You might laugh when you read the caption on the above photo, but actually, Casita loves its customers so much that they have been known to stay open long after their 1am closing time just because a guest has quietly fallen asleep at the table and they don't want to disturb him. And after experiencing the restaurant's winter outdoor kotatsu dining – which features electric blankets on your seats and another comfy blanket draped over the table with a small heater underneath – we can understand how easy it would be to nod off here. It's. Just. So. Warm.
One of the best things about Aoyama's Casita is its outdoor terrace, but when the weather gets chilly it's not always inviting to dine outside. But it would be a shame to waste this pretty space for an entire season, so Casita has come up with the ingenious idea of incorporating the old-school kotatsu concept into its dinner course. This gives customers the chance to experience this traditional Japanese way of keeping warm while enjoying a ¥7,000 course that includes an all-you-can-eat buffet and a main steak dish (for an extra ¥1,500 you can swap the steak for the seafood hot pot dish we ordered, and for an extra ¥3,000 you can enjoy free-flowing wine).
Be sure to reserve a seat ahead of time; if you do, you'll be treated to Casita's very special version of omotenashi – we won't spoil the surprise by telling you what exactly this entails, but there is one clue if you scroll down to the last pic below.
More information about Casita here.
Seafood hot pot
'Yeah, maybe they won't notice if we just quietly slip further and further under the blanket'
