銀座スイス 本店(中央区) Ginza Swiss Honten (Chuo-ku) Ginza 1-chome / Western-style food, curry, omu-rice This restaurant was opened by a leading figure in Western-style food who served as the executive chef at the Prime Minister’s official residence and the National Diet Press Club. lunch:¥1,000~¥1,999 dinner:¥2,000~¥2,999 Official website |
While it’s nice to try new restaurants that have just opened, I tend to gravitate towards long-established restaurants, or so-called “old shops”.
I think that it’s really hard to keep a business going for a long time, and that there must be a good reason for them to be able to continue.
For that reason, this time I would like to introduce you to the long-established Western-style restaurant “Ginza Swiss” in Ginza.
Please check the official website and Google Maps below for opening hours, holidays, reviews, etc.
A long-established Western-style restaurant that rivals “Rengatei
Ginza is a gourmet town with many long-established restaurants that have created famous Japanese dishes.
There are also many long-established Western-style restaurants, including “Rengatei”, which are visited by many customers
This is the restaurant where katsu curry was born
Ginza Swiss was a favorite restaurant of Shigeru Chiba, a star player for the Yomiuri Giants (I was not even born when Chiba was playing, as you might expect💦), and is known as the restaurant where katsu curry was born.
Looking at the menu, I was also tempted by the omu-rice and hashed beef rice, but since I was there, I ordered the pork cutlet curry (1,870 yen) (price as of July 2022).
The curry had a rich, stewed flavor that I can’t really describe, but it had a deep, rich taste.
Also, the pork cutlet was soft and crispy, and it was delicious.
It was a very hot day at the end of July when I visited, but the refreshing curry at Ginza Swiss made me feel refreshed even in the heat.
Although there is no need to be particularly formal at this restaurant, the cutlet curry at “Ginza Swiss” itself has the atmosphere of a curry that you would expect to be served at a top-class hotel.
The word “high-class”, which is becoming a dead word these days, is a perfect description of this restaurant.
About “Ginza Swiss
Ginza Swiss” was founded in 1947 (Showa 22) by Shinnosuke Okada, who had worked as the executive chef at the Kojimachi restaurant “Hotei” (which was destroyed in an air raid) and at the Prime Minister’s official residence and the National Diet Press Club, and who laid the foundations for Western-style cuisine in Japan.
The shop’s specialty, the cutlet curry, was born from the words of the aforementioned Shigeru Chiba.
Before the traditional Giants vs. Hanshin game, Mr. Chiba visited the shop and said, “I’m hungry and want to eat a lot, and I want to eat quickly, all at once,” and his words were, “Please put a cutlet on top of the curry rice!”
At the time, the idea of putting something on top of curry rice was unheard of, and the idea of putting a cutlet on top of it was even more far-fetched, but when Mr. Chiba was seen eating it with such relish, and the dish looked so full and beautiful, it was quickly added to the menu and became a popular item, spreading across the country in no time at all.
With the words of Mr. Chiba, “History is something that is created, and tradition is something that is protected,” as their guiding principle, “Ginza Swiss” has faithfully continued to protect the traditions and historic tastes of Japanese Western-style food, even as the times have changed.
Access, reviews
You can check the access, opening hours, regular holidays, reviews, etc. for “Ginza Swiss” on the Google Map (click to enlarge) below.