I was walking around the north side of Shimokita station and I was in the mood for pasta. I happened across this sign, so I decided to give 'Kitchen Ripple' a try.There was no way of knowing what 'Kitchen Ripple' looked like, it was up a narrow staircase, on the 2nd floor (over a hair salon). I was pleasantly surprised.
Kitchen Ripple is pretty small, there is a long wooden bar counter with 5 stools, and one long table with bench seats (for 6). The atmosphere is 'Australian Outback', with aboriginal-style designs on the walls. 80's English pop music plays in the background (Cyndi Lauper, Tears for Fears,..). One nice, kinda shy guy runs the place.
As you can tell, the menu is pretty extensive. I asked him for a pasta recommendation, it was spaghetti with pork, mushrooms, and onions - flavored with miso and soy sauce. It sounded interesting, so I tried it. Lunch comes with a mini salad and bread. As I watched the owner prepare my pasta, I enjoyed a really nice salad - tomato, cucumber, garbanzo beans, kidney beans, and a selection of lettuce in an oil-based onion dressing. It also came with a lightly toasted croissant, mmm. The pasta was really good and it was so nice to hear all my favorites from the 80's. I'll definitely be eating here again.The menu is entirely in Japanese, but is almost completely katakana. There is a large selection of pastas, the standards (meat sauce, carbonara, ariabiata) and more original creations like the one I tried. He also serves pizza, hamburgers, steak, grilled chicken, rice omelets, salad, and more. Everything is priced right around 1000 yen.
In the evening; add a mini salad, soup, bread, and mini dessert for only 350 yen.
Address: Kitazawa 2-33-6. A couple of minutes from the North exit of Shimokita station. I believe it was down the street (toward the tracks) from 'Lush'.
Phone: 03-3466-9996
Hours of Operation:
Monday - Sunday 12:15 - 15:30
Thursday - Sunday 17:30 - 23:00
