Refined techniques blended with a reverence for nature
Yoshihiro Narisawa’s elegant, minimalist restaurant and suited staff serving delicate, nature-focused dishes using seasonal ingredients drawn from Japan’s rich pantry are just some of the elements that have earned Narisawa his dedicated following. But it’s his wild imagination and sense of drama that have pushed this restaurant to the very top of the class.
A dedicated environmentalist and avid nature-lover, at his eponymous Tokyo restaurant chef Narisawa blends classical French cooking techniques with strong flora aesthetics. The first thing to arrive at the table is a moss-covered stone perfumed like the forest; it is butter.
It accompanies bread rising with the aid of candlelight and baked at the table in a stone pot scented with oak and yuzu. But it’s the test-tube shot of fawn- coloured liquid revealing a dewy, peaty aroma from the darkest forests that sets the scene for dishes to follow. Each is perfectly executed, from the charred fritter revealing a lightly cooked Toba oyster from Mie prefecture to the hirame carpaccio with scallop cream sauce and olive oil. Polished, polite, premeditated and theatrical, here, even the toilet beckons a reaction, raising its seat courteously when approached. Overall, Narisawa delivers a sublime manifestation of the country’s natural beauty and bounty.
Minami Aoyma 2-6-15, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-0062
+813 5785 0799
narisawa-yoshihiro.com
Style of food:
French cooking techniques with an all-star Japanese ingredient line-up
Standout dish:
Wagyu rump roast marinated in leek, basted in olive oil and then carbonised on the outside.
Bangladesh, Burma/Myanmar, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Laos, Macao, Malaysia, Maldives, Micronesia, Nauru, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Vietnam
