I am hoping to get some help in choosing a place. My husband and I are celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary in October. We want to go all out for an elevated fine dining experience. After reading what feels like countless reviews, my eyes have been opened some things and now I'm looking for your suggestions. For starters, I was ready to go all-in on Alinea, but after reading reviews it appears as though it's more for the experience than the food and also they've been going downhill in recent years and are floating more on reputation than service and menu currently. I've read great things about Oriole, but I must preface this by saying: I read some reviews sharing that some of the dishes had a very fishy taste. I like fish, I like caviar, but there are some textures I cannot get behind. (For context: My mother was Irish and cooked most meats to death lol so chewy or even almost raw is not it for me.) So I guess I'm looking for something that will be delicious, has a nice atmosphere, feels like we are treating ourselves as we work hard for our money and are saving up for this experience that we've never had before. We like Mediterranean food, some American cuisine, some Japanese, some Mexican, and Eastern European is good too. Can you help me with places and what you liked about them? The best way to say this is we are like, "regular" people looking for a fancy night out lol. (Relatable palate, etc.) Thank you!

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Do you think it's pretty polarizing?

Hi there,

plenty of threads exist already about the fine dining scene in the Basque Country and San Sebastián but unfortunately most of them center around ** or *** dining experiences.
I am curious if you could recommend restaurants up to * or where the menu is less than a 150€/person.

Thanks a lot, I am looking forward to your replies!

Hi all, looking to celebrate a birthday in London and I'm considering between Core by Clare Smyth, Ikoyi, Da Terra and Restaurant Story. Which would be the one to go for?

Hi, so I'll be in Shanghai for 2 days with my gf sometime later this year and we're looking for a nice place to have lunch / dinner on those days. So far we've stumbled upon 102 house, fuhehui and meet the bund, so I was wondering if anyone had any other recommendations. We're mostly looking for restaurants that serve chinese cuisine so we've kind of ruled out restaurants like taian table or the famous italian spots.

Food: 4⭐️ What stood out to us was how they weren’t afraid to push the flavors with bold combinations and contrasting textures that kept the dishes interesting. Our only minor gripe was that the main course didn’t quite match what was written on the menu, but thankfully, we still enjoyed it (and it end up being one of our highlights)

Service: 3.5⭐️ We got the second seating for dinner, and we think we would’ve enjoyed the experience more with the first seating. The servers were attentive, but the pacing felt a bit too slow and dragged towards the end.

Ambience: 4⭐️ Enjoyed the warm, intimate vibe. Really nice setting for slow dinner.

Value for Money: 4.5⭐️ spent around $115 per head (after tax and service charge) for the full course including the wine and cocktail

1. Watermelon, sesame, bonito, beetroot 4.5⭐️
2. Local mushrooms, buah kulim, leek tartlet 5⭐️
3. Duck liver mousse with local goat's cheese, baeri caviar, dill meringue, nori caviar 5⭐️
4. Fine de clatre oyster, Sichuan peppercorn 4.5⭐️ - add-on, not included in the tasting menu
5. Aged local Hebi fish, fermented jalapeno, hiam, langoustine crema 4.5⭐️
6. Smoked bone brodo, white pepper whey, double gold tenderloin 4⭐️
7. Bbq Maine lobster, padron pepper, sweet corn, beetroot 4⭐️
8. Focaccia, whipped honey butter 3.5⭐️
9. Squab 4.5⭐️- the menu listed this as 14-day dry-aged Peking duck, but our server told us it was actually squab, this ended up being one of the highlights tho
10. Arborio, donaal, chicken collagen, milkfish 4⭐️
11. Muscat grape, amazake, dill 5⭐️
12. Kueh, buah keluak, fermented banana caramel 3.5⭐️

Looking for a really special dinner in Paris for our anniversary. We know we will enjoy the food at both so looking for opinions on experience. Which is more special and uniquely Paris, will we look back on as the meal of a lifetime?

Hi guys,

I’m traveling to Tokyo and Osaka mid of next month and I’d absolutely love to experience some of the top-rated sushi omakase spots I’ve been eyeing on Table.

However, I’m running into a wall. Most of the 4.0+ or Bronze/Silver/Gold places seem completely impossible to reserve, or their direct booking methods are entirely in Japanese.

