Few pictures from my May lunch at Hexagone. My last visit there was back in January, when the restaurant had just opened. I must say that Mathieu Pacaud’s cooking is a perfect compromise between the traditions of the classic French cuisine and our modern search for légèreté on the plate.…

Some gastronomy modernists dismiss L’Ambroisie style of cooking as old fashioned, but, for me, perfect French cooking can never go out of fashion simply because it tastes so good. ( if it’s good for your diet is another story). I have posted about L’Ambroisie two years ago, below- images dating…

Forget about all the fancy proteins, usually associated with fine dining restaurants. It’s the humble herbs and vegetables that are reigning world’s most cutting edge kitchens nowadays. One of the pioneers of this vegetal trend was (and still is) Alain Passard, whose 3 Michelin starred restaurant menu is 90% vegetarian…

My next stop in the Basque country was Asador Etxebarri, the ultimate grill in Axpe valley not far from Bilbao. Victor Arguinzoniz is a legend among the globe-trotting foodies and is known for his obsession with wood-fired grilling. Everything at this restaurant with picturesque surroundings is grilled or at least…

“Nothing”,- was the answer when I asked what was the turbot served with at Elkano. My short trip at the Basque country started 30 minutes drive from Donostia/San Sebastian, in the small fishermen town called Getaria. I travelled there for one and only dish, the famous rodaballo, turbot caught off the…

I have special sentiments for Sushi Kanesaka as it was one of the first fine sushi shops I’ve been in Tokyo. When I started travelling there for eating, food tourism, how we know it, was still in its infancy phase in Japan. Things began to change when in 2009 Michelin…

Aside from my usual Tokyo sushi spots like Harutaka, this time I was after sushi shops I’ve never been to before. I’ve posted already about the excellent Sushi-ya, which quality and chef’s skills wise reminded me greatly of the great Sushi Saito. Now it’s the turn of Tokami. One Michelin…

28-year-old Takao Ishiyama is the new darling of bloggers, instagramers and Tokyo sushi connaisseurs. His 8 seat sushi shop in Ginza is called Sushi-ya, which literally means “sushi shop” in Japanese. Apparently Ishiyama-san used to work at Kanesaka and Saito, thus you can experience the same sushi making style throughout…

Before I move on to all the new sushi shops I visited in Tokyo, I just have to share these few images from 7 chome Kyoboshi (see the full review here). Until recently it was the only tempura restaurant in the world to hold 3 Michelin stars, but this year…

L’Ambroisie : 9 place des Vosges, 75004, Paris tel. +33 1 42 78 51 45 ( 3 Michelin stars)