Kanagawa Roundup

Mecimo (French / Odawara)

The chef previously worked at the fabled Hajime in Kyoto but I would never have guessed from the food alone.  There was nothing special and nothing served here you couldn't eat anywhere else.  Service was poor: slow and aloof and the bill didn't add up.  Mecimo is the most highly-ranked restaurant in Odawara but it's still only 3.79 (3.60 when I went) so not a destination. 

https://tabelog.com/kanagawa/A1409/A140901/14073231/

Maison Kei (French / Gotemba)

Even if you don't follow fine dining in Paris you may still have heard of Kei Kobayashi who became the first Japanese chef in France to win 3 Michelin Stars with the publication of the 2020 Guide.  Maison Kei opened in Gotemba in 2021 and it's run by a chef who worked under Kobayashi-san in Paris.  The dining room is spectacular, a wall of glass tantalising you with a view of Mt Fuji while you eat, and lunch is cheap with courses starting from just JPY 5,500.  Sadly, the food isn't worth going out of your way for.  The best way to enjoy Maison Kei is to combine it with a shopping trip to Gotemba Premium Outlets (20m walk, 5m in a taxi) and a soak in Konohana no Yu, giving you another chance to enjoy the sight of Fuji-san.  Premium Outlets is a 100 minute bus journey from Shinjuku station but traffic jams on the Tomei can be long.  The most comfortable and punctual way to get there is by public transport is via Romancecar.  Unfortunately there are only 2-3 trains a day and the timings are not convenient for a day trip but you can make it an overnight trip by staying at Hotel Clad, which gives you free access to Konohana no Yu.  Maison Kei is the best restaurant in Gotemba, but they're ain't no competition.

https://tabelog.com/shizuoka/A2204/A220402/22037630/

Mikasa (Tempura / Kawasaki)

Mikasa is a legendary tempura restaurant in Kawasaki.  Many called it the "best" tempura in Tokyo, even though it's not in Tokyo, and it has a reputation as a difficult reservation.  It's actually easier to reserve than folklore would have you believe.  Chances are that the first time you call it will go to answer machine or they will be full but listen to the message (or ask) and they'll tell you the date and time from which new reservations are accepted.  If you call then (and you'll need to call several times to get through) you'll get a seat within a month.  Overall it was a little greasy for me.  Too many pieces 7/10 and no 10s.  With no alcohol the bill was JPY 19,200 when I went (cash only) and service was poor.  In 2016 a meal here would have cost you about 11k and it was even cheaper years before.  So probably great value back then but not worth the time or money now.  Shoes off.  Cash only.

https://tabelog.com/kanagawa/A1405/A140507/14000813/

Mi Casa (Spanish / Kamakura)

The 3rd restaurant from Jerome Quilbeuf and my pick of all the restaurants he currently runs.  The food is similar to Gracia but a little more Japanese and the best value now.  I'd recommend the top 8k course menu.

https://tabelog.com/kanagawa/A1404/A140402/14088808/

Restaurant Takashi Tanno par (French / Hase)

The chef has a great CV including experience at Restaurant Kei in Paris and L'Effervescence.  Restaurant manager and sommelier Satoshi Yamamoto previously worked at legendary restaurants Takazawa (now in Niseko) and Hotel de Mikuni.  The food here was excellent (average score 8.5-9/10).  Incredible value for 9 courses at lunch for 10k, including a main of Kobe beef.  The sommelier couldn't leave his past behind so drinks were expensive.  It's a long way to go just for one meal but arguably worth it.

https://tabelog.com/kanagawa/A1404/A140402/14083850/

Kamakura Kitajima (Kaiseki / Kamakura)

This is quite a difficult reservation though more seats might be available by phone than just via Omakase.  Competent kaiseki and if you're local or can make a day of it then it's worth a visit but, again, not a destination. 

https://tabelog.com/kanagawa/A1404/A140402/14083457/

Fierte (French / Kamakura)

I scored everything an average of 8-8.5/10, i.e. very little to complain about, especially at this price point.  The two varieties of homemade bread were excellent and the meat cookery was some of the best I've come across in any French restaurant in Japan (a chef in Japan who can properly cook lamb is a rare thing).  The two chefs are really friendly and it's two minutes walk from the station.  If this restaurant was in Tokyo I'd be a regular.

https://tabelog.com/kanagawa/A1404/A140402/14076020/

O Pulecenella (Italian / Yokohama)

The 5-course lunch here is just JPY 5,000, the food is very good and the staff are friendly.  I'd go back if I was in the area.

https://tabelog.com/kanagawa/A1401/A140101/14000055/

Restaurant Michel Nakajima (French / Kamakura)

