Sougo — Restaurant in Tokyo

I had dinner here on a Saturday night and before leaving, was compelled by the experience to make another reservation for the following Monday. I had omakase at the bar counter both times; some dishes were the same, some different, all were magnificent each time. Chef Daisuke Nomura may be a Michelin-starred chef but him and his team carry no airs about them - in the calm, flowing, almost easy-going way that they prepare food together and in the way that they treat their guests (including a solo, non-Japanese speaking one like myself). Chef Nomura and his assistant, Chef Emi, very kindly explained each dish and how to enjoy it as it was served, in English. And on the rare occasion when they were tied up, the other chefs pitched in to explain with gestures and kind smiles. Much like the manner in which the chefs put together each dish, I left Sougo with an 'ease of being': little need for chatter, plenty of contentment. Plus a great appreciation for how delicious even the tiniest vegetable can be when prepared by thoughtful hands. If you'd prefer to go light (even though I felt that the omakase didn't leave me feeling full in an excessive, gross way and is well worth its price), then I would recommend their winter melon or onion steaks - they're brilliant. All this is coming from a non-vegetarian (do note, however, that Sougo does use fish-based dashi). Thank you for doing what you do and how you do it,...

I don’t usually give bad reviews but felt the need to in this case, to save others money and time.

My daughter and I went to Sougo on the last night of a 10 day holiday in Japan. She’s vegetarian, so the thought of an uber fancy vego degustation meal was the perfect way to celebrate our incredible trip.

I can’t believe we paid ¥32,500 for 7 courses of watery, flavourless, oversalted, often overcooked vegetables. Once again….watery, flavourless, oversalted vegetables. The predominant colours were white, brown and overcooked green.

It was bad.

Dessert was 4 small chunks of melon, which were mini but delicious, and had colour...and probably the best bit of the meal. And the sous chefs were LOVELY. But these were Sougo’s only redeeming features.

If you want to eat well in Tokyo save your pennies and dine at one of the thousands of amazing eateries lining the streets. OR if you want to spend big, try somewhere...

The whole process from reservation to leaving the restaurant was very smooth. Service was professional and attentive. We got the Kaiseki Lunch Course, which was delicious and satisfying, although starting the course with plum wine was unexpected. It was nice that each dish was explained when it was served to us. Each dish had a nice balance of flavors, none were overpowering, however, the only dish we were a little disappointed with was the dessert dish at the end. It was a fruit sorbet, which seemed a little mismatched with the rest of the traditional Japanese shojin ryori theme. We were expecting a tofu pudding or some other bean-based dessert. It was not a good sorbet either, it was hard and grainy, and not in the least smooth or creamy, it also lacked a strong fruity punch. Surprisingly, a (non-alcoholic) drink was not included...