Lovel Dining – a hidden gem in Setagaya

Lovel Dining. Tokyo, Japan.

Since my flight arrived earlier than Ceddy’s, I chatted with our host before she left for a weekend in the countryside. She recommended that we go to Lovel Dining, a restaurant that was a couple of blocks from her apartment.

We met up in Shibuya and returned to Setagaya famished. I forgot to take photos of the restaurant in our haste to be seated. (The photos of the exterior are from the afternoon before we left.)

We almost missed it because it’s on a random side street in Setagaya. It was a small restaurant with a several tables and bar. If you think that gourmet food couldn’t come from a place that encourages patrons to throw peanut shells on the floor, you’d be wrong.

Lovel Dining. Tokyo, Japan.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get any photos of our meal. (We ate it too quickly.) After munching on peanuts (and throwing the shells on the floor as Hiroki, the owner, insisted), we ordered. We sipped shots of shochu, a seemingly innocuous but potent Japanese liquor. For our appetizer, we had a mixed salad that had bell peppers, potatoes, and eggs in a citrus mayonnaise dressing, accompanied by spicy pickles on the side.

For our main course, we split a steak and frites. The steak was cooked medium rare in a tangy marinade and the frites were crispy on the outside, yet fluffy on the inside. Ceddy said that the potatoes reminded him of the potatoes in Côte d’Ivoire.

Our dinner and drinks were around $40. We chatted with Hiroki, thanking him for his hospitality and a fantastic meal. He agreed to take a photo with me and gave us his business card.

Hiroki Paulo Yoshimi, owner of Lovel Dining, and me. Tokyo, Japan.

If you’re looking for a chill restaurant with excellent food and drinks in Setagaya, you should definitely grab dinner at Lovel Dining.