What better way to mark the World Health Organization’s annual no-smoking drive, which kicks off this week, than with a visit to a Japanese restaurant? After all, next to Italians, Japanese are among the most nic-addicted people we know. Which is not to say we’re condoning the use of tobacco but that we wanted to witness the scourge up close yet safe from that life-robbing smoke. This is what brought us to Gotto Retto, a fairly new eatery in that L-shaped compound of Japanese restaurants on Thong Lor 13. What distinguishes Gotto Retto from others of its ilk is a glass chamber in the middle of the room that resembles something you’d confine a war criminal in during his trial or, perhaps more obviously, the kind of phone booth-like smoking sections that are now ubiquitous in airports everywhere. Inside the cube are tables—tables where you can eat, drink and smoke to your heart’s—and your lungs’—content. (And these are of course the seats most in demand during the peak after-work hours, from 6 until 8 or 9pm.) We know it’s rude to stare, but we couldn’t help but wonder whether the salarymen and their pretty dates could really taste the food through the haze. Japanese food can be among the most subtle on earth, and it seems like it would be such a waste to alternate bites of toro or uni with drags on a Marlboro. But they appeared to enjoy their dinners, as did we outside the box. Raw fish features prominently on the menu, which includes two whiteboards covered with specials, and you can enjoy a meal at the sushi bar, but Gotto Retto is more accurately called an “izakaya”—a drinking restaurant serving an assortment of small items (salads, fried food, grilled food, etc.)—than a sushi shop. This explains why it is open until 1am, with the kitchen shutting down at midnight. The sushi wasn’t the best we’ve ever tasted, but some of it was terrific—and there are some real bargains. The sushi omakase moriawase (“assorted chef’s choice”), for example, was great value at B150 for six pieces, including unagi (eel) and taco (octopus). Other winners included a broiled maguro kama (tuna collar) that was a steal and buri (yellowtail) “sushi” that was wrapped with cucumber in seaweed (but didn’t contain rice). This was actually a good thing, because if we had one major complaint, it would be the sushi rice, which was on the mushy side. With the assistance of the extremely helpful waitresses, we learned that the specials menu contained a good number of “homestyle” items such as “korokke“ (croquettes), macaroni dishes and rice omelets. The items we enjoyed the most were slightly more creative: huge hotate (scallops) grilled with chunks of garlic and asparagus spears, a sweet and crunchy ebi (prawn) sashimi made with a large sea prawn that had been flash-boiled and their take on katsuo tataki, a yum-like dish consisting of bonito, green onions, ginger and ponzu sauce. Here’s to a satisfying meal “out of the box.”
