Check out these restaurants in Tokyo this Spring 2024
From Michelin-starred establishments to casual chic dining, the restaurants in Tokyo continue to heighten their dining experiences.
The cherry blossoms are rather slow to appear in Tokyo this year, but if you are revisiting Japan’s capital now, there are plenty of other attractions and of course great food to enjoy. From fine dining French cuisine featuring produce from different Japanese prefectures, to contemporary creations and international fare, check out these restaurants in Tokyo this Spring 2024 season.
At the one Michelin-starred Esterre at the upscale Palace Hotel Tokyo, you will see dapper gentlemen in their three-piece suits and ladies in their beautiful kimonos having quiet conversations while dining on the finest dishes. Designed as a tribute to nature, the interior’s elegant simplicity allows one to soak in the unobstructed views of the surrounding Imperial Palace gardens. It’s that kind of place. But if you are a traveller seeking out a great meal with a one-of-a-kind view (but don’t speak Japanese), the professional team will take good care of you.
Esterre, which partnered with Ducasse Paris in late 2019, takes a contemporary approach to French haute cuisine by showcasing the highest quality Japanese ingredients using French culinary techniques.
Kei Kojima is the perfect fit as chef de cuisine. This is after all his fourth restaurant by Alain Ducasse. He spent five years honing his skills at the three Michelin-starred Le Louis XV at Hôtel de Paris in Monte Carlo, and returned to Tokyo to teach at Centre de Formation d’Alain Ducasse in 2006. He then helmed Beige in Ginza, a two Michelin-starred collaboration between Ducasse Paris and Chanel. He has been described by Mr Ducasse as “the Japanese chef who understands and practices my culinary philosophy more than any other in the world”.
What’s truly special is that Chef Kojima – who resides in Kamakura on the outskirts of Tokyo – visits his local market every morning to select the freshest ingredients for Esterre. He then lugs the produce to the train station and commutes into the city. The chef aims to source for sustainable ingredients and highlight the purity of their natural flavours in Esterre’s seasonal menu.
For instance, from now till 31 May, you will get a taste of spring with delicacies like the flavourful long-tooth grouper. The fatty fish is cooked over charcoal along with taro and salsify, and then accentuated with dried cod or stockfish reduction. The spring menu also includes roasted veal from milk-fed calves raised in Hokkaido. The pale pink meat is partnered with poached white asparagus and orange zabaglione. There’s also tender beef from Kumamoto (a rare Japanese brown breed), which is less fatty but still tender.
Palace Hotel Tokyo’s chef sommelier Takamasa Sato is at hand to recommend labels from the well-stocked – 4,800 bottles, including over 500 vintages – wine cellar. The labels are predominantly French but there’s also a selection of organic, natural and bio-wines. He also does non-alcoholic pairings such as a seasonal mocktail featuring a blend of white grape juice with an umami-rich premium Royal Blue Tea.
After the mains, cleanse your palate with a refreshing dessert of grapefruit, cucumber and gin, softened with tonka bean cream, before finishing with chocolate from Alain Ducasse Manufacture in Tokyo. All the delicate desserts are created by Swiss chef pâtissier Normand Jubin, a third generation in a family of confectioners.
While you’re enjoying your sweets, the tea trolley trundles your way, displaying an array of potted fresh herbs like mint, rosemary and lemongrass and citrus peel etc. The staff snips of the leaves and gently crushes them in a mortar and pestle – before brewing the tisane ingredient in front of you. Linger over your tea and petit fours, before taking a stroll in the sprawling gardens that you’ve been admiring from your dining table.
The Jade Room + Garden Terrace
The Tokyo EDITION, Toranomon is an ultra-stylish spot where the fashionable set hangs out. Located on the 31st floor of the hotel adjacent to the lobby is The Jade Room. The highlight at this signature restaurant is the backdrop of the glittering Tokyo Tower and city skyline. The beautifully designed dining room is decked in plush circular banquettes in vibrant jewel green. There’s also counter seating for solo diners. Chef Tom Aikens, who owns Muse – it currently holds a one Michelin star – in London, is the chef-partner of The Jade Room + Garden Terrace. This is the first Japan venture for the British chef.
