The distinctive orange-clad Shiseido Building in Ginza is more than just a showroom for the company's cosmetics: Its swish 10th-floor restaurant, Faro, serves some of the best Italian food in the area. It's also one of the most popular, meaning tables are booked up well in advance.
Far fewer people are aware that there is a sister restaurant one floor above. Faro Slow Time is not only more casual and affordable, but it is also usually much easier to walk in and get a table on the spur of the moment.
Like Faro, it boasts high ceilings and massive windows looking out over the Ginza rooftops. But instead of tablecloths and gleaming stemware, Slow Time dials back the formality, with plain wooden tabletops and simpler furnishings.
The cooking is light and colorful, with a strong focus on vegetables as well as pasta. Head chef Kenta Shishikura began his career at L'Osier (Shiseido's flagship Michelin-three-star French restaurant) under the renowned Jacques Borie, and the influences shine through in main dishes such as bavette steak or souffle of sea urchin and scallop.
11F Shiseido Bldg., 8-8-3 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo; 03-3572-3922; faro.shiseido.co.jp; open 11:30 a.m.-9 p.m. (LO); holidays till 4:30 p.m.; closed Sun. Nearest station Shinbashi; no smoking; lunch menu from ¥1,540, dinner from ¥3,600; major cards OK; English menu; English spoken.
