Does Bistro Buzz Accurately Replicate the Parisian Experience?

It might seem strange, but Tokyo actually has a lot of French food. In fact, the top two restaurants in Asia (according to this list) are French places in Tokyo. Even at a lower price point, you can find restaurants serving French classics like pâté or foie gras, and we’ve found Japanese spots with croissants, pastries, and delicious Mont Blanc. Not every restaurant serving French food is great, but there are more of them here than one would expect.

And we are nothing if not snobs about French food. Did you know that we’ve been to Paris? If you’ve ever spoken to us, we’ve probably mentioned it. We did a little bit of eating there at some pretty swanky restaurants, so our judgment of French cuisine is perfect and not to be questioned. When we hear about a place that supposedly offers a genuine Paris bistro experience, we go check it out, and that’s what we did.

Bistro Buzz in Akasaka

Bistro Buzz is located in Akasaka, an area of central Tokyo that’s full of bussiness-looking businesspeople. In fact, the restaurant is on the ground floor of a gigantic office complex where people do business. What kind of business? I don’t know, but they do a lot of it.

The restaurant faces the street and has some outdoor seating just like a real Paris cafe, but it was January in Japan so no way were we eating outside. The street it faces is gigantic and loud with a big ol’ overpass, so not the greatest location for outdoor relaxation.

The decor is spot-on and definitely reminded us of places where we ate in Paris, from the chairs and pictures to the accordion music that all French restaurants are legally required to play. There’s plenty of space between the tables (rare in Tokyo) and the bathroom is nice and clean. This was our third time eating at Bistro Buzz, so we were aware of how things worked. The server escorted us to a rather large table in the half-full restaurant and we perused the menus for the day’s selection.

Lunch specials and drinks at Bistro Buzz

The bistro is open for dinner, but we always fnd ourselves in this neighborhood around lunchtime, so we’ve never tried the dinner service. Looking at the online menu, it seems like it’s mostly the same food they have at lunch with a few more appetizer options. You can go with the fixed-price lunch, which is 3,000 yen plus additional cost depending on which items you choose. We didn’t want to figure out whether it was a good deal or not for what we wanted, and decided we could go without soup, so we opted for the cheaper lunch deal, which doesn’t come with an appetizer or dessert.

The lunch special gives you a choice of four entrees, each of which comes with salad and bread (but no butter). You can add a drink for 400 yen, but the options are limited to basic teas and coffee with no milk. It was only 200 yen more for juice, so I got a guava juice and Eriko got an OJ and both were quite good.

They brought our salads and bread really fast, and our entrees shot out immediately afterward. It seemed like they were in a rush that day, and we saw why as a big group of businessfolks showed up shortly after us, all getting the prix fixe menu. The speed of the lunch service makes it a good choice for those who work in offices, allowing you to finish quickly and get back before your lunch break is over. We saw a couple lone diners who showed up after we did and were immediately given their salad, bread, and entree all at once (perhaps they called ahead or were regulars). We had to wait only a few minutes for our food to arrive.

Steak and lamb entrees at Bistro Buzz

As I said, we’ve been to this place three times, and every time, I’ve wanted the steak. The other things always sound good, but I have fond memories of steak frites in Paris and also I’m a Nebraska beefboy who likes to eat meat. Eriko generally tries something different each time - once it was scallops, another risotto, and this time lamb with cabbage.

Of the three times I’ve eaten the steak at Bistro Buzz, this was definitely the worst. It was poorly-cooked, gray in some spots, though rare for the most part. It was also way too salty. The fries, cooked perfectly, also had too much salt on them. And the herb butter on top was - you guessed it - too salty. This wasn’t the case the previous times we ate there, so I’m guessing it was just a symptom of their hurrying because of the lunch rush.

Eriko’s lamb was in a sauce that was also too salty, but man was it tasty. Basically a pot roast but with lamb. Yum. And the cabbage was delicious. I don’t normally give a hoot for cabbage, but it mixed with the sauce really well. And having so much bread was nice because we could soak up everything like the greedy pigs we are. I don’t think Eriko liked this entree as much as the others she’s had, but I’m glad she ordered it because I liked stealing bites, even if it wasn’t as good as the amazing lamb we had at Restaurant Unique. In the end, we were satisfied and warm, ready to brave the winter streets of Tokyo yet again.

The verdict: is Bistro Buzz a good deal for lunch?

Is Bistro Buzz a perfect replica of a Parisian bistro? Probably not. The food here isn’t as good as in Paris. Is it the best French restaurant in Tokyo? Not by a long shot. But this is likely the most authentic bistro you’re going to find in Akasaka, and the lunch deal is really cheap. That 5,100 yen is around $33 USD, meaning it was $16.50 for my steak frites with herb butter, salad, bread, and guava juice. That’s a great deal.

This is probably not a place to get lunch every day, unless you’re young and can handle such a big meal on a daily basis and I hate you. But for the once a month or so we go there, it’s ideal. The food is usually better than it was on this visit, and this time it was just good enough to remind us of why we like Bistro Buzz. This isn’t a restaurant that’s going to knock your socks off, but if you’re in Akasaka and want a place to stop for lunch, you gotta try it, especially if you like bistro steak and guava juice and accordion music. If you’re there in a couple months, you might see us, unless we decide to check out the Belgian place next door.

Where is Bistro Buzz in Tokyo?

Address: 〒107-0052 Tokyo, Minato City, Akasaka, 1 Chome−8−1 AIR1F 赤坂インターシティ

Phone: +81 03 3585 3300

Website: Bistro Buzz at Aquaplanet

Bistro Buzz is located on the ground floor of the Akasaka Intercity AIR complex, which has tons of international restaurants and is quite large. Stay near the sidewalk and go past the Starbucks. If you can’t find it, just lie on the ground and cry and eventually someone will help you.