Syn — Restaurant in Fukuoka

Sublime. It is not often one finds food that challenges their assumptions of what is considered "good" food. Ohno Naoto's cruisine voyages multi-course dinner is indeed a voyage, demonstrating his breadth of experience across multiple culinary disciplines and cruisines.

I happened to see an article about the chef on a JAL flight and - noticing that he had a restaurant in Fukuoka - decided to make a stop during my visit to the city. Hidden away in an unassuming corner building, Naoto greeted me at the hidden entrance and whisked me up a small lift to his open kitchen. The staff was very friendly though English was not their strong suit.

But it was very easy to ask questions (in English) with Naoto as he was cooking and preparing each dish, dispensing his culinary knowledge, history, and a little science behind how he created each one. In one instance of how he sources, the local oysters he used were from Saga prefecture but what was unique was that their raw forms had zero toxicity, which gave him the flexibility to serve in raw or cooked.

He was also very open about his cooking experience. In fact, his career was almost akin to Yuki's father in the manga Food Wars! - backpacking the world with a pack and a set of kitchen knives. But while growing up, he also gave credit to his mother, who served as a big inspiration for him entering the field.

But of course, the cumulative result was the meal. Each course was an astonishing array of flavors and textures in a single morsel. My impression was validated by the customer sitting a seat apart from me, who suddenly started chirping (seriously) in delight when she took a bite into one of them. Creamy, sweet, spicy, crunchy, smooth. Somehow, one could taste it all in one bite.

In the end, we ascended to a private study room where we had our final dessert and tea and were free to peruse the shelves of cookbooks and, if we wanted to, drink with the staff and chat into the night. It was a relaxing way to spend the evening, and frankly, the four hours I was there seemed to go by much more quickly than I had expected.

Any true foodie who visits Fukuoka would be mistaken not to visit here, and it's worth the price. I've been to quite a few Michelin-starred restaurants or award equivalents around the world, plenty of them in Tokyo. More often than not, they demonstrate a specific skill or proficiency in one or a few dishes in one cruisine, and it's great. But if you want to try someplace that is genuinely innovative and tests your tastebuds, and a unique dining experience, consider visiting Syn. The level of service, learning, and display of mastery should compel anyone interested in making a reservation (and its reservation only).

I certainly hope to come back. I can't wait for...

Very high-end dining at the edge of one of Fukuoka's increasingly good spots for dining.

Syn's Naoto Ohno is a chef with a bevy of experience, and his cuisine bears all the hallmarks of a young chef that is looking for self-expression in food. He truly does not want to adhere to traditional methods of providing flavor to his audiences. Yet, almost contradictorily, I thought that flavor-wise the most impressive dishes were the ones that cleaved to more traditional flavor offerings and syntax.

The dinner was split among roughly 15 or so courses plus a plate of mignardises. The flavoring throughout was, in a word, clear. The chef has a definite facility for representing the flavors he is aiming for with a kind of unfussy clarity. This allows us diners to enjoy the quality of the ingredients which the chef devotes a considerable amount of energy to (and this was one of my favorite parts of the entire dinner!)

I have to say one of the dishes I was not as keen on was the apple, which is a very unique concept, but the flavors did not sing as clearly to me. This could just be a matter of my palate, but it was an experiment I did not understand as well (beyond the appearance itself being an eye-catcher). Also, there was a dish titled !?!?!?!?!? that was not quite as surprising as I thought it would be, but in the context of the overall experience it was inoffensive.

Let this not take away from this remarkable experience however. For those seeking something unique in Fukuoka, Syn has you covered, and I imagine it will only continue to get better over time.

ご馳走様でした！

On the alcohol pairing: some very good drinks. The pairing was not the best I’ve ever had but there were a few definite highlights and surprises in there.

Highlights: The magnificent flounder/In Silence, smorrebrod, venison/halloumi improvisation, aqua vitae, Vension on the bone and filet, and the mignardises for...

こちらのSynは まだオープンして間もない。

訪問時（2023年9月）は開店4ヶ月に満たない時でした。

しかし、早々に魅了されたファンは既にリピートされているようで 私もそんな1人になりそうだなと 訪問した瞬間に何か感じるものが ありました。

外観は、遠目からはスルーしてしまいそうな ビルの一角のように見えます。 ライトアップされると、パッと印象が変わり ここから始まる時間に わくわくして既にお料理の始まりにも感じます。

通路を進みシェフに案内されまして 上品で暖かな内装の店内に 期待が膨らみます。

シェフはアメリカの名門と言われる 料理学校のご出身、 ザ・カリナリー・インスティテュート・オブ・アメリカ です。

最初はCIAと聞いた瞬間に、えっ！と 驚きましたが 違うCIAでした笑

そして様々な国でも修行をされて福岡市は 地元の地域にお店を構えたそうです。

コース内容が記載されたものには 食材や器など仲良くされている方々の店名や この日の食材やお料理名 情報が詰まっています。

料理名などボリュームがあるので 感想だけにします。

ペアリングはせず、お茶は 香駿をチョイス。

器のセンスも素晴らしく 有田焼がふんだんに使われており 牛の骨を磨き作った器はシェフ自ら磨きあげたもの。

世界のお料理を頂く事もできましたが それはシェフの手によって 昇華されているのだと思います。

他のレストランでは多く和牛が使われていますが こちらでは ジャージー牛。 61日間の熟成。

軽やかに食べやすかった事で 即完食しました。 炭火での火入れと、この牛さんの牧場の牧草を使い 薫香を纏わせたものは よく違いが現れていて面白かった。

大トロの生ハムも インパクトが強く印象に残った。

デザートは別のお部屋に移動して まだまだ続く時間。

まったりとしてしまう居心地の良さは 帰るのが面倒になります笑

少ないながらシェフとお話しが出来て とても充実の時間でした。

また訪れたいお店に出会えました。 ご馳走さまでした^ ^

⚫︎TABEROG REVIEWER AWARD2023 GOLD店コンプリート賞今年も頂きました！

⚫︎ 最後までお読みくださり、有難う御座います。 いいねや、コメントとても励みになります。 ポチッと保存やフォロー頂けたら幸いです。

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