Makimura (ใพใๆ)
๐ฏ๐ต Kaiseki / ๐ Minami-Oi
๐ Visits: 3 (2026, 2025, 2023)
The first thing you notice when you arrive is the service. All the staff smile. Every member of staff introduces themselves. They immediately pick up on your dining preferences. They ask you how you want to split the bill beforehand. It's this level of service that for which chef's wife, Tamaho Makimura, won the 2024 Gault & Millau Best Service and Hospitality Award. You'll then notice the quality of tableware. Of course the food is the most important thing, but these aspects to a restaurant enhance your experience and when they're not present you notice that too.
As for the food, there might be one course in the meal with an unusual ingredient, but other than that it's very much classic kaiseki. The weakest part of the meal has been consistently the dessert. "Strawberry milk" is intended as a childhood throwback but sour strawberries in unsweetened blancmange was not part of my childhood. Mango, wine jelly and mascarpone was big but after three spoons you'd had enough. Takikomi gohan I rated 8/10: the ayu was a bit dry and I wanted more depth of flavour from the stock. On my other two visits it's been chazuke. Not a favourite of mine but the fish is sliced thinly, so it's not chewy, and the tai here is exceptional. The rice on my most recent visit is the sweetest ever. The shinjo in the soup dish is consistently excellent, but I've had better dashi. Every other dish averages 9/10. The quality of ingredients is exemplary and the balance in every dish perfect. Ingredients I'm not crazy about I can appreciate their quality and their preparation here.
It can take a while to settle up at Makimura. But that's because okami-san and chef want to ensure they have the time so see you off properly and for you to make your next booking. When you do pay, you'll notice you get an itemized receipt and, while tea is charged, the bill is exactly as you expect. A gut punch to sour your experience as you settle up? Won't happen here.
Every restaurant has its strengths and weaknesses and at the top level, whether you score a dish 9 or 10 can come down to whether or not you like a particular seasonal ingredient and your preferred preparation. The goal in traditional kaiseki is to showcase seasonal ingredients at their best. At this level, If there's a dish you don't particularly like, that can sometimes be more about you than the dish.
You might never find a truly perfect kaiseki restaurant but almost everything at Makimura is pretty close, and there's no better value restaurant for textbook kaiseki in Tokyo. So the three Michelin Star rating was probably right, had they been accepting reservations. If you do ever manage to become a regular you'll be lucky to get one booking a year, but every one will be worth the wait.
๐ https://tabelog.com/tokyo/A1315/A131502/13003338/
❓ My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.65
๐ฑ Booking: ⬛ Introduction only. Will close at the end of 2026.
๐ Location:
3-11-5 Minami-Oi. 5 mins north from Omori-Kaigan station.
Map data ©2026 Google
๐ Visit April 2026
Umeshu
Uni somen
White asparagus tempura
Kani
Owan: hotate and fuka hire shinjo
Otsukuri: shiro amadai
Otsukuri: Seki aji, kensaki ika
Anago iimushi
Fugu karaage
Takenoko, hotate, wakame
Miyazaki sirloin, asparagus, tomato
Chazuke
Strawberry milk
๐ Visit March 2025
Umeshu
Sayori kobujime
Fugu shirako to-age
Shima ebi
Owan: matsuba shinjo
Fugu, rannou, ponzu
Otsukuri: shiro amadai
Hotaru ika iimushi, white asparagus surinadashi
Fugu-ni
Spring veg, katsuoboshi jelly, goma sauce, almonds
Sirloin, asparagus, tomato
Chazuke
Strawberry milk
๐ Visit June 2023
Umeshu
Hamo
Tomorokoshi tempura, renkon shira-ae
Owan: hotate, fukahire shijo
Otsukuri: hoshigare, karei
Otsukuri: aji, aori ika
Anago imushi
Bafun uni, sazai
Amadai tempura
Miyazaki ichibo, kamo nasu
Ayu takikomi gohan 8
Mango, wine jelly, mascarpone
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