Lentement, Nagoya: A ¥1,790 Bistro Lunch One Stop from Nagoya Station

By Sachi, in NagoyaWritten from what we bought, booked and ate ourselves

Menu and prices photographed on Saturday 12 September 2026.

Time: about an hour
Cost: ¥1,790 per lunch set, tax included. Seasonal soup +¥400, dessert with coffee or tea +¥500
Where: Nakamura, Nagoya. About 10 minutes on foot from Taikō-dōri Station, one stop from Nagoya Station
Watch out for: 11 seats and closed on Mondays. Book online

Lentement is a small bistro in Nakamura, the quiet residential side of Nagoya west of the station. My husband Ichi and I went for lunch on a Saturday in September. There are two lunch sets, one fish and one meat, and both cost ¥1,790 including tax. Each comes with a plate of appetisers, bread baked in the shop and a main. We ordered one of each and added the seasonal soup.

Lentement lunch menu board in Japanese, both sets 1,790 yen tax included — The lunch board on the day we went. Both sets are ¥1,790, tax included.

What ¥1,790 gets you

This is the board above, translated. It says 本日の, “today’s”, so the fish and the sauces change from day to day.

Fish lunch, ¥1,790: appetiser plate, house-baked bread, and today’s fish pan-fried (poêlé) with a cream sauce of taro and potato, scented with prawn
Meat lunch, ¥1,790: appetiser plate, house-baked bread, and pork fillet with jamón serrano, saltimbocca style, with a sauce of ooba (Japanese shiso) and parsley
Dessert set: house dessert with coffee or tea, +¥500
Swap the meat main for Japanese beef hanger steak (sagari): +¥850
Seasonal soup: +¥400
Coffee or tea on its own: +¥200, hot or iced

What came to the table

Appetiser plate on a dark blue plate: sliced fish with orange sauce, carrot salad, squid, sliced cold meat and leaves — The appetiser plate that came with the fish lunch.

Appetiser plate with pâté, mortadella, red cabbage and cheese — The second appetiser plate: pâté, mortadella, red cabbage and cheese.

The two appetiser plates were different, so if you go as a pair, order one of each set and share.

A bowl of creamy white soup with drops of olive oil — The seasonal soup, +¥400.

Pork fillet topped with ham, rocket, a cherry tomato and a green herb sauce — The meat main: pork fillet with jamón serrano and the green ooba and parsley sauce.

Ordering without Japanese

The board is in Japanese only. Pointing at it works, or show one of these:

魚のランチをお願いします (sakana no ranchi o onegaishimasu): the fish lunch, please
肉のランチをお願いします (niku no ranchi o onegaishimasu): the meat lunch, please
スープもお願いします (sūpu mo onegaishimasu): the soup too, please
デザートセットもお願いします (dezāto setto mo onegaishimasu): the dessert set too, please

Getting there and booking

Address: 4-14 Nishi-Komeno-chō, Nakamura-ku, Nagoya (Maison Amie 1F)
Station: Taikō-dōri Station on the Sakura-dōri subway line, exit 4, about 10 minutes on foot. Taikō-dōri is the next stop from Nagoya Station
Lunch: Tuesday to Sunday, 11:30–15:30 (last food order 15:00)
Closed: Mondays, plus some irregular days
Seats: 11. Online booking is available

Hours, seats and the address are from the restaurant’s own site. The prices are from the board we photographed.

Notes from a local

Lunch sets like this are common at small restaurants in Japan: two or three fixed choices, bread or rice included, and a few add-ons. The add-ons are where the bill grows, so decide on soup and dessert before you sit down.

If you are in Nagoya for a morning, our Nagoya morning service guide covers breakfast, and yōshoku at Shiseido Parlour is another sit-down lunch near the centre.