Le GAMiN ル・ギャマン — Restaurant in Nara

We felt so lucky to stumble upon this place on our one night in Nara, tucked away on a quiet historic street. Incredible, complex and inventive, fine French food with a Japanese touch and the freshest local ingredients. This is a world class, chef-owned and operated restaurant, but with a comfortable, intimate and approachable vibe. The music was laid-back jazzy beats, decor was casual modern but high quality, in a cool old building. The value for price was also surprisingly good, with 8 amazing dishes and excellent drinks. We love Japanese food, but this was our favorite restaurant after 3 weeks...

We know Kenji, the chef/owner from his time running the legendary and sorely missed Racines in Shanghai, which he opened after returning from Marseilles in 2012. It was our favourite restaurant in Shanghai, and we've missed Kenji's cooking since he left. So we travelled to Nara to eat here, and it was worth it. Inventive French food with Japanese influence, done masterfully, complex but not fussy, multi-layered but perfectly blended. We will travel to Nara again...

Chef Kenji used to have his restaurant in Shanghai where international guests all remembered his food being excellent and authentically European with French touch. It's complex, it is rich, with lots of small details, and finally it's his style. There is a great fusion of all his tastes. The place offers great wine choices, omakase menu with quality and quantity! On top of that, the venue...