Any specific booking tips for a first-timer would be hugely appreciated. Thanks!

Will be in Dijon and Beaune in early November - what are some places that i should consider? Won't have a car so likely won't be able to go too far out.

Heading to jungsik bar seating where you can order a la carte! What's the must orders? What were the standout dishes from the signature tasting menu?

I know the octopus, but what else?

Hi everyone! 😊

I’m going to Barcelona for the first time in late September, and unfortunately I only have time for 2 lunches and 1 dinner, so I’m trying to make the most of those meals!

My original dinner booking was at Fismuler, but I’ve now switched it to Ultramarinos Marín. I’d love to hear what you think of my choices and whether I should swap anything around. And sorry, this is more like "food" rather than fine dining.

Day 1

• Breakfast: Granja Elena (we land around 8am)
• Lunch: Quimet & Quimet, Cal Pep or El Xampanyet?
• Dinner: Ultramarinos Marín

Day 2

• Lunch: Fismuler / Oníric / Mont Bar / Compartir Barcelona/ Deliri Barcelona

A few questions:

1. For lunch on Day 1, would you choose Quimet & Quimet, Cal Pep or El Xampanyet?
2. Is Ultramarinos Marín better for dinner, or would it make more sense to have it for lunch?
3. For my one proper foodie lunch on Day 2, which would you choose between Fismuler, Oníric, Mont Bar, Deliri Barcelona and Compartir?
4. Since this is my first time in Barcelona, are there any must-try dishes at these places?
5. Any good place for dessert?

Thanks heaps! Would really appreciate any recommendations 🙏

What is the single most memorable dish you’ve ever eaten—the one that still makes your mouth water just thinking about it? The kind of dish you would travel across the globe (or back in time) to experience just one more time?

For us it was Odette (Singapore)'s Rosemary Smoked Organic Egg, it was not overly fussy or unnecessarily complicated. It was just a perfect cohesive sensory experience. I still remember the billowing smoke and scent of rosemary moving to our table, the perfect temperature egg tipped at tableside, and the rich flavor of smoked potato syphon with salty chorizo.

It's been many years and it still stands out. With so many other restaurants, we remember the overall was good, but individual dishes tend to just fade from memory.

What's your unforgettable dish? I want to travel somewhere for a singular dish, regardless of the stars, the service, or any of that other noise.

[Note] This visit was in early autumn (October) of last year.

I must admit I was a bit sceptical when Fabien Ferré earned his three stars straight out of the gate when La Table du Castellet reopened in 2024. With all due respect to Ferré and Bib, I imagined the accolade was more a matter of necessity than something truly earned. France’s haute-cuisine scene was long overdue for a new star, and Ferré was an almost irresistible candidate: just 35 at the time and good-looking, which certainly wouldn’t hurt the PR.

Nonetheless, I decided to have a nice lunch chez Ferré largely because of his time working with Christophe Bacquié. Ferré was his right-hand man at the former Restaurant Christophe Bacquié, which occupied this very location before Christophe departed a few years ago to open Le Mas Les Eydins further north in the Provençal hills. That was good enough reason for me to expect that the trip from St.-Tropez would be worth it; I had very much enjoyed my meal chez Bacquié in 2023.

The restaurant offers three menus: Expression Végétale, Expression Marine, and a "Symbiose" menu that includes the best of both worlds. We opted for the Symbiose menu, but added the artichoke dish from the Expression Végétale because it sounded too good.

