Carmen

⭐⭐⭐

🇪🇸 Spanish / 📍 Azabudai Hills

📓 Visits: 1 (2023)

Another month, another restaurant from Jerome Quilbeuf.  Jerome had a mixed 2023, restaurant wise.  Tinc Gana was featured in the Michelin Guide Tokyo 2024 but without a star.  I reviewed Tinc Gana in 2022.  When Jerome told me he wasn't aiming for a Michelin Star my concern was consistency.  I've tried to book it a couple of times since for the 15k lunch but on both dates Jerome was not in the kitchen.  As I mentioned back then I wasn't in a hurry to go back and I'm not sure if I'll go back at all now.  So it was more of a surprise to me to learn that Tinc Gana would be featured in the 2024 Guide at all and then more of a affirmation when it didn't actually get a star.  With Michelin finally tightening up Bib Gourmand criteria and the cheapest dinner course menu at Gracia now JPY 9,900, Gracia was removed entirely from The Guide.  Based on meals I've had that feels a little harsh.  For me the food should make the list of near 200 "selected" restaurants.  (That said, my last visit was in May 2022, and I don't intend to return.)  Jerome also opened Mi Casa in Kamakura at the end of 2022.  The food is maybe a bit more rustic than Gracia (and certainly more rustic than Tinc Gana) but the flavours are the same and the top 9-course menu is just JPY 8,000.  It's perhaps a bit far to travel from Tokyo just for one meal but if you can make a day of it in Kamakura it's my pick of Jerome's restaurants right now.  Jerome also opened a bar in February 2023 and cheesecake shops in Ginza and Bangkok.  Wow!

His latest venture is Carmen, which opened with the official, err, opening of Azabudai Hills on 24th November 2024.  Azabudai Hills is quite something and you should make some time to check out the development.  Carmen is on the third floor of the JP Mori Tower, alas, windowless.  There are two tables for four and two for two but the counter is longer than Gracia's, seating maybe 14.  So even if you book for 2-3 you could end up sitting at the counter, if that bothers you.

The menu and food is similar to Gracia.  4 plates for JPY 3,850 (lunch only) or 8 plates for JPY 9,900.  There's also a 6-course menu for JPY 6,600 available for lunch and dinner.  That used to be 7 courses at Gracia and, after being reduced to 6, was sadly dropped but you can have it here so that's what I went for.

Instead of the prawn croquette a cheese croquette.  I could eat half a dozen of the prawn croquettes at Gracia without getting bored.  One cheese croquette here was enough for me.  8/10.  We'll come back to this.

Next the bikini sandwich of mozzarella, Iberico and truffle.  This was mostly cheese and salt.  7/10.

Next the tai ceviche.  I talked a lot about the ceviche in my Gracia review.  It was delicious here but it's now even less refined: the two slices of beets needed to be that tiny dice so you get some with every bite and there shouldn't be a soup of sauce and sour cream as you finish the dish.  8.5/10.

Next squid, courgette and potato puree.  Delicious but tiny.  8/10.

The main dish was the "same" pork dish as at Gracia.  Here, while not inedible, even the vegetables were over-salted.  There also wasn't enough of the romesco.  But more than that, look at the portion size here compared with the same dish (on the right) at Gracia.  8.5/10.

Finally, a slice of Jerome's signature cheesecake.  Cheesy, not too sweet, great consistency.  Can't ask for any more.

After-meal drink is not included and neither is any bread.  Jerome's Cava is excellent and cheap at JPY 1,300 a glass.  Additionally, I asked for ginger ale but instead of it being "homemade" I was given a commercial concoction.  I queried it and was told the homemade ginger ale was not available.  I hardly touched it and wondered if they'd leave it off the bill.  To my surprise, they did (without mentioning it).  This is literally the second time in my life I can remember something being deleted from my bill in Japan (and the other time it was at a non-Japanese restaurant as well).

An average score of 8/10 for each dish on a 6k course menu is decent and I did enjoy the food, even though I felt like I needed to see my cardiologist when I left.  But I scored dishes at Gracia 9 and 10.  I was raving about Gracia over three years ago and if you look at where Jerome has gone from that 15 seat restaurant in Eat Play Works (now much expanded following the closure of Taratata in May 2023) to the mini empire he has now then I was proven right.

Gracia was a knockout and Jerome deserves every success that has come from it.  You can't expect a 2020 experience in 2023 and for better or worse, Jerome is a restaurateur now and no longer a chef.  If you didn't experience Gracia back then and you like salty Spanish food you should enjoy the food at Carmen.  A more extensive a la carte menu is available and if you go for the 9-course menu you'd expect a wider range of dishes and a full meal.  Menus are trilingual and staff can speak English.

You could think about Carmen in one of many ways: the heavy use of salt that makes you want to buy more drinks, prices 'held' but portions squeezed by the inevitably eye-watering Azabudai Hills rents, the lack of refinement in the ceviche.  But I'd pick the cheese croquette.  It's a cheaper replacement for the shrimp croquette but more than that it's easier to make.

📌 https://tabelog.com/tokyo/A1307/A130701/13290554/ 

❓ My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐ 3.8 (love: 2.0)

📱 Booking: 🟩 Bookings via Tabelog or TableCheck (different pools) or phone.  The restaurant was full on my visit but I'd expect at least a few seats available for walk-ins in normal times.

📍 Location: 

3F JP Mori Tower, Azabudai Hills.  Kamiyacho Station Exit 5.

📶 Free WiFi? ✅ Yes

📅 Visit December 2023

🕛 Lunch course 6,600

Cheese croquette
Bikini
Tai chevice
Squid, courgette, potato puree
Pork, romesco
Cheesecake

💴 Damage: 7,900 (6600 + 1 drink @ 1300 - cashless)
⏱️ Time taken: 1h