六本木酒店

Hidetoshi Nakamura’s cuisine embodies harmony, subtlety, and purity. With minimal seasoning, he captures each ingredient’s subtle trace in water— using only water and sea salt. Mountain and sea are intimately linked through water. Nakamura reminds us that we are a part of the magnificent connection between Nature and her laws. This elegant aesthetic, of beauty through simplicity, exudes modesty, returning us to a spirit of gratitude for the natural world.

Creative courses channel the free spirit the chef cultivated in Paris. Venturing into new domains of French cooking, le sputnik dives deep into techniques such as such as ageing, fermenting and extracting. Dessert elements such as tuiles find their way into cooking, showcasing the chef’s patisserie experience with intricate recipes and three-dimensional arrangements. Beets with foie gras, arranged into a crimson rose, form an oeuvre of stunning beauty.

These days more and more guests are asking where the fish are caught. ‘If we could eat sushi where it’s caught, we wouldn’t need markets!’ retorts chef Takashi Ono. Discernment is a faculty built only slowly through long years of experience and knowledge. Along the way Ono has cultivated bonds of trust with seafood brokers, enabling him to source quality. The markets are the classic tale of ‘giri’ and ‘ninjo’, human connections forged in duty and loyalty. Sushi in purest form, stripped to its essence.

‘Héritage by Kei Kobayashi’ is not just a name: The chef has made it his mission to honour and give thanks to the French culinary culture and pass it on to future generations through his eponymous restaurant. Venerable standards such as pâté en croûte, roast dovelet and vacherin are prepared in the traditional way but given a modern arrangement. Homage to the classics and the hospitality of the hotel combine to open new horizons in gastronomy.

The Japanese love of small spaces is deeply connected with the spirit of the tea ceremony and its cultural background. The counter, affording just the right distance between guests and Chef Toshiya Kadowaki, seats just six. The private room, whose low ceiling suggests a tearoom, is so intimate that guests can feel each other’s breathing. The menu features dishes where ingredients in season come together to create fleeting sensations that linger in the memory forever. Truffle rice, enriching the meal in both aroma and flavour, is a case in point.

To spread the joy of Kyoto cuisine beyond the ancient capital, Kikunoi opened a Tokyo branch. Guests are warmly greeted with cheerful calls of ‘Oide-yasu!’, a traditional welcome in the Kyoto dialect. While located in central Tokyo, the mood, taste and feel of the restaurant are pure Kyoto. Yearly events are woven into the menu, and eye-catching dishes served on brilliantly decorated plates. Western ingredients are included too, expressing contemporary flavours. An attractive feature is the choice of tatami mat or counter seating, combining the charms of ryotei and kappo.

Red and black are the thematic colours of L’ATELIER de Joël Robuchon. The classic Robuchon menu spins a tale like a 19th-century French novel. The menu ranges from famous specialities of years gone by to new arrangements incorporating seasonal Japanese ingredients. This really is ‘Joël Robuchon’s atelier’, where the genius honed his concept of French gastronomy.