1. The restaurant is housed inside the beautiful Hôtel du Castellet, and the word picturesque hardly does justice to the view.
2. Amuse #1, top to bottom: Langoustine, squid, and sardine. Smart and sleek, without any of the ingredients being manipulated too much.
3. Amuse #2, L'Oignon. Onion compote, onion emulsion, and crispy onion.
4. Bread (obviously). Unfortunately, I didn't take any detailed notes. But if I remember correctly, it was similar to a herb-infused dinner roll.
5. L'Artichaut de Provence: Anchois, Livèche. As previously mentioned, this was our addition to the menu from the Expression Végétale. The artichoke leaves are fried alla giudia, while the stem is served with marinated anchovy. The lovage sauce is bright and fragrant, with just enough acidity to give an aromatic lift to the fried leaves. The spherical dab of gel on the side also adds a bit of tang; it seems to be an element that Ferré uses quite often. Some of you may also have noticed it on the sardine tartlette.
6. Le Muge de Méditerranée: Avoine, Calamondin. The mullet is cured with yuzu salt “like a gravlax,” says the waitress. On top is puffed quinoa, while the white sauce is made from oat milk. The dish is finished with a local citrus called calamondin.
7. L'Encornet: À la Provençale, Marjolaine. Chef Ferré's plat signature. Char-grilled squid served on a pool of jus de volaille infused with marjoram, basil, parsley, and garlic; hence à la Provençale. This is as good as any squid dish I can recall. Excellent.
8. Le Cèpe: Vuletta, Sauge, Emulsion de champignons. Grilled ceps, which were just beginning to hit peak season in early October, paired with fried sage, hazelnuts, and vuletta, Corsica's answer to guanciale. Ceps, sage, pork charcuterie? Can't go wrong.
9. Le Retour de Pêche: Verveine, Exsudat des têtes. The catch of the day was denti (dentex), served with ceps, roasted pumpkin, and pumpkin seeds.
10. La Pomme de Terre: Sauce XO, Caviar Kristal. Good ol' spuds are smashed and infused with seaweed butter and kombu vinegar, then topped with Kristal caviar and a refined XO sauce. On top is a potato tuile for a contrasting texture. An impressive dish, although I thought the XO could have been a touch more prominent.
11. Le Saint Pierre: Sparassis, Câpres, Huile de persil. A beautifully moist dos de Saint Pierre, grilled and then confit to achieve the desired doneness. The garnishes are sparassis mushroom, marinated caper leaves, and fried capers. Ferré's use of acidity is energetic but well-calculated; the burnt lemon gelée and caper vinegar go very well with the parsley sauce. A wonderful Provençal dish of John Dory that captures the season of early autumn.
12. La Côte d'Agneau: Jeunes Haricots Verts, Huile de Menthe. Forgot to make a note of this, but I'm guessing it was local lamb (Sisteron?). Again, the blueberry gel gives a nice lift to the lamb chop, along with what I recall being some braised lamb meat.
13. Agastache. A pre-dessert, so it wasn't listed on the menu. Agastache (anise hyssop) sorbet covered in lemon foam and micro herbs, along with some more acidic gel.
14. La Figue de Provence: Grenade, Glace au lait. Visually stunning and modern. A whole fig is flattened into a circular disk and stuffed with more of the autumn fruit's flesh. Fig ice cream is scooped on top, while the devilish red sauce is made from pomegranate.
15. L'Orge: Gavotte, Kumquat, Miso de Seigle. A mix of savory and sweet.
16. Mignardise on the terrace. On top is a take on the Provençal classic olive-oil bread (pompe à huile), to be dipped in a fragrant sauce made from almond milk, orange blossom, and orange oil. In the middle, a chocolate tartlette. Finally, a bite-sized flower made with various parts of calamansi.

As we were invited into the kitchen to say hello and thank the chef, we noticed a shelf of glass jars in all different tones and colours. “My babies,” said Ferré. It turns out they are all filled with different kinds of homemade vinegar. His love for his babies was more than evident throughout our lunch.

Compared to his mentor, Bacquié, Ferré’s dishes are more concise, with flavours that are more direct. But that’s not to say they lack complexity in any way. He employs different methods to build aroma and texture, reinterpreting classic Provençal flavour profiles with his own touch of modernity.

The service is professional yet warm and humble, with very good English spoken throughout the dining room. The wine programme, supported by a deep cellar, is led by Florian Wunenburger, formerly of Pierre Gagnaire on rue Balzac. His suggestion of J de Joliette, Clos Joliette was a perfect match for the barley and citrus dessert (L’Orge).

Looking back on 2025 and my lunch at La Table du Castellet, I can confidently say that this was my discovery of the year. On my next visit, I would love to stay at the hotel (surprisingly affordable for a property of this calibre) and witness a little more of this grand chef in the making.

Visiting CDMX / Mexico City and I have already been to Quintonil, Pujol, Maximo, Rosetta, Meroma, Contramar.

