Julia

⭐⭐⭐

🎁 Innovative ✖️ 🇯🇵 Japanese / 📍 Gaienmae

📓 Visits: 1

Julia relocated from Ebisu to Gaienmae in 2019 and moved across the street to its current location at the end of 2023.  It's been on my list to visit since its Ebisu days.  Prices have gone up a lot since back then.  Dinner is now JPY 31,900 + service and includes a mandatory pairing.  It's a simultaneous start and the course takes 3.5 hours.  That's most of my "no, thank you" boxes ticked so I'd long given up on them.  But since January 2024 they started lunch.  JPY 14,630 + service for a shorter course menu (6-7 courses instead of 8-12) and no mandatory pairing.  Well that's worth a punt.  At least I thought.

No drink menu.  I went for a non-alcoholic cucumber and something, which I did not enjoy, but none of the three choices were appealing.  On the positive side they had a water menu and encouraged you to a glass of Tokyo's finest, at zero yen.

After three 'nice' canapes, the first starter is three segments of orange covered by aori ika and and a cardamom sauce.  The flavour of the squid was overpowered by the cardamom and orange.  Each orange segment was actually from a different variety but I'm not sure I'd have clocked this had I not been told and reflecting on that after eating it my only feeling was "so what?".  6/10.  Next unagi, strawberry, seri and matcha powder.  The unagi was fine but no kaiseki chef would be impressed by it and in the end the dish was mostly a pile of raw seri, which costs like 20 yen?  5.5/10.  Next shin-tamanegi, amai ebi, semi-dried tomato, uni.  The onion wasn't sweet, there was hardly any shrimp and I couldn't taste the uni.  The tomato was nice though.  6.5/10.  The final savoury course was onagadai with hassaku and a beurre blanc.  I asked how the fish was cooked and they said "roasted".  There was a reason I asked.  If they literally put a piece of uncovered fish in an oven then no wonder but, whatever they did, the fish was dry, the skin particularly so.  A crispy piece of skin is delicious but dry skin and dry fish is not.  I don't remember having onagadai before and now I know why.  5/10.  The sweet portion of the meal was probably the best (8-8.5/10).  First a cheesecake ice-cream with biscuit crumb.  This was delicious, though it needed another flavour (like a sweet wine or mirin) to add interest.  Petits fours were good and had originality.  I asked for coffee to finish.  Why is it so small?  Three mouthfuls and gone.

The restaurant is meant to be a partnership between Chef Noa and her husband who acts as sommelier but he was not there on my visit.  Restaurant Manager Yutaro Suzuki had excellent English and a personality, which is a rarity in restaurants in Japan.  Sous chefs brought out some dishes and introduced them in English.  Chef Noa's English isn't so good and she stayed in the kitchen until she saw me off.  An English menu is provided so you can follow along, but it just lists the main ingredients in each dish, as is the modern way.  Despite the advertised simultaneous start, on my visit, everyone arrived at different times.  Service was adjusted so the other two tables would be served (the longer menu) simultaneously, whereas I was served at my own pace.  On their website it says it's "a small restaurant" and indeed, prior to their move across the street the restaurant sat just ten at a counter.  In Ebisu it was one large chef's table seating up to twelve.  The new restaurant is much larger.  Canapes are served on a ground floor "lounge", you move to an upstairs dining room for the bulk of the meal, which seats up to 30, and move back downstairs for petits fours and tea/coffee.  Prices have been increasing in Tokyo and JPY 31,900 + service including a pairing might sound like a good deal at a top restaurant and there's no doubt a lot of work had gone into the food here but it just isn't even good and my lunch was poor value.  Before the move in November 2023 dinner was JPY 25,000, inclusive of pairing.  I can't help thinking the extra hasn't just gone on what must be a big increase in rent.  Now you could say (1) "maybe dinner's better" and (2) "if you didn't have the wine pairing you missed out on half of the point of the restaurant".  To (1) I'd say well, the longer menu includes all the dishes from the short menu so I don't think so.  For (2) I'd say, maybe but I'm not a wine drinker.

Before the move to Gaienmae the food was said to be "Modern American" but at some point they switched and it's very much now "Innovative Japanese".  

Julia debuted in the Michelin Guide Tokyo 2024 without a Star and in Gault Millau Japan 2024 (15/20, 3 toques).  That's two more awards than I'd give it.

📌 https://tabelog.com/tokyo/A1306/A130603/13291315/

❓ My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐ 3.4

📱 Booking: 🟩 Via TableCheck only (credit card required).  A day before for lunch.  Same day dinner bookings are possible.

📍 Location: 

3-1-25 Jingumae.  Turn into the alley at the corner of the Callaway golf shop on Gaien-Nishi Dori.  Restaurant is a short way down on the right.   5 mins from Gaienmae station Exit 2a.
Map data ©2024 Google 

📶 Free WiFi? ✅ Yes

📅 Visit April 2024

🕛 Lunch

Horse mackerel, cucumber; Bonito, red daikon; Cacao, lamb
Citrus, squid, kombu, sansho
Strawberry, unagi, seri
Onion, shrimp, sea urchin, tomato
Red bream, pomelo, young ginger
Cheesecake
Cacao; kiwi, lemon; Apple, caramel

💴 Damage: 17,193 (14630 + 1 drink @ 1000 + 10%)

⏱️ Time taken: 1h35m