Materia

Rating: OK
Meal:  Lunch for 3
Price:  4590 yen
Payment: Credit cards accepted
Dishes:  Salmon and mushroom, pork and kabocha, quiche
English Menu: No
Smoking: No

On a three day weekend, we tend to have to figure out something to do on the third day lest we all go crazy.  We decided to drive out to the tip of Uraga where there is a small museum/aquarium with a restaurant nearby.  After this we hiked up in the hills and parks around Kannonzaki.  But this is about the restaurant, Materia.  It's a french restaurant specializing in bouillabaisse dishes and raw egg yoke desserts.  Each of the main dishes comes with a tea kettle filled with some bouillabaisse which is then poured over the dish.

My son was unable to find anything he liked, so we ordered him the cheese quiche just in case his opinion might change.  It did not, so we got to eat his meal too.  Oh well...he had two pieces of pizza for breakfast, so he would live.

My wife ordered the salmon with mushrooms, while I got a pork dish that came with some kabocha.  The staff dutifully poured the bouillabaisse over and we set to work.  First of all, I want to be clear that I am not some french food snob...I know next to nothing about it.  But when I put something in my mouth, I know whether I like it or not.  And this bouillabaisse sauce was stunningly unimpressive.  I kept commenting that it was close to a thick cream of tomato soup from a can (not a compliment).  It was so bland as to be offensive.  This was in quite a bit of contrast to the food itself, which was very delicious.  Even the little plate of vegetables we got beforehand was impressively tasty.  I kind of wish we had tried some of the weird raw egg desserts they had, but we were about to head into the hills to hike, so decided against that.

Overall, an odd combination of bland and uninteresting signature bouillabaisse and some tasty food.  Added to this the rather spendy prices and we can't give it more than an Ok.  The view was great though!