What would people recommend that is not one of these places? Hearing good things about Gaba, Em, Sud 777, Mi Compa Chava, and Voraz? Help me narrow it down!

I'm planning to go next month for a milestone birthday/anniversary dinner.

Unfortunately my partner and I can't afford to do a full chef's tasting (unless it was subsidized LOL)

But I want to know what y'all would recommend to get the best experience?

LUNCH OR DINNER? How would you optimize the experience?

Reservations open tomorrow and I've been on the fence, let me benefit from all the wisdom of this sub!

Thank you so much!

UPDATE: Thank you for all the advice received. Made a lunch reservation. Hopefully one day I can do the whole experience but for now I'm happy to have a little of a good thing rather than miss out completely.

Hey all!

Planing a visit to Helsinki with my SO very soon and wanted to check out the fine dining scene and the 1*s in the city.

Two options I found and seem to like are Olo and Demo. Found some nice feedback on Olo but not much on Demo.
Does anyone have any recent experience with either one of them? I am curious of the wine pairings as well, so if you have any input there it would be highly appreciated.

Thank you in advance and cheers!

Everyone has a theory about when reservations drop: midnight, 9am sharp, always check during service. I got obsessed and measured it, watching availability at a set of very hard-to-book restaurants at roughly 90-second resolution for weeks.

Three things surprised me:

There is no universal magic hour, but individual restaurants have their own fixed release schedules. One of the most famous tasting-menu rooms in the country drops 52 to 65 tables at exactly 5:00pm Pacific, every single day, like a bell.

How hard a table is to GET and how fast it VANISHES are completely different things. At one beloved Brooklyn spot, an open two-top survives about 3 minutes. At a legendary prepaid tasting room, openings sit for almost 4 days. Fame doesn't mean frenzy when dinner costs as much as a flight.

Between 10pm and 6am almost nothing appears. The midnight-refresh ritual is a myth. Sleep.

Also humbling: my first analysis "found" that half of all new tables appear in a single hour. It was wrong, an artifact of my own measurement schedule, and it died when I broke the data down per venue. Data will happily lie to you if you want a headline badly enough.

Full disclosure: I built a small tool for myself that does the watching, and I wrote the findings up with charts. Not linking it out of respect for the sub's rules, but happy to share in the comments if that's allowed, and happy to answer questions about the data either way.

This is my review of Utah’s first and only Michelin starred restaurant “Monte” which I went to a few weeks ago. They focus on using mostly local ingredients and say that the courses change with the season.

Vibe:

It’s actually quite a unique vibe, basically the building is a distillery, but a few nights a week they open it at night and have a fine dining restaurant in one of the rooms. It’s a bit unclear you are in the right place when you arrive as there’s no big sign or anything, and you enter through the unassuming distillery entrance (with no people there during the evening), and then walk through another room to get into the restaurant room. Once you get there it’s pretty cool, though its dimly lit and there are only a few tables and a bar. But its next to some cool spirit aging barrels, as well as having a view of the next room which has a bunch of the distillation things going on. There are also several interesting stained glass windows, and the servers are also all in nice full suits. So it really is a very unique vibe and ambiance.

Service, etc:

The service is decent, and they are all nice and try hard. However if you are used to a lot of fine dining some things are almost comical, such as being asked to help move plates out of the way every single time new things are brought to the table. Also the servers were pretty quiet volume wise, so it was extremely hard to hear their detailed explanations of the dishes.

Price:

There are 2 different menu options: a “short” menu for $120, and a “long” menu for $180. I think the short menu (which is what I went with) was actually great value, though the big menu which only says it adds a ceviche and a predessert (though also seems to add another dessert in practice?) definitely did not seem to be as good of a value. I also saw the table next to us which got the long menu, did not finish one of their extra dessert dishes, which seemed to be some kind of shaved ice that they made tableside using some antique machine.

They also offer adding truffle or caviar to any dish of your choosing (lol) for a $50 supplement, which I personally would never recommend to do at any restaurant. They also let you substitute the venison for a5 wagyu for a $120 supplement, which I also never do at any restaurant as I’m a bit bored of wagyu at this point and it’s just not worth it for me.

