On
December 26th 2014 my mother, my brother and I went to an Italian
restaurant called “Dada” located in Fuji, Shizuoka. At first I was planning on
going to a different restaurant, however I have changed my mind prior to my
visit back home. “Dada” has been my all-time favorite Italian restaurant and
been there for more than I could count. “Dada” is one of the famously known Italian
restaurants in Shizuoka, especially in eastern part of the prefecture. I have
evaluated my visit to Dada into four different criteria with 5 to 6 questions
to each criteria. Each question is evaluated with a score out of five and which
sums up with a total score of 100. (Evaluation is on another paper)
The
physical appearance of the restaurant can be stated as very modern and casual.
I personally thought it was bit unique in a way since it was round shaped. The entrance
way that leads to the door is decorated with pots filled with colorful flowers.
These flowers were designed by the local professional florist. There was two
entrances to enter the parking lot of the restaurant. The one in front can be
entered from a big road that is from across the restaurant. However this road
gets crowded during the rush hours and also during lunch hours which may have
an effect on the customers who wish to enter the restaurant during the lunch
hours. The restaurant itself is located in very calm place and there are other
restaurants located nearby. One of the difficulties that some customers may
encounter is problem of transportation. Since Fuji is very small rural city
only way to get to the restaurant is either by car or taxi. The nearest train
stop is Yoshiwara station, however it will probably take more than an hour by
walk. Therefore taking a taxi to get to the restaurant is highly recommended if
you are not eligible to go there by car.
There
was a sign at the door that had today’s pasta and entrée written on it. There
were about 15 chairs on the doorway for the customers to wait when the seats
are full. The doorway was decorated with artworks done by local artists. As
same with the physical appearance, the restaurant was designed very casually
and modern. Since it was only a day after Christmas, the inside of the
restaurant was still decorated with Christmas decorations. There were two
Christmas trees and with Christmas wreaths. As how I mentioned earlier, the
building is circular shaped. The restaurant offered both smoking and smoke free
seats. However the whole restaurant is smoke free during the dinner hours. If
the customer wishes to smoke, there is a small room in the middle of the
restaurant where the customer can smoke. It offered both sofa and chair seats,
also there is a bar counter for customers who came by their selves. We were
offered a table that had both sofa and chair seats that holds four people. The
servant instantly brought us water and the menu as we were seated and she
nicely described the today’s pasta and entrée. Only condiment that was at the
table was salt shaker. My mother wondered why there were rice bits inside the
salt shaker. Also there was enough silver ware and napkins for four people. It
also had a paper and pen for customer who wish to write any recommendations or
a message to the restaurant. Almost all of the servants were female and they
look all young. They were all nicely uniformed however I thought they looked
bit unfriendly due to lack of smiling.
The
restaurant offered three different types of lunch menu which are only served on
the weekdays. There was also a normal menu that is mainly for lunch on weekends
and during the dinner hours however it could be ordered on the days where the
lunch menus are served as well. All three of us chose a set much called “dada
lunch set” which comes with a choice of either salad or soup; choice of either
pasta, pizza, main dish, rice dish or pizza; 1 drink and a lunch size dessert.
There was total of 64 pastas, 10 main dishes, 8 rice dishes, and 6 pizzas to
choose from. The cost varies between the choice of an entrée ranging from ¥1,100
to ¥2,980. I ordered Carbonara with Seasoned cod roe/ Mentaiko and hot tea, my
mom ordered Leek with Seasoned cod roe/ Mentaiko and ice milk tea and my
brother ordered Potato and Bacon topped with cheese and ice oolong tea. The
restaurant offered a large size pasta with addition of 200 yen and the size of
the desert can be changed to a bigger size with an addition of 150 yen. My
mother and I ordered a regular size pasta but my brother ordered a larger size.
We were asked whether we wanted our drinks instantly or with the dessert. My
brother asked to bring his drink instantly while my mother and I asked to bring
it with the dessert. The order was taken at 11:07. Salad and my brother’s oolong tea were served at 11:10. I noticed that servant was
frequently looking at our table to see whether we were finished eating our
salad. The servant noticed that we were done with our salad and came to our
table to take away the salad bowl. My brother’s pasta was served at 11:18 when other two pasta were served
at 11:20. Therefore all of the pasta
were served within 15 minutes. I was bit disappointed with the fact that the
servants did not noticed that I was out of water and I had to ask for another
cup of water. I think it is important for the servants to notice what the
customer wants before they ask. My mom and my brother finished eating their
meal at 11:35 and the servant came
to our table around 11:37 to clear
the dishes. I finished eating my meal at 11:41
and the servant came instantly to clear the dishes and informing us that
she will bring the drinks and desert. The drinks were brought at 11:43 and the dessert was brought at 11:46. The desert came on a plate with
three different types of deserts. The servant nicely informed us what each
desert was. The hot tea came on a tea pot
with a warm tea cup and 2 sticks of sugar.
with a warm tea cup and 2 sticks of sugar.
Salad
(Red
cabbage, radish, potherb mustard/みずな,
sprout, turnip seasoned with homemade tomato vinegar dressing and topped with
fried bacon) I thought there was bit too much dressing.
Potato and Bacon topped with cheese (Large
size)
Cream sauce with corn, deep fried potato and bacon seasoned with
parsley and cheese.
¥1,430+200
Carbonara with Seasoned cod roe/ Mentaiko
Carbonara based pasta with bacon and mentaiko seasoned with green
onions. I thought it could be better if they added more mentaiko because it was
not spicy at all.
¥1,750
Leek with Seasoned cod roe/ Mentaiko
Oil based pepperoncino with leek, mentaiko. It was topped with
fried garlic
¥1600
Dessert:
(From left to right)
Santa Clause candy, white chocolate cheese cake topped with
whipped cream, green apple jello with kiwi fruit and cookie espresso ice cream.
As a perspective of non-coffee drinker, I thought the espresso was
too thick.
The regular menu offers dishes from wide range of varieties and it
also offers seasonal menus. 15 salad/appetizers, 7 rice dishes, 68 pasta, 7
pizzas (small or regular size), 9 main dishes, 5 kids menu, 10 deserts, 3
courses, 42 non-alcohol drinks, 25 alcohol drinks and 20 wines. Most of the
meat that they use for the main dishes are the local meat brands. The
restaurant also offers seasonal menus, which are 1 main dish, 1 pasta and 8
deserts.
The restroom
was divided into men and women. In case of women there were three stools (2
Western style and 1 Japanese style). The restroom was very clean and there was
enough toilet paper in each stools. At the cashier, they were selling their
homemade pasta and homemade flower arrangements.
I been to Dada more than I could count and I always go there when
I take a trip back to Shizuoka. Their fascinating delicious amazing foods makes
me fulfilled with happiness and joy every time. It also makes me fulfilled with
a sacrifice that I ate too much. I highly recommend all of the Italian food
lovers to take a trip to Shizuoka and have an Italian meal as one of your
memories in your trip to Shizuoka. If you are planning on going there for
lunch, I highly recommend to go to the restaurant at 11 when it opens. That is
because it gets pretty crowded as it gets close to 12 and you might have to
wait to be seated. As for meal, I highly recommend Potato bacon pasta and ice
milk tea that is because this restaurant is known for these two. I hope you
will have a chance to visit dada and have a fabulous time there :D
Restaurant Information:
静岡県富士市高嶺町 11-6
Tel: 0545-57-2275
11:00-24:00 (L.O 23:00)
