Whenever I'm deciding what to eat for lunch at Aeon Lake Town kaze, the same thought always crosses my mind: "If I'm going to eat out anyway, I'd like something with a decent amount of protein."
When you pay attention to the balance of your meals, eating out is exactly when the choice gets tricky. Pasta and curry are easy and tasty, but they lean heavily on carbs. A salad alone, on the other hand, won't carry you through the afternoon. So this time I went with the "Recommended Plate: Grilled Chicken with Mustard Sauce" at Pantrie, the bakery restaurant inside Lake Town kaze.
In this article, I'll share what I thought of it, along with a few things worth knowing before you order.
What kind of restaurant is Pantrie Lake Town kaze?
Pantrie is a bakery restaurant operated by San Marc Holdings. If I mention that "Baqet" is a sister brand within the same group, some of you may immediately think, "Ah, the place that brings you bread."
The Lake Town kaze location opened on March 17, 2023. The address is 4-2-2 Lake Town, Koshigaya City, Saitama Prefecture, inside Lake Town KAZE. It's right by Koshigaya Lake Town Station on the JR Musashino Line, so getting there by train is straightforward. With 94 seats, the space feels roomy; it's entirely non-smoking and wheelchair accessible. There's a kids' menu too, so it's an easy place to visit with family.
And Pantrie's signature offering is its all-you-can-eat freshly baked bread. The restaurant has a dedicated bread oven on site, baking more than 10 kinds of house-made bread every day and serving them fresh out of the oven. For bread lovers, that's hard to resist.
Hours are 11:00 to 22:00 (last order at 21:00), and closing days follow the shopping center's schedule. The phone number is 048-961-1309.
Why I picked the grilled chicken with protein in mind
Now, on to choosing the dish.
When I'm watching my protein intake while eating out, the clearest yardstick I use is whether meat or fish sits at the center of the plate as the main event. Pasta and doria contain meat too, but only in a supporting role. A plate with a whole piece of grilled chicken laid across it, on the other hand, makes the main component obvious.
The "Recommended Plate: Grilled Chicken with Mustard Sauce" I ordered was exactly that kind of dish. It's priced at 1,639 yen including tax (1,490 yen before tax). That's not cheap for lunch, but for a proper sit-down meal at Lake Town, it feels reasonable enough.
Since no nutritional breakdown is published, I can't give you any specific numbers. Still, with chicken as the centerpiece, my impression was that it should deliver a solid amount of protein. At the very least, it's the kind of choice that avoids the "I filled up on carbs alone" regret.
My honest take: the mustard sauce does a lot of the work
The first thing I thought when the plate arrived was, "This is a more properly grilled piece of chicken than I expected." The surface had a nice browned finish, and a savory aroma drifted up from it.
The knife went through more easily than I anticipated. Chicken can dry out depending on how it's cooked, but this one kept its juiciness. It had a satisfying bite to it, the kind that reminds you that you're eating real meat.
And the element that stood out just as much as the chicken was the mustard sauce. Mustard might make you brace for a sharp, sinus-clearing heat, but this one was mellow, with a nicely balanced blend of acidity and salt. The texture of the whole mustard seeds adds an accent, bringing variation to what could otherwise be a fairly one-note flavor.
Grilled chicken is a simple dish, which means the sauce largely defines the impression it leaves. On that front, this mustard sauce did an excellent job. The fact that I finished the whole thing without getting bored was, without question, thanks to the sauce.
Vegetables came alongside as well, which was welcome both visually and in terms of balance. Overall, it left me with a satisfying sense of having genuinely eaten some meat.
Heads-up: this is a weekday-only lunch item
This may be the single most useful point in this article.
The "Recommended Plate: Grilled Chicken with Mustard Sauce" is offered as a weekday-only lunch menu item. In other words, if you visit on a weekend or a public holiday, you may not be able to order it.
Lots of people head to Lake Town on their days off, so it would be a shame to show up on a Saturday thinking "I'll have that plate I read about" only to find it's not on the menu. If this plate is your goal, plan your visit for a weekday lunchtime.
One more thing: dine-in service starts at 11:00. Before that, the shop appears to operate as a bakery counter only, so if lunch is your goal, aim for 11:00 or later.
Add-ons let you tailor the meal
Pantrie offers several add-ons you can pair with a plate.
- Drink bar: 363 yen incl. tax
- Side of rice: 308 yen incl. tax
- Side salad: 352 yen incl. tax
- Side soup: 319 yen incl. tax
The drink bar comes in handy when you want to linger after eating, or take a breather in the middle of a shopping trip. Adding rice bumps up the volume, while a salad or soup rounds the meal out with vegetables and something warm.
It's nice being able to adjust based on how hungry you are that day. On days when I want to prioritize protein like this one, I can skip the rice and add a salad instead.
Who this plate is for
Having tried it, I think this plate suits the following people:
- Anyone who wants a protein-conscious meal even when eating out
- Anyone looking to break out of a lunch routine dominated by noodles and rice dishes
- Anyone who wants a proper meal in the middle of a Lake Town shopping trip
- Anyone who wants an easy-to-find spot right by the station
- Anyone who loves freshly baked bread (it's the restaurant's signature offering)
Conversely, on a day when you just want something cheap and quick, the price point may feel like a bit of a splurge. That part comes down to your mood and budget.
Wrapping up
The "Recommended Plate: Grilled Chicken with Mustard Sauce" at Pantrie Lake Town kaze turned out to be an easy pick for anyone who wants to keep protein in mind at lunch.
Juicy grilled chicken paired with a mellow, whole-grain mustard sauce. Precisely because the dish is simple, how well the ingredient and the sauce work together translates directly into how satisfying it is. As long as you keep the weekday-only condition in mind, it's well worth filing away as a lunch option at Lake Town.
Do note that prices and menu contents are subject to change. Before heading out, it's worth checking the official website for the latest information.
Next time you're stuck deciding on lunch at Lake Town, consider adding this one to your list of options.