When I went a few weeks ago before they got their star it was quite easy to book. Now that they got their star I checked again, and they seem to basically be completely booked through the end of the year.

Food:

Overall the food was good, and I do think this was the best food and fine dining experience in Utah. Maybe “Table X” in Salt Lake City is the most comparable, but other than Table X’s bread/butter course (which actually was very good), I think that Monte was indeed just better at everything else.

That being said, compared to other one star restaurants elsewhere, Monte would definitely be at the lower end of that spectrum. They are also not doing anything especially groundbreaking or different food wise. But I have no problem with their star, it indeed is the best restaurant in Utah I have been to, the food is good, and it has a very unique ambiance. So I think if you are in the Salt Lake City area it’s totally worth checking out, though it’s not a “must visit” or something to plan around.

(As an aside there are 2 restaurants in Arizona which I do think are absolute must visits for any fine dining fans, and were totally robbed of even a mention in the Michelin guide, so I will post my reddit reviews of them soonish.)

I won’t rate individual dishes as my rating system is quite tough for higher ratings. But I’d say on average I’d give the food about a 6.5 which is a solid score. My favorite dish was the rabbit ravioli which was in basically like a Tom Kha sauce, though all the mains were solid. My least favorite was the blue cheese cheesecake, which I don’t think was part of the short menu, but they generously gave us because we were celebrating something. Though they forgot to add honey to it for the first minute so it just wasn’t sweet enough at all, and even after they added honey it still wasn’t sweet enough for me.

Courses:

Beet meringue with caviar (pic 2)

Mushroom tart (pic 1)

Heirloom tomato (pic 3)

Breads and butters (pic 4)

Trout (pic 5)

Rabbit Ravioli (pic 6)

Venison (pic 7)

Gelato (pic 8)

Blue cheese cheesecake (pic 9)

My second favourite fine dining meal of 2026. This was a visit to Sézanne for chef Daniel Calvert's last week at Sézanne.

Presumably, it was the best time to visit, as chef Calvert would be serving fan favourites or his best ofs. I tried most of the dishes I'd hoped for, except the megumi gamo and mango. Several tables received the duck while we didn't, which felt odd for an "omakase" - no menu, dishes revealed only as they're served. No swaps/ substitutes accomodated per the booking policy either, so I assumed we were gonna get the duck just like everyone else.

Food:

+48m aged Comté cheese gougère

+Moromi and Koshihikari rice sourdough with Brittany butter. I am not a bread course person, but this was excellent.

+Kintoki carrot soup, roasted langoustine. Sweetness from the carrot and richness of the lobster paired beautifully.

~Hokkaido amaebi, nage "gelée"

+Ankimo with Chinese soy sauce and black vinegar

+Foie gras and abalone liver parfait, scallop blini

~Himi Port botan ebi, cucumbers, sudachi

+Abashiri charcoal grilled kinmedai, Koshihikari rice, shishito peppers

+"Aile de poulet", Chiba peashoots, "wok oil"

+Kyoto "taiza gani", Fukuoka fruit tomatoes, burrata cheese. Super smooth burrata whip that provided a cooling effect when paired with the crab.

+100d aged Ozaki beef, Yunnan morels, sauce "bordelaise"

+Aged Mimolette cheese from "Lille", karasumi and honey from Nagano

+Bergamot from Kochi with Earl Grey tea

+"Riz au lait en croûte", Fukuoka strawberries

+Mignardises

Not a single bad dish, though I found the 2 shrimp dishes comparatively weaker vs. the whole menu. I enjoyed the menu as it was consistently creative, well-executed, balanced, and engaging - not often that menus are near faultless.

Needless to say, excited to visit Chez Calvert next Tokyo trip. Would be interested in trying Sézanne under chef Lancaster as well, but they seem to be charging the same price as if they held their *** stars - slightly aggressive IMO.

Miscellaneous:

My favourite fine dining meal was sushi during the same trip, unfortunately no photos allowed on socials.

