Conrad Hotel, Tokyo, Japan

Enjoyed at Carise, a restaurant in the lobby of the Conrad Hotel in Shiodome, Tokyo.

I’ve stayed across from the Conrad Hilton the last 8 out of 10 trips to Tokyo. I’ve watched their guests swim in their lap pool from across the chasm separating my room from their property, and I’ve always wondered if I should splurge the extra cash to stay there… but I’ve never done so.

In Tokyo, I just spend too much time outside of the hotel to justify the increased price of any property – there’s just too much else to experience in this incredible, vast city. In fact, for those that do not know, it is the largest city on Earth.

Our first full day in Tokyo with the kids, Rachel graciously offered to get them to nap while I ventured out for a club sandwich. We were all jetlagged, but I’m simply a terrible napper, so I rather find solace in exploration than comfort in catching Zzzs.

I assumed Conrad would have one, and sure enough, perched on the 28th floor within their sky lobby nestled Cerise, a “western” restaurant seemingly catering to Japanese who wanted to escape Asian fare. Empty besides the couple spooning spaghetti into their mouths in the corner of the room, I was seated and attended to with care by the server.

Classic indeed, the menu matched what was plated before me, and I enjoyed the presence of the Conrad Tokyo’s “classic” club sandwich. But a first for me, and something I was so intrigued by: an elegant, branded piece of wrapping paper to hold the club sandwich with!

A unique invention I had not found anywhere else, I found the holding paper to be hilariously unnecessary and overtly Japanese… at first. And then I marveled at the ability this addition had to greatly increase holdability.

But back to the club sandwich itself… really enjoyed the smoky barbequed chicken – while it wasn’t the typical thigh cut I’ve grown to love in Japan, it was tender and moist with great impactful flavor. The bacon was a bit too chewy, but you could tell it was a quality ingredient.. just too much of it. Fried egg added some flare, as did the mustard flavor that lightly permeated through each bite down.

Decent, not fantastic, club sandwich from Conrad Tokyo. With some minor adjustments, it could be greatly enhanced.

And thus, that was my first, and probably last, visit to Conrad Tokyo. At $50 for the club sandwich and bottle of water, I was in no rush to ever come back.

Sandwich Holder!

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