YAMAMOTO
Wordofmouthis veryimportantinTokyo,especially
fora restaurantas tuckedawayas Yamamoto.It’sin
thebasementofa nondescriptbuildingnearYoyogi-
Ueharastation,withjusteightseatsat a baroverlooking
anopenkitchenandanothersixina privatedining
room.Thebar,madeofhinoki,Japanesecypress,is the
placetowatchSeijiYamamotoat work.Hetrainedas a
sushichefbeforemovingintokaiseki,Japan’straditional
cuisinefeaturingmultiplecourses,artfulpresentation
andultraseasonality.A mealmightstartwitha bowl
ofrawseafoodofvariedtextures– crunchyherringroe,
warmseaurchin,creamytunawithmiso,chewysmoked
razorclam– andprogressthrough 10 coursesina classic
kaisekiformat.Friedlotus,shiitake,fugu(theinfamous
blowfishwithsomepoisonousbodyparts)paired
withgingko,dobinmushi(teapotsoup)withintensely
flavouredmatsutakemushrooms,nodoguro(blackthroat
seaperch)smokedoverricestraw;ricecookedina
hotpotandtoppedwithsalmonroeandbabysardines
cookedinsweetenedsoysauce.Yamamoto-sanand
hismotheraretheonlystaff.Theygotogreatlengths
todescribethedishesinEnglish,aidedbybooksand
Google.Theywantdinerstoknowtheintricacies
oftheirmeal,andtheirenthusiasmis a joy.
WhyBrilliantkaiseki,wortheveryyen.
AskforJustsitbackandletit happen.
WhenWed-Monfrom7pm.
Where46-10Oyamacho,Shibuya-ku.
FUKUANDLECABARET
If there’sonegenreoffoodinJapanthatexistsat
alllevels,it’syakitori.Whetherit’sservedat a casual
lunchvenue,refinedrestaurantorlate-nightdiner,
barbecuesencourageconversationandyakitorijoints
arealwaysa bitlouder,thedrinksflowinga bitfaster.
Fukuis at themoresophisticatedendoftheyakitori
spectrum,thoughitsextensiveselectionofchickenand
vegetableskewersis reasonablypriced.Thecrowdis
youngerthanat manyyakitorivenues,andpopularwith
gaijin– thefriendlystaffareveryaccommodatingto
non-Japanesespeakers.Bookahead,thoughif youwalk
inearlyorlateintheeveningtherestaurantmanager
willtryhishardesttofityouin.Theremaystillbea
wait,butthisis a goodthing,becauseyoucanpassthe
timeat LeCabaret,a popularnatural-winebarnearby,
withsimple,classicFrenchfaretomatchthewine list.
WhereFuku,2-23-4Nishihara,Shibuya-ku;
LeCabaret,8-8Motoyoyogicho, Shibuya-ku.
BARTRENCH
ThecocktailsceneinTokyohashada hugeimpact
aroundtheworld.PlacessuchasTender,BarHighFive
andStarBarinGinzawereperfectingandpreserving
theartofclassiccocktail-makingwhiletheWestwas
going through the bad years of the 1970s and ’80s,➤
Fireflysquid,
strawberry
clams,perchand
springflowers
atYamamoto.
Below:LeCabaret.
Opposite:yakitori
at Fuku.