4.5/5

thanks to some recommendations from this sub, to celebrate my better half's birthday, we went to enclos. this was my first time and his second (previously having attended in march).

we got their non-alcoholic pairings, which i really enjoyed but maybe wouldn‘t get again just due to price. i did forget to take some photos of them (oops) but our menu is attached in the comments (too many photos) in my other half’s review (i don’t know how to post images in replies lol).

his review: https://www.reddit.com/r/finedining/s/oKrcxu260T

food:

1. pairing (muri, "yamilé", denmark) - effervescent, airy. reminiscent of watermelon or tomato (like... a watery summer fruit, i guess?). vaguely savoury. very refreshing. great bubbles.
2. maine lobster croustade - first of all: i hate cilantro. the green goddess had it. but this was still my favourite bite of the entire evening. it was a crackly, textural dream. so much flavour. delicate but didn't fall apart, somehow maintaining a frankly impressive structural integrity. genuinely incredible. really showcased technique and attention to detail with how precisely it was executed.
3. venison & its antlers - excellent texture. the meat was so unctuous with the yolk and the shell was perfectly crisp. the lichen was cool - not the texture i assumed (thought it'd be more delicate and would break apart immediately). i tried to two-bite it and i failed.
4. neopolitan duck liver pie - again, crust was executed well. duck liver itself was smooth and rich. it tasted lovely but it felt a little overpowered by the acidity? still a solid bite, just not as evenly balanced as the others.
5. fermented zucchini bread pudding - a flavour profile that feels familiar, but uniquely elevated. superb texture: soft but with a bite, creamy but not all "smooshed" together. salty, sweet, addictive. something i think stands out to me because it feels almost homey.
6. pairing (cucumber & peas) - unique, delicate. complemented the summer in sonoma dish well. reminiscent of a green juice, feta brine-like edge. you could smell the sugar snap peas from a mile away.
7. summer in sonoma - bright, lively, so many flavours and textures. lots of cool textural components. very different from the canapés, so a welcome shift. the oyster was sweet, tender, gentle. no competing flavours or textures - very harmonious.
8. pairing (tomato & blackberry) - i actually loved it, though it's quite different for me and i hate shiso. wish i'd remembered to drink it more while enjoying its paired dish because it would've been so complementary, but i was TOO DAMN BUSY EATING. lol.
9. fruits de mer - my first bite was… wow. i discovered a new flavour combination i never would've imagined i'd love. the blackberry, the sweet prawn, the sauce. such a well-judged balance of acid, sweetness, and almost sinful creaminess.
10. pairing (sparkling yuzu) - the ideal yuzu to me. sweet and tart but not too sour. a nice balance overall. exactly what i hope for from a non-alcoholic pairing.
11. brown butter salt bread - i would like to relive this course over and over. the bread itself was unreal - salty, buttery, flaky, light but full of flavour. we raved about it so much they offered us a second serving. (the starter's been around for SEVEN YEARS!!)
12. clam 'chowder' custard - the chawanmushi was AMAZING, slippery and silky (in cantonese, 滑). the geoduck gave a spot-on textural balance and the little alliums (?) added even more.
13. pairing (ume amazake) - not as tart as i'm used to, which was nice. quite creamy. i believe it's house-made. surprisingly, one of my least favourite pairings of the night (even though i LOVE ume). not bad whatsoever - just not what i expected.
14. 60 day dry aged tuna belly - i firmly believe rice makes a dish, and this rice was incredible. each grain was its own perfectly cooked pearl, but also still cohesive. mixed beautifully with the marrow. the passion fruit uni sabayon added an unexpected layer that i loved. one specific kind of leaf that was almost like a sea grape was my favourite green for the popping quality.
15. pairing (carrot & elderflower) - i love carrot juice, i love mandarin-y citrus notes - this was right up my alley and a lovely complement to the quail.
16. wolfe ranch quail - cooked to perfection. one of the juiciest birds i've ever had with a delightfully crisp skin. even the preserved rose and grilled artichoke were excellent - not an afterthought side, but meant to be enjoyed as a whole.
17. tortellini en brodo - the broth was very clean and not too oily. something that warms the soul and makes you feel like curling up under a blanket. the tortellini themselves were well done, seasoned nicely with a thin skin.
18. pairing (cherry & beets) - went well with the lamb. the beet was very strong - could smell it lifting off the glass. solid drink overall, enjoyed it more the more we had it.
19. emigh lamb - spot-on cook. tenderloin was tender with just enough fat. pistachio sauce was a wonderful accompaniment. i've never had anything like the small piece (can't recall the exact cut now) but the back fat was a literal oil spill - in a good way. coated my mouth so pleasantly. super unique.
20. emigh lamb grilled rib - reminded me of japanese tsukune. lovely texture, very juicy and plump. the hemp seeds in the mustard spice added a satisfying bit of crunch.
21. variations of stone fruit - my fave dessert so far. everything i love - stone fruit, "snow", jelly. a wonderful flavour and texture adventure. nice and refreshing but not lacking whatsoever like some "lighter" desserts can be. just my dream flavour profile.
22. mint tea - fresh mint. simple and excellent after a great meal.
23. pairing (strawberry soba cha) - the almond (?) oil was a little too much for me, cacao wash very evident and strong. not for me, but interesting.
24. sheep milk yogurt soufflé - delicious at first bite. the sauce with the oil worked beautifully and the soufflé was SO fluffy (better than any i've had in france). however, after a while it got too sweet for me. i did enjoy all the textures and the rhubarb added a crunch i really appreciated, though.
25. blueberry financier - nailed the texture with its slight chew and snappy bite. berries were BURSTING with sweetness. precisely sweet enough.
26. leaf croquant - i'm not sure if this is actually correct, as it was simply a betterfinger (butterfinger but better, get it? haaaa...). the chocolate quality made it not too sweet after everything else.
27. honey cornet - reminds me of the salt and straw honey flavour from a few months back (or was it this month?) but infinitely better balanced. such a satisfying crispness from the shell. the ideal finishing bite.
28. cocoa nib miso and smoked vanilla canelé - textbook perfect canele. custardy inside without being too wet, crisp outside without being too hard. exactly how it should be.

