Nihonryōri Tagetsu — Restaurant in Tokyo

Delicious and creative -

I've been to Japan ~ 10 times but I've only had sushi omakase before since my husband isn't interested in kaiseki. I booked this place this time because my parents have never been to Japan and I want to introduce them to Japan's dining culture, and I was lucky to reserve this place successfully online. There were many sites that can do that for you, especially if you are fine using google to translate Japanese into your language.

It's located at the basement of a somewhat residential area in a fancy neighborhood. The server greeted us right away and stored our jackets and bags. There were guests in the private rooms, but the counter was empty and it was somewhat awkward. Then they pulled out a glass tank with fishes to introduce the grill fish that we'll have today.

We had the short course and it was 9900 yen/person (after tax). However, we were quite full in the end. All the dishes were creative and there were extra desserts for X'mas season. My dad doesn't have a good taste bud to understand the meal, but they were both happy to try kaiseki and my mom really loves the dessert plate.

The bathroom is located near the small entrance and there are mouthwash with different flavors, tons of towels, etc. The restaurant is clean and they refilled our tea when they were empty (my family is like a big tea bucket). We each had one bowl of rice for the main dish and there were a ton of leftover rice, so they kindly asked us if we want to take them home. They wrapped them into rice balls and made a super cute bento for us that reminds me of zingzi.

When we left, the restaurant owner (main chef) came out to thank us for our visit. It was funny because my parents thought he wasn't the main chef as he was grilling fish when we entered. Who'd know grilling fishes is more difficult than other type of cooking?

I know some people mentioned that he used common ingredients etc, but I think what's important is the details of the dishes and how the cooking was executed. Or maybe the more expensive courses aren't worth it, but I think this short course is definitely worth it. I mean, coming up with the dishes is an art too and it's worth something in my opinion. Though I've never had fancy kaiseki, so what do I know? Anyways, thank you for your hospitality, I hope to return to Japan and try your other...

This is my first time writing a negative review in 5 years. Everything we had in Japan was fantastic until we visited this restaurant. There were only four people in the room, and the chef was too busy drinking champagne with the Japanese customers to take care of us. The only interaction we had at the beginning was when he coldly asked my friend to take her phone off their precious table.

He started getting moody because my friend did not finish her soup (similar to the experience mentioned in another 1-star review). Then he served the next dish to all customers AND SKIPPED MY FRIEND WITHOUT ANY COMMUNICATIONS. After we all finished the next dish, he came to ask what my friend wanted to eat, and then turned and complained to his peer in Japanese, “She doesn’t eat anything!” This was despite my friend leaving only two vegetables because they burned her mouth and some soup.

The next torturous 3 hours (yes, 10 dishes took 3 hours) were spent in an awkward atmosphere with the chef and his students staring at us and constantly checking if we had finished all our food.

The worst part was that at the end when we had all finished and the plates were removed. Since no one came to give us the bill, I politely asked, “Is it already paid on the reservation website?” (since we were charged the full amount). The chef grumpily responded, “NO? You need to pay!” as if we were planning to flee the restaurant without paying….?

This experience was so absurd that I felt compelled to write this review to prevent others from going through what we did, spending $200 per person and being treated as if we owed them.

If the food is excellent I wouldn’t be this pissed, but sadly the best was the sashimi. Nothing was worth the 3-hour wait and the...

I had the 10 course standard meal for dinner. The food quality, taste, presentation were all excellent. I have been to Japan many times. I would rate it as one of the best restaurant that I tried in Japan. Many restaurants (especially small one) require a minimum party of 2 for reservation. This is one of the high end restaurant that allows reservation for party of one.

I saw some reviews saying that the chef only talked to Japanese and had little interaction or simply ignoring foreign customers. Based on my experience that night, the chef had limited understanding of English. I can see why he has lot more interaction with Japanese customers. This is normal and understandable. Nevertheless, he still explained each course food ingredients in English when he served. So I don't see anything wrong in this regard.

I also saw some comments regarding chef forcing them to complete all food. I did not experience that. In general, I believe that we should not waste food. Chef worked hard to prepare food. We should finish all food if possible as a respect and appreciation of his effort and being environmental friendly. Maybe this is part of Japanese culture. Finally, the restaurant is actually below ground floor. The chef escorted me all the way to the street level and bowed very politely when I left. I was very surprised and impressed.

Overall, I had a very wonderful night. The food was great and the service was wonderful. I also like the small restaurant environment. I will go back again the next time I...