Tokyo's love affair with Italian food and drink shows no sign of abating. In the bad old days — and they weren't that long ago — finding a ristorante that was even half good might entail a trip across town and considerable expense. Now we're spoiled rotten for choice.
Any neighborhood worth its salt has its own trattoria, osteria, enoteca or vineria, or at the very least a specialist Neapolitan pizzeria. And they're serving much more than generic, tourist-level pasta. Pick a region of Italy: The chances are you will find its cucina somewhere in the city. Sicily is well represented. So too is Sardinia, thanks to Tharros, a cheerful, bistro-style eatery in the heart of Shibuya.
Tucked away on the ground floor of a new building behind Tokyu Plaza, Tharros opened in late 2007. Perhaps to avoid scaring people off, it merely terms itself a "taberna & bar Italiano." And indeed, you could easily just drop in for a simple pasta dinner, perhaps with a glass of generic red vino, without being aware that it has any regional affiliation. But you would be missing out, because Sardinian food is outstanding and — like its history and culture — quite distinct from that of mainland Italy.