The menu here is a mingling of contemporary Japanese- and Western-influenced dishes prepared using diverse yet refined cooking techniques. The culinary team also sources for seasonal produce from local Japanese producers and champion sustainable practices like limiting food waste.
Chef de cuisine Richard McLellan rolls out signatures like the creamy onion custard topped with sweet caramelised onion, along with bread miso, Hokkaido cheese foam, and shavings of truffle. Seafood dishes may include the red cornet (unusual-looking elongated fish with a very long tubular snout) whose mild and fine flesh is paired with delicate turnip.
The current menu features beetroot and radish, cut into miniature discs and brightened with sudachi zest. For a touch of indulgence, the vegetables are crowned with gleaming Oscietra caviar. You may also get to savour Miyagi monkfish with its liver, mountain vegetable and shiitake mushroom, as well as squid with cauliflower mushroom and fermented cabbage. Round off with a bitter chocolate and peanut dessert, interestingly matched with aged caviar, or refreshing Miyagi strawberries perked up with pink pepper and hibiscus.
Aside from wines, the seasonal cocktail menu focuses on collaborations with local botanical distilleries. Check out the bottled cocktails unique to The Jade Room + Garden Terrace. Book a table at the outdoor Garden Terrace – it’s opened only from spring through autumn – when fare weather beckons, and take in panoramic views of the city below. Complete with bamboo oak trees and hundreds of potted plants, it’s designed to resemble an enchanted garden within the bright lights of Toranomon district. There’s a separate casual menu offering bites like crab seaweed roll, pork belly with soured cabbage and mustard, chicken wing with squash and yuzu kosho. This is the best spot to sip a glass of wine or two.
For an informal lunch in between your shopping and sightseeing, head over to Mandarin Oriental Tokyo’s Ventaglio. Set on the second floor of Nihonbashi Mitsui Tower, this brightly lit smart-casual dining spot serves international cuisine. Chef Vincent Wan who hails from Mauritius conceives unique creations by drawing inspiration from various culinary cultures around the globe. For those who are time-strapped, Ventaglio offers a quick set lunch or dinner on weekdays along with ala carte dishes.
The new menu, available from mid-March until 31 May, showcases ingredients sourced from the Kochi Prefecture. Surrounded by mountains and seas, Kochi offers an abundance of fresh produce like seafood and citrus. During this period, the restaurant will feature light appetisers such as seared bonito, paired with locally sourced produce such as garlic leaves, daikon, yuzu pepper and perilla. The delicate flavours are usually uplifted with hints of spices, which the chef likes to incorporate.
More substantial main courses may come in the form of roasted venison from Kochi. Chef Wan says that the lush and rich mountains of Kochi prefecture is an ideal area for deer farming. “To keep the identity of Ventaglio kitchen being one that uses spices, we created a dish using venison from Kochi and paired it with spices – it’s a recreation of a typical south Indian dish called Venison Badal Jaan.” A blend of spices like coriander, black peppercorn, cloves, cinnamon, cumin and red chilli are used to marinate the venison, which is then cooked over fire to bring out the smokiness of the spices. The meat is bound by a tomato masala (similar to slow-cooked arrabbiata-style tomato sauce) and married with an amasi curd-cream cheese livened up with coriander and chilli. According to the chef, you will have “all the five different tastes involved” while eating this dish.
Finally for an even more casual but intimate experience, head to The Pizza Bar on 38th, listed in Michelin Guide Tokyo Bib Gourmand 2023. This eight-seater is frequented by many top chefs. Feast on the omakase menu, which offers eight kinds of pizzas including pizza dolce. The pizzas here are made with Italian organic flour and fermented for 48 hours before being fired up in the brick oven. There are two seatings for lunch and dinner, but make sure you make a booking before heading there.
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Text by: Amy Van
Main image, The Tokyo EDITION, Toranomon city view from Garden Terrace by: Nikolas Koenig
Photos: Palace Hotel Tokyo, The Tokyo EDITION, Toranomon, Mandarin Oriental Tokyo
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