Auberge Tokito

⭐⭐⭐⭐

🇯🇵 Japanese / 📍 Tachikawa

📓 Visits: 1

In 2004 Yoshinori Ishii opened Umu in London and it was widely regarded as tbe best Japanese restaurant in Europe, earning two Michelin Stars.  He's also acknowledged as pioneering ikejime in the UK.  In 2020 he returned to Japan and in April 2023 opened Auberge Tokito, an upscale hideaway ryokan in Tachikawa that doesn't accept children and where a night's stay in one of their four guest rooms will cost you at least 250,000 JPY for two.  The dining room is open to visitors, however.  Until April 2024 the cheapest option was the 10-course omakase at JPY 31,625 but that would only buy you a table seat.  For a seat at the counter you'd have to choose the 14-course omakase at JPY 63,250.  From April 2024 they introduced a 6-course omakase at JPY 18,975 (also table seating only).  Originally this was going to be time-limited for two months only but is now going to be a permanent offering.  My visit was for this course.

Table rather than counter seating is often seen as a relegation but I sneaked a peak at the counter and to be honest the table seating might be preferable.

The table seating is in a separate room which has triple-height ceilings and, in the daytime, a beautiful view of the garden outside with no real need for artificial light.  Head chef Hiroki Hiyama came out to introduce the first dish and Executive Chef and founder Yoshinori Ishii came out just before dessert for an extended chat.  So I don't think you miss out not sitting at the counter and there's even some theatre to the meal.  If you're sat at the counter you have less space, no view and a lower ceiling.

First a snow-preserved out-of-season yurine two ways: sautéed and pureed.  This was super sweet and cooked very simply with a hint of olive oil and salt.  9.5-10/10.  Next sakuramasu served with fresh and frozen amanatsu and a shoyu jelly.  The contrasts were excellent and the fish (slightly smoked?) was punchy enough that the citrus didn't overpower it.  9/10.  Next the soup dish which was a duck broth, packed with late Spring vegetables and a minced duck wonton.  The pasta in the ravioli was excellent but I couldn't help think a confit duck would have more impact and while the soup was very good it didn't have the ethereal quality a first class owan does at the best kaiseki restaurants.  8.5-9/10.  Next the sashimi course which was kochi.  The sauce (an 'ujio' sauce made from kombu and salt) was a bit salty but I liked it and the dish was a good-sized portion.  9/10.  The 'main' dish was Hokkaido beef served with gyoja ninniku cooked two ways.  I've had better beef but I liked the variation in flavour with the Chinese-style beef on the right.  8.5/10.  The rice dish was peas and warabi, served with tempura anago and sansai.  The peas were outstanding but there weren't that many in the rice and you don't get much umami from peas and warabi.  The akadashi was super rich.  The tempura was excellent, managing to stay warm and relatively crisp, despite the fact it would have been out of the frypan for several minutes before I finally got to eat it.  In particular, the anago was the best ever: firm, thick and full of flavour.  8.5/10 overall.  Dessert was a kinome mousse served with cream and tropical fruits.  I guess they were attempting to balance refreshment and comfort and it was more interesting than a simple piece of fruit but these flavours don't appeal to me.  In another season the fruit would have been different.  Finally, a choice of after-meal drink and a cherry pate de fruit and a chocolate-coated caramelized pecan.  The meal included a choice of one drink, which included sake and a Japanese sparkling wine.

A terse, English menu is provided to accompany the course.  All the staff who serve you can speak English.  Ishii-san's English is perfect.  Hiyama-san's is a bit laboured.  The tableware is beautiful, some handmade by Ishii-san.  A small thing, but I liked the elegant non-disposable chopsticks (alas, not a take-home gift).

There's some theatre in the presentation: the broth served from the clear pot, the sashimi served on a glass plate that reveals a drawing underneath as you eat it.  But there's still attention to dining, like serving the beef on a hotplate, so it doesn't get cold.  There is a modern touch to the food, for example with the frozen amanatsu or in terms of the presentation (the sashimi, the beef and the dessert).  There's inclusion of some Western elements: olive oil in the yurine, sun-blushed tomatoes in the duck broth, cream in the dessert - all unthinkable in traditional kaiseki.  At the same time, they're still respecting the high quality and relatively expensive ingredients they're using.

Your experience here is going to come down to expectations.  You can imagine someone else expecting that as it's a hotel they should be able to demand a burger or a bowl of pasta, lamenting having to eat a multi-hour course menu.  You can imagine someone expecting traditional Japanese kaiseki, being dismayed by the 'impurity' of the food and bill of 10s of 1000s of yen.  My expectations were low: I was expecting a very light Japanese meal with sub-par food.  Instead, I got excellent kaiseki, eight rather than the advertised six courses, and, despite nothing blowing me away, I thoroughly enjoyed it.  Of course it's not cheap and you're partly paying for the fact that it's in a hotel but considering that and considering the quality and amount of food I thought it was reasonable value and I've had more disappointing Japanese meals that have cost more.  I wouldn't pay 60k+ for dinner here, I'm unlikely to be going for the 30k+ dinner as a lone diner but I'd consider going back for the 18k lunch.

There are 'better' kaiseki restaurants in Tokyo but you're looking at a bill of at least 38k for an uncompromising dinner anywhere and of the very limited choices of kaiseki lunch offerings in Tokyo most are a compromise too far and almost anywhere you go it will be 'just kaiseki'.  They're trying to do something a bit different at Auberge Tokito and based on what I had they're largely succeeding.  Tokyo doesn't really have any destination restaurants where the building and surroundings are part of the dining experience.  Auberge Tokito is there or very close.  If you're bored of traditional kaiseki I recommend a visit for lunch, or even better for an overnight stay.

📌 https://tabelog.com/tokyo/A1329/A132901/13282680/

❓ My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.15

📱 Booking: 🟩 Same day via TableCheck.

📍 Location: 

1-24-26 Nishikicho.  One stop on the JR Nambu line from Tachikawa station.  Cross over the railway tracks.  The ryokan is on the right, just after the bicycle parking lot.

Map data ©2024 Google

📶 Free WiFi? ✅ Yes

📅 Visit May 2024

🕛 Lunch 18,975

Yurine sautéed, yurine puree
Sakuramasu, fresh and frozen amanatsu
Duck broth, duck wonton
Kochi, ujio
Hokkaido beef, gyoju niniku
Green peas rice, tempura 
Kinome mousse, tropical fruit, cream
Tea
Chocolate pecan, cherry pate de fruit

🍷 Takeda Winery, Sans Soufre Rosé, Yamagata, 2021

💴 Damage: 18,975
⏱️ Time taken: 1h50m