Where Ambiance and Good Food Meets - "Ren" in Shinagawa

I like Italian food, and if you look hard enough, Japan is full of wonderful Italian restaurants.  However, I have been walking this route through Shinagawa for a very long time and it was not until my last trip a few weeks ago that I realized this place was even there.  On my way back to my hotel from a dinner at the Ichiryu Yatai Mura I saw this building on the corner.  What caught my eye were the decorative lights near the front entrance.  Upon closer examination I could see people in the upstairs window.  Could this beautiful old building possibly be a restaurant?  I must investigate!

What first struck me about this place was the building.  It was a wonderful old structure.  I went in and sat at the counter and spoke to the chef and waiter.  Their English was just enough for me to understand.  The chef said this restaurant has been there for nine years, and the building has been there for ninety to one hundred years.  That means it has likely survived the Great Tokyo Earthquake among other things.  This picture above I took off their web-site, and it is a great example of this incredible place.  Here is a picture of the chef, again taken off their web-site.  He said the specialties at the time were a seasonal fish called "samma" along with a spaghetti carbonara type dish that he makes without the use of egg or ham.  He substitutes a Japanese salty fish (the name of which I could not get).  He also makes an eggplant pasta in a tomato based sauce.

 

Here is a view (again from their web-site) of the upstairs dining area.  We had a dinner there on a Friday night and sat in the far corner of this picture.

We tried all of their specialties and we all felt that the food and ambiance was of very good value.  I would recommend to my friends or anyone else to try this place out.

Good food, good friends, good ambiance.  That is Ren in Shinagawa on that Friday night.
www.ren-shinagawa.com