Staying in a ryokan (traditional Japanese inn) in Kyoto was a very special experience. Let’s say, hoteliers who are willing to learn how to host a guest in their hotel should stay in a high-end ryokan for at least one night. The experience was “special” from the moment my taxi…

Le Meurice (3*) 228 rue de Rivoli 75001 Paris – 01 44 58 10 10 Chef: Yannick Alléno Have I been there before? Yes Ambiance and service: Typical Parisian “hôtel palace” atmosphere, quite formal service. Food? To be honest with you, not as good as when I was there two years ago.…

Jean Georges (3*) 1 Central Park West, New York – 212 299-3900 Chef: Jean-Georges Vongerichten Ambiance and service: “Manhattan chic”, professional yet invisible service. Food? Well, I’ve written about Jean Georges before – I am still puzzled how come it has such high ratings everywhere. It is among “30 most…

I am jealous of all the great sushi restaurants you can find in Manhattan. In that sense, Europe is sad (I know, I am repeating myself ;)) – the fish quality is bad most of the times, the sushi masters (or those pretending to be sushi masters) don’t slice fish…

Address: L’Astrance (3*) (4 Rue Beethoven 75016 Paris, tel. 01 40 50 84 40 ) Chef: Pascal Barbot Have I been there before? Twice. First time when it already had one Michelin star and once when it just got it’s the second star. Ambiance and service: Friendly, professional, yet less…

Address: Passage 53 (53 Passage des Panoramas 75002 Paris – 01 42 33 04 35) Chef: Shinichi Sato (former of l’Astrance (Pascal Barbot) and Aida) Have I been there before? No Ambience: nonexistent. Because the restaurant is so small and has a huge window to the Passage des Panoramas (it used to…

Harutaka (1*, Kawabata Building 3F, 8-5-8 Ginza, tel. 03 3573 1144 ) – the last sushiya from the sushi from Tokyo series this year. And my favourite so far. Harutaka Takahashi ( left) comes from Sukiyabashi Jiro “school”, so you can see many similarities with Sukiyabashi Jiro Roppongi (and, I…

I missed my plane back to Europe, so instead of waiting at Narita for the evening flight I went back to Tokyo and had lunch at Sukiyabashi Jiro in Roppongi Hills. (The one Michelin English speaking sister restaurant of the three Michelin Sukiyabashi Jiro in Ginza. The sushi chef is…

During this trip to Tokyo I started with Sushi Mizutani, then Sushi Kanesaka and ended up at Sushiko Honten (6-3-8 Ginza, tel. 03 3571 1968 ). Ironically, my favourite of all the three was the latter, the sushi place that has only one Michelin star, the least from all the…

I loved sukiyaki at Michelin starred Yoshihasi (1-5-25 Moto-Akasaka, tel. 03-3401-3129) not only because the wagyu beef was mouth-watering, but also because the place was so beautiful and serene. Yoshihashi is a traditional minimalistic restaurant with zen garden behind a window. When you come to the place you have to…