Tokyo is a tough place to open any business, especially your first restaurant. Along with kitchen skills and front-of-house nous, you need the right location, good connections and a strong underlying raison d'etre. A catchy name and some funky background music can't hurt either, as the folks at Umbilical have clearly realized.
This friendly, mellow modern bistro in Sangenjaya, now just over a year old, has managed to carve out a distinctive niche for itself. It certainly stands out among the more raucous izakaya taverns and ramshackle drinking holes that still line the backstreets of this traditional nightlife area.
That's not because of the eye-catching turquoise paint job across the front. In fact, once you cross the threshold you'll find it has a calm, wood-clad demeanor that almost feels too classy for this no-frills neck of the woods. The same could be said for the cooking of Umbilical's cheerful young chef, Takahiro Ono.