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Pitigliano is a town the chef visited in his apprenticeship and has fond memories of. During his time in Italy, the chef was deeply impressed by the custom of ‘zuppa’, or dipping pieces of bread into soups of vegetables and beans, so the menu offers an extensive selection of soups. Honest flavours and presentations mirror the food culture of the Italian countryside, featuring simple handmade pasta and char-grilled fish and meat. Scenes of diners sharing from a single plate are a reflection of daily life in Italy.

In pursuit of a new expression of Japanese cuisine, the restaurant brings its own inventive ideas to the table. In the sashimi platter, each variety of seafood is paired with distinct seasonings and accompaniments. Inspired by the sauces of Western cuisine, grilled beef is served with smooth vegetable purées. The house’s credo, ‘onko-tokujitsu’, embodies a spirit of warmth, compassion and sincerity. That sincerity is evident in the way the chef approaches the work.

With the temperament of an artist, the chef places everything in its proper proportion. Gathering unpolished buckwheat from Nagano and Niigata, he grinds the two together, checking moisture by hand to produce nihachi and juwari noodles. Soba and broth are served in harmony: as seiro, accompanied by soup redolent of katsuobushi, or as kake, steeped in hot katsuobushi broth. Side dishes are soba-shop favourites, such as Pacific herring simmered for days or seafood and buckwheat flour wrapped in nori and deep-fried.

The menu lists dishes from every corner of Spain, every one a precious memory of the chef. The preponderance of Basque dishes reflects her attendance of a cooking school in San Sebastián and apprenticeship at a restaurant there. We start with pintxo (pinchos), an apt choice for the Spanish pub atmosphere. Piquillo pepper stuffed with dried and salted cod, squid simmered in its ink and other Basque-country favourites are faithfully reproduced here. Experience the food culture of Spain.

For Joël Robuchon, ‘emperor of French cuisine’, this eponymous restaurant is the jewel in the crown of the company. Kenichiro Sekiya, recipient of the prestigious Meilleurs Ouvriers de France (MOF) and heir to both the spirit and cuisine of his famous mentor, uses Japanese ingredients to breathe new life into French gastronomy. His interpretation of Le Caviar Imperial evolves from generation to generation. Even the trolley service is the pinnacle of luxury. A table of magnificence as befits the hall of the emperor.

Ensui means ‘flame and water’, celebrating the two starting points of Japanese cuisine: charcoal flame and water for soup stock. The pride of the house is its stew. Using water brought all the way from Kagoshima, dashi stock is drawn from aged kombu and high-grade bonito flakes. The soup ingredients are suffused with the aroma of charcoal, completing the theme. With the practiced hands of a craftsman, the chef weaves the soup ingredients and the soup broth into a harmonious whole. A natural curiosity drives him to scour producing regions for the best ingredients. A personal journey expressed t

‘The look surprises, the taste reassures.’ The chef’s passion for creativity makes his culinary spirit unique. Decoratively arranged sashimi are briefly heated to draw out moisture. The chef doesn’t serve soup dishes, as much of his cooking tailors the dashi stock to each dish. His freewheeling personality makes the evening fun, while the folk-art vibe of the interior, including a chest of drawers inherited from the chef’s grandparents, fills the air with memories and the warmth of family.