José Luis @ Karuizawa

Pinchos - sardine with olives, beef pate on toasted baguette

Jamon serrano and chorizo

Little gem lettuce salad with alioli

Souffle tortilla

Deep pan ‘Spanish pizza’

Rich shrimp soup fideua

Basque-style cheesecake

Situated within the Twin-Line Hotel, the Karuizawa iteration of Madrid’s ‘much loved’ José Luis focuses on attractively arranged contemporary Spanish cuisine with occasional Japanese influences. 

The menu offers prefix lunch and dinner courses to suit a range of appetites and purses, combining select Spanish and local Shinshu ingredients.

If the schlep over to Karuizawa is a stretch too far, try the Shibuya store instead. 

José Luis

03 6452 6227

 

The Kitchin @ Leith

Amuse-bouche - mini seafood quiche

Amuse-bouche - mini carrot quiche

Pea soup

Roasted Inverurie veal sweetbreads

Lardo di Colonnata on mushrooms and ciabatta

Wild Scottish mushrooms

Barbecued North Sea turbot with potato and cephalopods risotto and squid ink sauce

Roasted loin of Hopetoun Estate roe deer with beetroot and young navet

Braised roe deer haunch pastie

Baked salted caramel tart with pecan crust and Knockraich farm creme fresh ice cream

Knockraich farm crowdie, raspberry and honey cheesecake with wild woodruff and raspberry sorbet

Celebrity chef Tom Kitchin’s lauded flagship restaurant reflects his ‘from nature to plate’ philosophy and passion for cooking with the finest Scottish produce to create modern British cuisine with a rich vein of French culinary influences. 

Located within a converted whisky warehouse in Leith’s old dock area, the interior is tastefully appointed with grey and silver furnishings set against bare stone, wood floors and polished glass to create an intimate ambience that revels in the play of light and shadow to heighten anticipation of the meal to come. 

The menu offers a la carte lunch and dinner courses, as well as three tiers of chef’s tasting courses, complimented by an extensive wine list and pairing options. Kilted servers present each dish with a brief description of ingredients and their provenance; as befits the nature to plate concept, references to ‘foraged,’ ‘wild’ and ‘Scotland’s beautiful larder’ abound. 

Fine ingredients, artful cooking, many-plated presentation and unexpected flavour combinations result in a first class dining experience. 

The Kitchin

0131 555 1755

 

Tonkatsu Tonki @ Meguro

Simmered konbu and mushroom

Hirekatsu (fillet cutlet)

Hirekatsu (fillet cutlet)

Although not our favourite Meguro tonkatsu-ya, Tonki is undoubtedly the most venerated, still going strong after eighty years of serving tasty, if somewhat dated, breaded pork cutlets.

Spread across two floors, the ground floor dining counter fronting the open kitchen provides the most entertaining and Shōwa-esque experience, allowing for an intimate view of the thrice-dipped frying process (sealing in moisture, fat and flavour) for which Tonki’s cutlets are famed.

Immensely popular, lunchtime and evening queues are to be expected.

Tonkatsu Tonki

03 3491 9928

 

Lodge Bistro Saru @ Gakugei-Daigaku

Chilled beetroot puree with bouillon and fresh cream

Assortment of three Hokkaido cheeses

Salmon carpaccio

French toast

Mountain salad

Grilled salmon with mashed potato and mushrooms in cream sauce

Grilled chicken with young corn and yuzu jam

Ezo venison with sautéed mountain spinach, grilled mushroom and wild wasabi tapenade

Peppered steak with fried egg and ratatouille

Baked cheesecake

Chocolate cake

Peach blancmange

Creme brûlée

Lodge Bistro Saru enjoyed a ‘renewal opening’ this month, sporting an updated interior with a more expansive kitchen-fronting counter similar to that at its popular Jiyugaoka sister-shop and open facade for improved ventilation.  

The menu remains focused on ‘wild mountain fare’ and Hokkaido game meats, with a limited yet enjoyable selection of brunch and lunch plates (complete with moreish French toast) and more expansive a la carte dinner options, of which the lava stone grilled dishes and Hokkaido venison and salmon with wild wasabi tapenade are not to be missed. 

Lodge Bistro Saru

050 5266 0493

 

Restaurant Okada @ Hiroo

Paprika and cheese bruschetta

Mango topped with mozzarella and parma ham

Cold cauliflower soup with consume jelly

Camembert and peach marinée

Fresh baked brioche and baguette

Sautéed langoustines with herb butter

Yamaguchi squid salad

Foie gras with caramelized figs

Stewed lamb

Roast Oyama chicken with green beans

Beef cheeks stewed in right wine

Sautéed bonito with ratatouille

Raspberry marshmallow with chocolate and strawberry sorbet

Okinawa mango cocktail

Yamagata cherry parfait with coconuts yoghurt

Madeleines with vanilla ice cream

Restaurant Okada is a pleasant basement establishment just off the main drag of the Hiroo shōtengai. Owner-chef and sommelier, Okada Hiroshi, cut his teeth at several lauded French restaurants in Japan before honing his skills at a handful of Parisian and regional restaurants and wineries. 

Upon returning to Japan he did a stint at Hiroo’s (now defunct) Le Garcon de La Vigne before opening his namesake restaurant in early 2011 to more freely express his vision of delicious food that ‘nourishes the body and enriches the mind.’ 

Okada’s cooking focuses on carefully selected organic ingredients sourced from domestic and overseas producers to create dishes that cherish the history and traditions of French cuisine while creating a contemporary bistro dining experience. 

Daily updates to the a la carte and prefix menus keep repeat visits interesting. Besides a tempting array of fish, poultry and game meats, his kitchen is appreciated for its fresh-baked brioche cubes, light yet chewy baguette and fluffy madeleines with ice cream.  

Restaurant Okada

03 5475 1521