First impressions are everything — and at Convivio they are distinctly underwhelming. The elevator entrance, just off a busy main street in brash Shinjuku, is right by the service counter of a KFC outlet, the stern glare of the Colonel seeming to reproach you for aspiring to loftier sustenance than legs and wings.
Second impressions too. Once you've disembarked, straight into Convivio's fourth-floor dining room, the ambiance seems flat and low-key. Could this really be the new Italian place with the hot young chef that's generating such a groundswell of interest?
But it's the impressions on the plate that really count. From the very first mouthful of chef Daisuke Tsuji's cuisine, all doubt dissipates and you know you are in exactly the right place — and in for a grand meal.