Lyla — Restaurant in Tokyo

I recently dined at Lyla, and unfortunately, my experience was quite disappointing. There were several issues that I feel need to be addressed:

Language Barrier: Every dish was introduced in Japanese, with no attempt to use any English words to explain, despite the staff knowing we didn't understand Japanese at all. They even asked us questions in Japanese and expected us to respond, which made the dining experience very frustrating. Not Tourist Friendly: The restaurant did not seem accommodating to tourists or non-Japanese speakers. As a visitor, I felt unwelcome and unsupported. Table Setting: The table for the plate and fork was placed just in front of us, which felt quite cramped and uncomfortable. Order of Service: The food was not served in the same order as listed on the menu, causing confusion and a lack of cohesion in the meal experience. Average Food Quality: The food itself was average at best, lacking the flavor and presentation one would expect from such an...

Complements to the Chef, Takeshi Narikiyo!

The restaurant is intimate, and the food sophisticated.

We went for the ¥9,800 (10,780 incl. Tax) and we were blown away by the excellent value the meal presented. Between the quality of ingredients and the time/technique required for each dish, there's simply NO WAY there's any margins to be made at that price - look at the photos!

Anyway, their loss = our gain.

The one "downer" for us was that the service staff spoke ZERO English. We appreciate that their main goal is to serve locals, and certainly we are not trying to impose a foreign language on others - but perhaps at least they could have printed a menu in English or simply Google translated their dish descriptions so that the staff and us annoying foreign guests, do not have to go through 10 courses of awkwardness; whereby they are painstakingly describing each dish in Japanese and we are sat there nodding blankly.

Overall an excellent experience, which is highly...

Wow! I happened to walk by this place on day, and decided to book (a quite extravagant) lunch. The ambiance in the restaurant was nice, but the food was amazing from start to finish, both in terms of presentation and taste. They used top shelf ingredients, and everything on the plate was there for a reason. No expensive toppings or add-one, and no caviar just for caviar’s sake. I understand that they try to make a different menu for you every time you visit, so I’m looking forward to going back and having my mind blown again. If you go for the full dinner course (which you can have at lunch as well), do so on an empty stomach and after having worked out. It’s a lot of food, even by...