A friend — a French chef who happens to be Japanese — once told me that the reason so many Japanese chefs chose French was because it was considered the world's most challenging cuisine. But the same over-achiever attitude that gave us so many French restaurants in Tokyo means that many of them serve "fussy French," meaning that elaborate terrines show up on menus more often than steak frites.
For suggestions of where to find more quotidian food in Tokyo, I polled my French friends and acquaintances. Some names that came up regularly were such established franchises as Aux Bacchanales, that eerily authentic brasserie, once a Harajuku icon and now a series of restaurants in Akasaka, Kioicho and Takanawa (plus bakery and cafe outposts in Ginza, Higashiyama, Kyoto and Hakata); and Le Petit Tonneau and Aux Amis, both reliable purveyors of pate and confit.
On the subject of Aux Amis, one friend was particularly enthusiastic about one of the restaurants in its group: Vin Picoeur (2F 4-3-4 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo; (03) 3567-4122) This small Ginza restaurant favors intangible atmosphere — the volley of orders, the buzz of conversation and the heady smell of grilling meat — over decor. It's a cozy place, with most customers sitting elbow to elbow at the counter. Considering its location, and enviable wine collection, it is also relatively reasonable (and thus usually packed).
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