thoughts:

we were seated in an intimate corner but they offered to move us as the night went on if we preferred somewhere not by ourselves. service was attentive and kind, balancing friendly and professional perfectly. they even remembered my partner from before.

i understand why this is my boyfriend's favourite restaurant and why people recommended we just return, rather than risk somewhere new for a special evening. they really do exemplify exactly why they gained their third star.

tl;dr:

truly an incredible meal, start to finish. no regrets this time - every course landed in some way and the bread course and stone fruit dessert were standouts to me.

Good evening everyone,

I am planning a vacation for me and my best friend to Tokyo, Kyoto and Kanazawa, and I am in charge of the restaurants... While doing my research, I stumbled across r/finedining and was absolutely stunned by how seasoned some veterans here are. Pretty quickly, my research felt... let's say shallow!

A little bit of context: for my friend and me, this is our first trip to Japan, and we will stay for the second half of September. While we both were lucky enough to see a fair share of the world already, we will probably not be visiting Japan again anytime soon. We both have very time-consuming jobs, and only once in a while do our calendars free up at the same time. While I dream of some of your trips at night, my friend is fairly new to fine dining. He knows his food and is able to see the art and craft behind a dish, yet has no experience exceeding one Michelin star, usually in French or Italian cuisine. However, due to his job, he often travels to South America, where he was fortunate enough to experience several fantastic steaks.

A few words regarding myself: I have been interested in food and cooking since my childhood and was blessed to taste many wonderful dishes from an early age, and, thank god, I can't stop looking for more. I visited this and that of what Michelin has to offer around Europe, but have no experience in ultra-high-end fine dining, like some of you describe. Regarding Japanese food specifically, I believe I have solid knowledge of sushi and have visited a few Japanese one-star restaurants in Europe.

We will eat our way through Japan; however, we settled on having one beef and one sushi highlight, and for those, he has put his trust in me. While we are interested in the artisan side of cooking, our hearts lie with the quality of the produce. Therefore, we are looking for a rather puristic approach regarding the dishes, combined with dedication to traditional techniques. I believe a counter or open-kitchen setting is close to a must for us. We are fine with spending up to 50k yen per person for the food at each highlight.

I promised my friend I would find him the best sushi he will ever eat, and even doubled down, promising the same for the beef. When I found r/finedining, I quickly realized how empty my promise really was. There was no other way than to write my first Reddit post!

We will probably keep those memories forever, so I would be super grateful for your recommendations!

Besides the char with beeswax