This was the poorest of the French restaurants I went to in Kamakura.  I didn't score a dish higher than 8/10.  It felt like food and a restaurant that hadn't moved on in twenty years.  25 minute walk from the station.

https://tabelog.com/kanagawa/A1404/A140402/14004587/

Smoke Door (American BBQ / Yokohama)

The chef here was executive sous chef at Saison in San Francisco which previously held 3 Michelin Stars and specialises in wood-fired cooking.  Skip the courses and just order the "main lunch" and add extra meat.  The signature pork belly was good, as was the warm homemade bread and salad.  But the spare rib had little flavour and tasted reheated and the roast chicken was nothing special.  Weekday lunch includes a nomihodai but the alcohol looked cheap so I stuck to soft drinks.  Probably the most disappointing meal I had in Kanagawa given expectations.

https://tabelog.com/kanagawa/A1401/A140101/14086598/

Enso (Japanese / Kamakura)

The course was JPY 4,800 when I went but it's now JPY 6,000.  The 'onigiri' was the best I've ever had and I could eat that dish every day.  The rest of the course didn't feature the best quality ingredients and with Japanese cooking there's nowhere to hide.  The staff are nice, as is the dining room, and if you're in Kamakura you could do worse.  It appears that you can just order the onigiri for JPY 1,200 after 3pm on weekdays so you can also try that.  Shoes off.

https://tabelog.com/kanagawa/A1404/A140402/14086591/

Smaak (European / Yokohama)

It would be slightly disingenuous to say that Smaak was my favourite new opening in Japan in 2023 because (1) it opened in (December) 2022 and (2) it might have been the only new opening I went to outside of Tokyo in 2023 but I waited a month for it to settle in so I'm counting it as 2023.  By the way, my favourite new opening in Tokyo in 2023 was Ukiyo (review here) but Smaak is even better.

The 46F of a serviced apartments block in Yokohama is not where you'd expect to find a restaurant opened by a chef who had 3 Michelin Stars, but that's exactly where you'd find Smaak.  Jacob Jan Boerma ran De Leest in the Netherlands which held 3 Michelin Stars until he closed it in 2019.  The Yokohama restaurant is run by Rob Nolle who has worked with Jacob in the past.  If you're fortunate enough to secure a table in the window you'll be rewarded with a stunning view over Yokohama Bay and if you time it right (check their Instagram for hints) you can enjoy dinner while viewing a firework display.

All of this would mean nothing if the food was no good but it's anything but.  One of the shortcomings of eating any non-Japanese genre of food in Japan is that so often the food incorporates Japanese ingredients or flavours.  There are very few places serving uncompromisingly French, Italian or Chinese food in Japan.  Smaak is the only place in Japan I've been to serving purely European modern cuisine.  How close it is to De Leest I can't tell you but I've been four times, the food has been consistently excellent and I've rated dishes 10/10 on each occasion.  The only faults I would point to are that the sizes of the proteins are a bit small and the quality of these isn't the best but at these prices that's to be expected and if you wanted to give a backhanded complement you could say that makes it more authentically European (cough!)  If you regularly eat in modern restaurants in Europe then Smaak may well be nothing special to you but if you're somewhat bored by the austere composition of food in Japan then try Smaak: there's a serious amount of work going into every dish here.

Smaak is easily a 1 Michelin Star level restaurant, maybe even 2 and I'm sure that had the restaurant dropped in Tokyo it would be in the 2024 Guide.  Michelin haven't produced a Guide covering Kanagawa since 2015.  There are definitely a number of Michelin-worthy restaurants that have opened in Kanagawa since then and now that the Tokyo Guide includes 'selected' restaurants (those not quite good enough for a Star) space can't be a constraint so it's high time Michelin took another look.

Bookings are easy (up to 10am the same day).  I recommend the 11k/8-course lunch. 

https://tabelog.com/kanagawa/A1401/A140104/14088267/

Others

Trattoria Tabule is ex-Jean-Georges chef Fumio Yonezawa's second restaurant in Japan.  My recent meal at his "flagship" No Code (review to come) was excellent so I will definitely go.  Ardoak in Tokyo relaunched as Anchoa in Kamakura in 2021.  It was good in Tokyo and at some point I will go.  I've heard Ichirin Hanare isn't as good value as it was pre-Corona and I'm wondering if it's worth going all that way when Ichirin (still haven't visited either) and Textura are here.  I'm also interested in visiting Kinon and at some point I need to go to Unagi-tei Tomei.  Would love to hear opinions from people who've been to any of these.  Finally, the yakitori restaurant 1000 and "horumon" restaurant Sawaishi are very hot reservations right now.  Neither yakitori nor horumon appeal to me, but if that's your kind of food they have quickly gained very strong reputations.