them, but I heard that he was caught cheating on his wife and the owner, who is all about family values, wasn't down with that so he let him go. DRAAMMMAAAA! The fact that they opened an A16 in Tokyo is still kind of weird to me -- while it is a great Italian restaurant, it still doesn't have the branch cache as say, a Batali joint.

On to the food. The food here is not exactly what you'd get from A16 SF. They use a gas oven instead of wood burning, which is kind does change the way the pizzas are made. California cooking is all about cooking locally and in season - something that is not new to Japan, but what is local and in season in Tokyo is not the same in California. Cheese is very expensive in Japan. Fennel, a staple in SF, is hard to find here. So, yes, there are differences, but the food is still really good. I highly suggest the cannellini bean mash and the tuna appetizer. If you're craving a good salad, anything off their menu will make you happy. Their pizzas were a little disappointing. I think you can get better pizza in Tokyo, namely, Seirinkan in Naka-Meguro but their still better than the weird Mayo and Ebi concoctions at Shakey's.

There's still a lot of hype surrounding A16 Tokyo so getting a reservation may prove difficult and they get a good lunch time draw due to their Marunouchi location. If you get a chance to go, take it, but no need to break your back.

A16
Marunouchi Brick Square 1F
Tokyo, Hibiya