There were 8 seats. 5 of us were foreigners and 2 were Japanese speakers. One seat was empty.
This cost 122.000¥ through Tableall, excluding drinks. Even though tempura wasn’t high on my list, I bit the bullet for the ridiculous price and made the reservation. This was my most expensive meal in Tokyo.
After the meal, I asked the chef if I could book directly and he said through Instagram. At the time, it was not available on Omakase, but I saw an email afterwards that it’s now on Omakase. It costs 100.000¥ on Omakase. I believe this cost around 40,000¥ in Nagoya.
The restaurant does not allow any pictures of the food. They also would not let me take a picture of the sake bottle. But the chef and the staff were friendly. If you speak Japanese, I’m sure you could have conversations with him during the meal. The chef took pictures outside the restaurant with the patrons while leaving.
Below is what the meal included. I could be misspelling some of this. While not a lot of English was spoken at the restaurant, one of the waitstaff was extremely helpful with the name of the dish by translating and showing pictures on his phone.
Snacks: 5 dishes
– Soup with Abalone and some kind of seaweed
– Bonito
– Octopus
– Corn soup; this was delicious.
– Hairy crab with seaweed and grapes. It was a bit sour without grapes.
Tempura: 20 dishes
– Shrimp skin
– Shrimp with tail
– Squid; this was delicious.
– Full edamame stem
– Okra
– Kisu fish (apparently famous for tempura)
– Corn; this was delicious
– Tachiuo fish / long fish; this was delicious.
– Roots burdock
– Oyster; this was delicious.
– Botan ebi; this was delicious.
– Lotus root
– Abalone
– Zucchini
– Uni on deep fried seaweed nori; this was pretty good.
– Anago
– Half pepper
– Miso soup with clam
– Rice with shrimp tempura; this was delicious.
– Fig Gelato with multiple-times deep fried potato; this was delicious.
Sake:
Nechi 2020 rice field from Nagoya
Overall, I was not sold on the concept of tempura. There were 9 dishes that I loved. The rest tasted between okay and good. I probably won’t go back based on the taste of the food itself. I also don’t think it’s worth more than double the price in Tokyo compared to Nagoya, excluding the non-transparent Tableall fees.
by smorreboard
8 Comments
That price is quite high. I do love good tempura but I feel like there is a lower ceiling for how good it can be compared to other Japanese cuisines. I enjoyed tempura hatanaka in Tokyo, which is not nearly as highly rated as yours is on Tabelog, but it was significantly less expensive.
Place was on my shortlist for my 2019 Japan trip but ultimately I didn’t book it. Given that it’s now 2.5x the price it was then I’m unlikely to ever visit, although I’d be super interested to try it.
I think the price is too steep.
I went there when he was in Nagoya. I think it’s by far the best tempura I had, provided I’ve been to most of the top ones except Naruse. I also think the chef is a Rockstar, very approachable, had a great time chatting with him through the meal. Super passionate.
I think if you factor in that most patrons visiting him in Nagoya were doing the shinkansen trip to Tokyo. It makes sense to increase the price. But 100k+ that’s too high.
Until now reservations were by his invitation only. But seeing that one seat was empty, and that most of the counter were foreigners, presumably who hooked via tableall. It shows the limits of his system.
I had to do a double take on that price…¥100,000? Is there a typo or is that correct? I feel as though I have to ask because I had never heard of any menu in Japan being priced at over ¥60,000.
As a point of reference, 3* places in Tokyo like Effervescence and L’Osier both charge under ¥40,000 for their main tasting menus. 3*/world class sushi places (again, in Tokyo) charge under the ¥50k mark as well.
Glad you really liked some of it, at least, but personally I’d echo what others have said; top tempura is created with a lot of prep and a high level of skill, but the end result is only so good. I’d be hesitant to pay ¥25k for a pure tempura menu, never mind ¥100k.
Wow, that’s wild. I had a reservation for a 1 star tempura restaurant in Tokyo and ended up canceling it mainly due to time constraints. A bowl of tendon is cheap, quick and so satisfying. I went to a 1 Michelin star yakitori restaurant while there. It was probably the best yakitori I had but I didn’t think it was worth the price premium over the many cheaper options in Tokyo. My biggest problem is Japan was deciding where to eat. There are so many great fine dining options as well as amazing cheap eats. My last trip was in November and I’ve been thinking of going back almost everyday since then.
Visited back in March 2024 during Sakura season. Went in thinking oh it’s tempura it can’t be that good, came out thinking it’s top 3 experiences of my life. This is coming from a couple who has been to 122 Michelin stars around the world and many more non-michelin places (e.g. the TableLogs and World’s Best 50). The price is high but it’s a truly unforgettable experience. The chef has a certain charisma about him, his laugh, his demeanor, his ability to carry out conversations, the ritual of him making new batter every 4 tempura courses where he kneels down and closes his eyes and whisks away, the non-tempura items that he masterfully prepares as well, the technique you witness firsthand of him frying tempura (if you appreciate tempura you know the differences), and so forth. Absolute masterclass.
anyone have cheaper tempura recs in tokyo (that can be a la carte for shellfish allergy)?
8 seats, 5 foreigners and ridiculous prices. If you don’t see the mark in the room you’re the mark.