Your name is pasta, and it's Italian flour! I want to eat delicious pasta! To satisfy Bassey's desire, he went to Taverna Gustavino in Ginza. After all this, the fork won't stop today!

Vita Pasta Alice?
How can my tongue become Italian?

I am a huge pasta lover. Aside from ramen and soba, the thing he has eaten the most when eating out is definitely pasta (Italian). He has been to one restaurant at least 300 times since he was young (seriously) and has eaten all kinds of Italian food. This is how the basics of my childhood Italian tongue were created. Well, I'm not really that proud of myself.

If that is the base, then on the tongue there are memories of pastas eaten all over Italy. Of course, many are simple. For example, Sorrento's incredibly sweet summer tomato pomodoro, Rome's melty and rich carbonara, Florence's hearty beef ragu pappardelle, Sicily's brightly herbal curled marlin tuna macaroni, and Naples' eye-catchingly sharp macaroni. Such as Vongole Bianco (made with just salt and olive oil, it's delicious!).

Occasionally, I'd come across rigatoni made with various short pastas tossed in seafood sauce, or rigatoni covered in tomato sauce that looked like Mount Vesuvius, and when you poked a knife into it, you'd see chunks of meat inside. This is truly an incredible idea. They were extraordinarily delicious. So, for the time being, my tongue isn't as stupid as you might think from my appearance (I'd like to think so). Just in case (laughs).

A store comparable to authentic Italy
"Taverna Gustavino"

I talked too much.

Aside from these unexpected pastas, Japan's delicious pasta is on par with Italy's. One of them is Taverna Gustavino. Ryota Matsukawa is the owner and chef of this restaurant. It has been 11 years since he moved to Ginza after opening a store in Kyobashi.

During his training before Kyobashi, he toured Italy from north to south, starting with Piedmont, Emilia-Romagna, Tuscany, Puglia, and Sicily.

The fact that he has honed his skills in various regions means that he has become familiar with the cuisines of many regions in Italy. He is my blood and my flesh (half of that blood may be Franciacorta and Barolo, which he loves as a sommelier. LOL). The extensive menu, not just pasta, is reminiscent of regional cuisine from all over Italy.

This means that the base of Italian cuisine is solid, so feel free to use any ingredients. That's what I felt after eating Matsukawa's pasta.

As proof of this, Matsukawa's pasta is loaded with Japanese ingredients. It changes depending on the season, but what is most surprising is the fearless use of ingredients such as mirin-dried mackerel, pork belly, Japanese ginger, bitter melon, okra, and Chinese cabbage. As the chef says, ``I try to incorporate seasonal vegetables,'' in addition to Japanese vegetables, he also has a wide variety of seafood and meat on hand.

Pasta has a high degree of freedom in the first place. If you go as far as ``cod roe with natto'' (although that's delicious), it can only be called Japanese cuisine. However, as long as you stick to the Italian bone method, or the rhyme of Italian cuisine, the variations in pasta ingredients are endless.

Judging from the extensive menu, the chef is quite fond of pasta. Doesn't it make you want to dance a little?

From tomato to cream
5 bursts of pasta in a row!

For example, we are proud of our ``Hokkaido salted sea urchin and cherry tomatoes.'' First, thick pasta is best. The noodles are chewy and have a distinct wheat flavor (the pasta changes depending on whether it's daytime or nighttime; I prefer Faella noodles at night). The sauce is a mixture of slightly sweet sea urchin and just the right amount of sourness from the cherry tomatoes, enveloping the tororin and noodles. What's great about it is that it's spread with sea urchin rather than cream. It has a very sticky and rich feel. The salty taste is also determined. This is a masterpiece!

Next is "Arrabbiata". As you know, it's pasta with spicy tomato sauce. The tomatoes and olive oil work together (that's important), and the garlic gives it a kick. It's a reassuring taste. The ``Amatriciana'' made with guanciale (salted pork cheek) and Pecorino Romano in the same tomato sauce has the feel of something made in a seasoned home-made medicinal basket. That's nice. The chef's tomato dishes are outstanding.

Cream and cheese types are also good!

"Porcini and Pancetta" is a cream cheese-based pasta. From summer to early fall is the season for porcini mushrooms. The savory and salty taste of Spanish pancetta melts into the oil, which is further covered by the aroma of porcini. It's my favorite type of pasta. It's really delicious! If you replace the porcini with cheese and eggs, you get "carbonara." The strong garlic is a characteristic of southern Italy, and this was also good.

No matter how delicious the sauce is, when I am served a 30g serving of crappy pasta that I can finish in one bite, I think to myself, ``That's not enough at all.'' I end up. On that point, Mr. Matsukawa's pasta is well-sized and has a good salty taste. In other words, it reminds us of Italy's strong-minded dynamism. It's not like a talented person with thin lines and a big head. It's a brave pasta (even though the person making it is smart).

The first day we visited, there were two of us, and after ordering three types of pasta, we couldn't eat any more. Pasta lunch comes with salad and bread for 1500 yen. Since you can enjoy it in Ginza, it can't be said that it's a great value. I can see why there is no shortage of customers.

By the way, the desserts are also pretty good. The mildly sweet tiramisu has a sharp edge and is a bit more delicious than any other. The chocolate ``Bonnapied Montese'', which is somewhere between a mousse and a pudding, is smooth and very delicious. Even after eating three pasta dishes, I recommend that you don't miss out on dessert (lol).

This time I took a close-up of the pasta,Our restaurant is an authentic Italian restaurant, not a pasta specialty restaurant., there is no misunderstanding on that point. From appetizers to main dishes to desserts,It's a taverna that makes you wonder what they'll do next.

Taverna Gustavino

Annex 1 Fukujin Building B5F, 7-1-XNUMX Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo
03-6228-7608

営業時間：11：30～14：30、18：00～20：00（L.O）閉店21：00

Closed: Sundays and holidays

Various spaghetti (menu changes)
Pasta lunch 1500 yen
Hokkaido saltwater sea urchin and cherry tomato spaghetti is an extra 1000 yen.
Our signature tiramisu 1000 yen
Bonepie Montese 1200 yen
Lunchtime course 4300 yen (excluding tax)

(*Prices may change during the day and night, so please check)

What does "If you don't eat this, your life is ruined" mean?
Bassey, an editor with over 40 years of food-loving experience, is rumored to be a Reiwa-era Brillat-Savarin, or even the return of Furukawa Roppa, who rushes west and east to eat every time he hears there's something delicious to eat. A heart-wrenching gourmet essay.

Author profile

Bassey is a foodie who has been eating around for over 40 years. In addition to Japan, he regularly goes to Hong Kong to eat Chinese food at his own expense, and also travels to Taiwan, Singapore, Bangkok, and Seoul for delicious food. During his time as the editor-in-chief of a travel magazine, he visited many Michelin-rated restaurants around the world, especially in Europe, and later on in the World's Best 50 restaurants. We want everyone who loves food to try ``Crab Miso Bean Paste Noodles'' from ``Tenkorou'' (Hong Kong). Actually, I like the Chinese food at this restaurant the best in the world. Another example of the best Western food is "El Seger de Can Roca" from Girona, Spain, which was ranked number one on the World's Best 50 list. Ah, I want to go there again.