箱根Toto’ Sapore イタリアセコンド料理、前日迄の予約制 — Restaurant in Hakone

Toto Sapore is an interesting dining experience, though not necessarily in the way you’d expect. The food was undeniably good, but the overall atmosphere, service, and unexpected pricing left us feeling a bit uneasy.

Booking & First Impressions

Booking through the website was simple, but on the day of our dinner, the chef unexpectedly messaged us, asking if we could come at 5:00 PM instead of 7:00 PM. When we let him know we couldn’t, we received a long, confusing email that didn’t really clarify anything.

We arrived at 6:30 PM, and while he was there, he wasn’t particularly welcoming. There was no greeting or small talk—just an awkwardly silent room and a menu placed in front of us. There was also no background music or ambiance, which made the experience feel a little stiff.

Unconventional Italian Cuisine & Slow Pacing

Toto Sapore serves unconventional Italian food, and while the ingredients and preparation were high quality, the meal took an extremely long time.

We asked for wine and were surprised to find that the restaurant only had red wine, which seemed like an odd limitation for an Italian place. After ordering, the waiting began. Our three-course meal took 3.5 hours, despite having a reservation. The pacing was frustratingly slow, with long gaps between dishes.

At one point, another couple walked in asking if they could order a pizza, and the chef dismissed them abruptly, telling them, “This is not a pizzeria.” While technically true, it felt unnecessarily harsh, especially given the restaurant’s Italian theme.

To make things even more uncomfortable, when our final course—Kobe beef—arrived, the chef stood and watched us eat the entire time, which made my wife uncomfortable.

Pricing Transparency – Clear, But Not Communicated Well

While the menu did list prices, there was no discussion of portion sizes, and the chef essentially decided our meal for us due to the language barrier. The biggest issue was the steak, which was priced per gram—but we had no idea how much he was preparing until the bill arrived.

The total? $200 USD for two people, which was a bit of a shock given that we had little control over what we were ordering. On top of that, there was a 10% credit card fee, which seemed excessive.

Final Thoughts

The food was genuinely good, but the overall experience was odd, slow, and rigid. The chef/host clearly takes pride in his work but operates in a very particular way that may not be for everyone. If you’re looking for a relaxing Italian dinner, this may not be the best choice. However, if you’re up for something different and don’t mind a very slow, structured meal, the food itself is worth trying. Maybe bring your own drinks?

Would I go back? Probably not—not because of the food, but because the experience was too drawn out and...

I could not have dreamed a better experience in Hakone than the one curated by Toshio at Casa di En. It was serenely serendipitous and the hospitality was unmatched.

Toshio’s ode to Italian with a touch of Japanese flair speaks to his passion, creativity, and dedication to his craft. We had the antipasto, Pasta Carbonara with Pancetta , and the Black WagyuBeef Italian style Tagliatta for dinner. Everything was so good that we returned the following day for his Napoli style pizza. I highly recommend all of them, however, if you have the opportunity you should try the Sakura Shrimp Pizza as it a perfect blend of Japan and Italy.

The space was one of the most unique places that I’ve dined, due to the nailess carpentry interior structure. Which was handcrafted by a temple builder.

Beyond the food and the space what truly brought it all together was the man himself. Myself and my buddy got to Hakone later in the evening, unaware of the lack of logistics during that time. Most restaurants were closed early and all else was too far from where we were. We stumbled across Casa di En on Google and made a break for it to grab a bite to eat before it closed. Upon arriving we quickly learned it was a reservation only restaurant and Toshio was in the middle of closing down, however, he looked at us, asked if we were really hungry, and invited us in. He then proceeded to cultivate a 2 hour experience for two hungry travelers late at night when he could easily have turned us away. Following our second meal the next day he invited us to take a personal tour with him. He took us to the Lake and all the way to Mt. Fuji with unique stops the entire way. Truly an honoring experience to have the kindness, hospitality, and passion in everything he did. An experience that I will...

There are experiences in life that you never forget, and this was one of them. We just had the most amazing italian food at Toto Sapore. The incredible fresh ingredients, products and the way the Chef prepares them shows the utter most respect for Italian food integrating local products. The delicious appetizers with Bagna Cauda are top umami. Literally the best Napoli Style pizza I have ever had, with Sakura Shrimp are a combination that blew our mind beyond what was possible. The delicious Black Wagyu Tagliata melted away in our mouths with every bite. Followed by Zuppa di Pesce, an italian sea food stew which contained some of the freshest and finest sea food prepared as if I was sitting in Sicily. The wines served were absolutely delicious and went very well with the food. A delicious Napolitan style dessert rounded everything off. The atmosphere itself is lovely and cozy with a modern yet classic touch. The amount of love and warmth that goes into every detail can be felt deeply and is utterly breathtaking. The owner was so kind and even drove us to our hotel since a Taxi was unfortunately not available anymore. We are utterly thankful for being able to spend this wonderful moment at this amazing establishment with the owner chef. An experience that will never be forgotten. Please make a reservation at least a day in advance as everything is ordered fresh and space is limited. We did our reservation online, but you can also have the hotel call at around 18:00 for a reservation for...