Grand Central Oyster Bar

グランド・セントラル・オイスター・バー&レストラン - Gurando sentoraru oisutā bā & resutoran


Useful Information

Location: Tokyo, atre Shinagawa, JR Shinagawa Station.
(35.628839, 139.740506)
Open: All year daily 11-24.
[2021]
Fee: Visit is free, food not.
[2021]
Classification: SubterraneaCellar Restaurant
Light: LightIncandescent Electric Light System
Dimension:  
Guided tours: n/a
Photography: allowed
Accessibility: yes
Bibliography:  
Address: Grand Central Oyster Bar, atre Shinagawa, Fourth Floor 2-18-1 Konan, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Tel: +81-3-6717-0932
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then.
Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History


Description

The Grand Central Oyster Bar in Tokyo is definitely not at Grand Central Station, despite the name. But it is at least at its Japanese pendant JR Shinagawa Station. It was built to be as similar as possible, with dome-shaped ceilings covered by weathered tiles. And while it is a subterranean restaurant of the Ratskeller type, with tiled vaults and lacking windows, it was actually built on the 4th floor. Some stuff only makes sense in Japan.

The restaurant is rather new and a great success, so it is booked out for months [2005]. That's not what is expected from a train station restaurant, which generally serves commuters and travellers. The Japanese are very interested in western culture, and it seems they have fun at this restaurant.

If you are a traveller, and not from Japan, you should probably visit the original in New York instead. The waiters have their special New York charme, to not look after their guests, serve dirty knives, and to be generally rude or at least absent. Japanese waiters on the other hand are very polite and helpful, which spoils the whole atmosphere. At least if you enjoy this kind of atmosphere.

However, the restaurant is not only an official branch of the original restaurant, it also has almost the same menu. Seafood is nothing special in Japan, but this menu definitely is.