My Love for Ootoya (大戸屋)

If you are of those many office workers in Japan , you know what I am talking about.

Japan, in particular Tokyo, has a lot of restaurants - its like every second door gives entrance to one. My office is located in Naka-meguro, Meguro-ku (or ward), where there seem to be even more of them. Having a huge choice doesnt make a decision easier when lunch time comes around. They all have different things to offer, however all of the restaurants charge the same price, that being 1000 yen +/- 100 yen. Most dishes appear to be equally dull - not spicy at all - and they ALL contain meat or fish.

Being vegetarian seems to be a hassle for both my co-workers as well as the restaurant staff, who doesnt seem to be able to accomodate my needs for meat-(and fish-) free food. Asking them to remove the meat from the dishes doesnt seem an option - that tells you how flexible Japanese people are.

Apart of a couple of indian restaurants around and a soba-shop (where you need to stand up), I dont seem to be left with any options if there wasnt a place called Ootoya.

Its a chain with over a 100 restaurants in Tokyo alone, which would suggest that food must be mediocre or even fast food like. BUT this isnt the case here at all. Their menu contains a number of vegetarian dishes which allows you to put together your own set, since a vegetarian set does yet not exist.

So, I happen to eat there more often than I thought would be possible, choosing between Natto, Tofu - Salad, Steamed Vegtables , Potato Kolloke and Rice, which doesnt sound like a high variety, but compared to most restaurants, this is an astonishing collection of vegetarian dishes for just 700 yen (!) all together.

... and you can enjoy your food without inhaling smoke from your neighbor ...
( Ootoya is one of a very few smoke-free restaurant in Japan).