I forgot how good this place is. I’ve been a few times but have not been in about a year. I went recently with a friend, woke up thinking about the tonno mantecato, and went again for dinner that night.
Kissa Tanto is doing Japanese and Italian inspired dishes, but not fusion is a gimmicky way. They are basically taking the best of two of the world’s greatest cuisines.
I think the menu is interesting, and worthy of repeat visits to try everything on the menu. I would gladly have all the pasta on the menu if stomach space allowed.
Here was the menu that night:
We started with the Octopus salad. Basically, crispy pieces of tender well-seasoned octopus and delicious potato bites, with radishes. The presentation is lovely. One minor flaw with this dish is that the dressing is in the middle and needs to be combined at the table, and there could be a little bit more of it. Otherwise, its VERY good.
The next dish is on my list of the top 10 things I have ever eaten – tonno mantecato. Its a confit tuna mixed with smoked mash potato, seasoned with furikake (seaweed flakes), and spread over the restaurants house made sourdough bread topped with crunchy tobiko.
First, the tuna, potato and furikake, it extremely flavorful, and the texture is fantastic. Then you bite into the toast and get crunchy texture and umami from the tobiko, and then a taste of the sourdough. Its close to the perfect bite.
Next we had the spaghettini. White ragu of thyme pork sausage, and soy pickled garlic. The flavor was absolutely delicious. Full of umami. I would prefer the noodles more al dente, they come steaming and I think could be cooked a bit less. However, this dish I had two nights in a row, and I have never been disappointed with the pastas here.
Lastly, we had the beef. Slow cooked with a sukiyaki broth. Very good. Tender. The night before I had the half chicken. Perfectly cooked with an amazing dipping sauce.
Service is friendly, and they pay attention to details. Tabled is constantly wiped etc. Would come back, many times. 9/10