My favorite store.
Vol.1 Shinichiro Nakahara "Igora"
My favorite store.
Everyone has their favorite places. Restaurants, cafeterias, coffee shops, cafes, bars... Because they know the people there, because the food is delicious, because it's comfortable... The genres and reasons are different for each person. If there's one thing we can say, it's that if you have such a place, your life will be rich. So, we want that person to tell us about their favorite place. In the first installment, Nakahara Shinichiro of Conran Shop Japan went to his favorite Italian restaurant.
A store run by someone who is "good at running a store."
I think I started going to "Igora" after the COVID-19 pandemic. Before that, I was going back and forth to the US, so I rarely had a chance to go out to eat in Tokyo. But when COVID-19 hit and I couldn't go abroad, I started looking into restaurants in Tokyo. During that time, I got to know Sakai-kun, the owner of "Igora," and we became good friends, so I started going there frequently.
I'm the type of person who would rather enjoy a meal with someone than eat alone. If I'm alone, I'll just do it at home. Since COVID-19, I've been getting more invitations to meals than ever before, and I've started meeting people I wouldn't have gone out with in the past, and people I'd never met before, and I've come to think that's a good thing. As long as I have an open schedule, I don't turn down invitations anymore, and I think I've grown up.
I was once mainly working at The Conran Shop, and as I started to eat out with many different people, I thought it was better to go to a place where I knew people rather than a place I didn't know. Igora was the first place that came to mind. I've always loved Italian food, but I ended up loving the food Sakai-kun makes. It's casual, but can also be used for a slightly formal occasion, and everything is done properly. I really like that feeling. Igora has a casual feel, like going to a male friend's house, but it also has the feel of a proper restaurant. The main seating is at the counter, but you can enjoy it with a large group, and they make three or four different types of pasta, so it's irresistible for pasta lovers. It's a place that makes you feel that Italian food is the best. However, the place is far from my house, so I feel like I have to go out of my way to go there. If it was closer, I would go there more often. I would probably ask, "Excuse me, can I just eat the pasta?" or "Can I just drink the wine?" I think that's probably how the people in my neighborhood use it.
Sakai-kun is a mysterious person who is liked by everyone, regardless of gender, and is an excellent chef, but above all, he is very good at service. He has a good sense of distance with customers, and treats everyone equally, so I think he never makes anyone feel uncomfortable. For example, even in a scene where a few close friends go and talk nonstop, Sakai-kun easily joins the conversation. I think everyone goes there with the feeling that they want to go and see Sakai-kun and have dinner. It's really comfortable.
The restaurants I like are the ones that are "good at running a restaurant." I tend to look at restaurants and food establishments as a whole, and I think about things like, "This person is making this kind of food, in this kind of location, with this kind of interior, and with this kind of management style," and I understand the good points of the restaurant and have the sense to "keep it within myself." People who are good at running a restaurant are owners and people who have an open mind in many ways, a sense of acceptance, and the ability to entrust others when necessary. They decide somewhere the scope of what they can do, and then trust and leave it to others. I think that kind of person will end up running a good restaurant. The same thing goes for houses.
Being good at running a restaurant is very important to me, so in that sense, Sakai-kun's place is exactly like that. It's the same for Taguchi-kun of "Yuke" and Macchan of "Paddler's Coffee". Rather than the delicious food or the interior being well-arranged, I like restaurants run by people who are genuinely good at running a restaurant and people like that.
Island
Address: 1F Halciel Jiyugaoka, 6-22-10 Okusawa, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo
TEL: 03-5760-6176
Business hours: 18:00-23:00
Closed: Wednesday
Instagram: @igoraokusawa
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Shinichiro Nakahara (CEO, The Conran Shop Japan Co., Ltd.)
Born in Kagoshima Prefecture in 1971. Established Landscape Products in 1999. Works on interior shop "Playmountain" and cafe "Tas Yard". Since 2022, he has been the CEO of "The Conran Shop".
