Ginza Hirayama‘s 33 year old chef-owner Hirayama-san used to work at the famous “introduction only” steakhouse Kawamura. The beef he used that day was tenderloin from Miyazaki, but you could also have sirloin if you are really into super marbled beef. The major difference between Kawamura and Hirayama is that…

No matter how good your hotel or credit card concierge is, or how fluent you speak Japanese, you can’t get into Kawamura ,even by reserving it very much in advance. I realized this two years ago, when I naively asked my hotel concierge in Tokyo to get me a place…

Shima steakhouse chef-owner Shima-san is one of the most well-travelled chefs I’ve met in Tokyo. He speaks good English and French as in the Seventies he used to work at Le Duc, which happens to be my favourite restaurant in Paris. Speaking of Shima’s-san steak, it would be my number one…

This hairy crab is hairy… Despite of some wonderful bites like this delicacy from Hokkaido, Sushi Kanesaka is nothing like it used to be. Overcrowded, with too many locations in Tokyo, Singapore and, soon, Macau, the original branch in Ginza has lost its attention to detail and its magic.

Recently compiled overall 50 best Tokyo restaurants list ( according to Tabelog.com users) can be viewed here. Sushi Saito (3 Michelin stars) http://tabelog.com/tokyo/A1308/A130802/13015251/ Harutaka (2 Michelin stars) http://tabelog.com/tokyo/A1301/A130103/13032283/ Mitani http://tabelog.com/tokyo/A1309/A130902/13042204/ Miyakozushi http://tabelog.com/tokyo/A1302/A130204/13018162/ Sushi-sho http://tabelog.com/tokyo/A1309/A130902/13000852/ Hashiguchi http://tabelog.com/tokyo/A1308/A130801/13134517/ Miyaha http://tabelog.com/tokyo/A1314/A131401/13019499/ Sushi Ichiyanagi http://tabelog.com/tokyo/A1301/A130101/13156961/ Sushi Mizutani http://tabelog.com/tokyo/A1301/A130103/13016524/ Yoshitake http://tabelog.com/tokyo/A1301/A130103/13024076/ Sushi Tokami http://tabelog.com/tokyo/A1301/A130103/13155234/ Daisan…

It’s been 8 months I didn’t post Tokyo’s best restaurants list, according to Japanese speaking website Tabelog.com.(By some considered more trustworthy than Michelin…) Hope you enjoy the freshly compiled list. It contains quite a few changes since last May. 1. Matsukawa (Kaiseki) http://tabelog.com/tokyo/A1307/A130701/13124391/ http://www.luxeat.com/blog/introduction-only-matsukawa-2/ 2. Sushi Saito…

I am wrapping up my Tokyo series this time with Ishikawa, 3 Michelin starred kaiseki restaurant, located behind Bishamonten temple. When kaiseki style cooking is concerned, less is usually more. Chef Hideki Ishikawa follows the traditional kaiseki rules by celebrating simplicity and seasonality. Michelin describes him as innovative, but the…

It might sound ironic, but the most expensive part of bluefin tuna, nowadays served at the best sushi restaurants in Tokyo, New York of Los Angeles, was not considered valuable at all by the general Japanese population 50 or so years ago. According to Trevor Carson, the author of “The…

This was certainly not my favourite tempura I’ve ever had (my all-time favourite is 7 Chome Kyoboshi), but still better than any tempura outside of Japan. I love how Japanese are able to perfectionize anything from growing melons to frying vegetables in some batter, which actually end up tasting so…

What makes a good sushi restaurant great? Excellent fish and seafood? Chef’s experience, skills and obsession with consistency? Takashi Saito seems to correspond all these criteria, but it’s much more than that. Saito-san hits the perfect gustative balance in each morsel he produces, taste and texture-wise. Joel Robuchon called Sushi…