This spring brought more than cherry blossoms to Nihonbashi. It also saw the wraps removed from the two new Coredo Muromachi Buildings. Both have multiple floors of restaurants, bars and food stores. The pick of the lot is without a doubt La Bonne Table.

If the name evokes images of laid-back French farmhouse cuisine and cheerful check tablecloths, you're well off the mark. La Bonne Table is crisp and polished, straddling the cusp between informal and upscale. But that is hardly surprising, given its lineage.

This is the first offspring of L'Effervescence in Nishi-Azabu, one of the hottest high-end restaurants in the city. Chef Shinobu Namae's precise, innovative modern-French cuisine draws gourmets from around the world. So there was considerable anticipation to see what form his second, more "casual" outpost might take.