Butagumi ( 2-24-9 Nishiazabu, Minato, Tokyo 106-0031, tel. +81 3-5466-6775 ), a tonkatsu paradise 5 minutes walk off the main Roppongi road, is where all the best pigs of Japan go when they die. Think of a double-sided menu, all dedicated for pork fillets and sirloins from various Japanese regions. Good pork…

Matsukawa is an introduction only kaiseki restaurant, considered by many, notably tabelog.com users, as the best in Tokyo. A friend of mine invited me there, but had last minute plan changes and I ended up going to Matsukawa alone. He warned me about two things before transferring his reservation on…

To paraphrase the old saying, if the sea won’t come to a Japanese sushi chef, the sushi chef will go to the sea. This is certainly true in the case of 3 Michelin starred chef from Tokyo Toru Okuda, who just opened an intimate, “Edo-mae” style sushi- ya next to…

New high-end sushi- ya in Paris by 3 Michelin star chef from Tokyo Toru Okuda.

Sushi Tetsu is considered the best sushi-ya in London and the hardest to get in. (At least for now, before Araki, a 9 seat sushi shop by 3 Michelin star chef from Tokyo opens later this fall.) The seven seat counter restaurant is owned by a young man from Japan…

Sushi gods have been particularly gracious to the Parisians recently. We have 3 Michelin star chef from Tokyo Toru Okuda, who last autumn opened a kaiseki restaurant near Champs Elysees (the omakase meal also includes a sushi course), we have Jin, high end sushi shop run by a young chef…

Juan ( 144 Rue de la Pompe, 75016 Paris, tel. +33 1 47 27 43 51) is a hidden pearl of Japanese cuisine in the French capital. The pocket-size restaurant is typically Japanese. It’s owner-chef Tadahiko Kinjo is the one who chops, slices, cooks and serves. The fare is simple, but…

Different from New York, Los Angeles or some other megacities outside of Japan, Paris has never been the best place to have top-notch sushi. Here, you will find plenty of unimaginative sushi belt restaurants or takeaways, but usually, their quality is poor and they have little in common with Japan.…

So on top of updating the 30 best Tokyo sushi restaurants list according to the Japanese language site http://tabelog.com/, this time I compiled a list of top 50. Once you go further down the results, you can also find some “off the beaten track”, more casual and more affordable sushi…

If internet rumours can be trusted, Sukiyabashi Jiro was not the first choice for prime minister Abe and president Obama dinner (see the Grub Street article here). 2 Michelin starred tempura restaurant Kondo was, but it was fully booked and the chef refused to cancel any of his bookings that…