Dinner – Wednesday, February 19, 2020 As of this writing, Takiya is Tabelog’s #1 ranked tempura restaurant in Tokyo (and second overall to Niitome in Nagoya). My last meal there was less than three months ago, but I didn’t have time to post about it – consider this my attempt at rectifying the situation. The […]

Read more "Takiya"

Lunch – Saturday, February 2, 2019 A solo lunch afforded me the opportunity to visit one of Tokyo’s leading modern Italian restaurants, perched atop the Bulgari building in Ginza. I had pre-ordered the Menu Luca Fantin – their lengthiest tasting menu. Champagne (or rather, Italian bubbly) in hand and with a pleasant view of Ginza, […]

Read more "Il Ristorante Luca Fantin"

Dinner – Friday, November 23, 2018 Thomas Frebel was a core member of noma for many years, serving as its head of R&D, and now he has made a home in Tokyo. With him, he has brought a group of ex-noma team members and other “nomads”. I skipped noma’s 2015 residency at the Mandarin Oriental […]

Read more "Inua"

Dinner – Saturday, November 25, 2017 Ishikawa has been on my list for many years, but always managed to slip off – finally, we made it. Secluded behind a temple, the restaurant is a world apart from the busy street just a few hundred feet away. With a boisterous birthday party occupying the kitchen counter, we […]

Read more "Kagurazaka Ishikawa"

Dinner – Monday, November 20, 2017 We never made it to the original location of Hiroyasu Kawate’s Florilège – although it’d been on my to-go list forever, I kept pushing off a visit. The opening of their second iteration in Aoyama in 2015 seemed like the perfect push, yet it still took another two years. It’s […]

Read more "Florilège"

Dinner – Friday, November 25, 2016 Shinobu Namae is quite a prolific Instagrammer – in fact, I’m nearly certain his posts are how I first found out about his restaurant, L’Effervescence. He’s also one of those darlings in the international chef community, a frequent jet-setter and seeker of unusual experiences. By contrast, his restaurant couldn’t be more […]

Read more "L’Effervescence"

Dinner – Sunday, November 20, 2016 Seizan has been gathering accolades, with 2 Michelin stars and a spot on OAD’s top 50 Japanese restaurants. I must admit to being rather ignorant about the restaurant, but the fact that it’s open on Sundays brought it to my attention while I was looking for dinner options. The restaurant is […]

Read more "Seizan"

Dinner – Monday, December 29, 2014 Once you get your foot in the door… We were able to secure a reservation at Takazawa quite easily for this trip, since Akiko remembered us from our previous visit. We had such a good experience the first time that we needed to see if it was a fluke. Despite […]

Read more "TAKAZAWA"