Tapas Molecular Bar (03) 3270-8188

Elevated dining at the molecular level

The Japan Times, Friday, Oct. 16, 2009

Food that stimulates mind as well as body, palate along with intellect

Test-tube "caviar," froths and foams and taste-teasing flavor infusions, miracle fruit and desserts "cooked" at super-chilled temperatures. . . . Welcome to the brave new world of contemporary cuisine commonly known as molecular gastronomy.

It's not really new, of course. For the past decade or so, the melding of culinary creativity and cutting-edge food science has been gathering steam (or is that dry ice?) in both Europe and America, and gaining plenty of critical plaudits, too.

The leading apostles of the movement are Catalan chef Ferran Adria and Heston Blumenthal in England, and their restaurants — El Bulli outside Barcelona, and The Fat Duck near London — consistently and deservedly rank among the best in the world.

Not that we have to travel that far to discover what the buzz is all about. This avant-garde approach to dining is gaining a foothold in Tokyo too, and its most elevated outpost is the sleek, chic Tapas Molecular Bar, inside the luxurious portals of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Nihonbashi. Thirty-eight floors above street level, it's a highly apt location to embark on such a culinary flight of fancy.

There is also a distinct sense of exclusivity. The Tapas Molecular Bar seats only eight people at a time, with two sittings at precise starting times, 6:00 and 8:30 p.m. each evening. By the time we're shown to our seats, it's hard not to feel a rising sense of anticipation.

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Tapas Molecular Bar

Mandarin Oriental Tokyo 38F, 2-1-1 Nihonbashi Muromachi; Chuo-ku

(03) 3270-8188 

www.mandarinoriental.com/tokyo/dining/molecular/

Open: Daily sittings at 6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.

Nearest station: Mitsukoshimae (Ginza Line)

How to get there: Exit A8 of Mitsukoshimae Station takes you straight into the B1 level of the Nihonbashi Mitsui Tower. The elevators to the hotel are on the ground floor at the rear.

What works: Cutting-edge cuisine in an exclusive setting

What doesn't: There's very little time to pause between courses.

Number of seats: 8 for each sitting

BMG: Live jazz drifting up from the bar on the floor below

Smoking: Not permitted at the bar 

Price per head: Fixed menu at ¥14,000; 10 percent service charge

Drinks: Beer ¥1,200; cocktails from ¥2,100; wine from ¥1,300/glass, from ¥7,000/bottle; spirits from ¥1,400

Credit cards: Accepted

Language: Japanese/English menu; English spoken

Reservations: Essential
map here...

Restaurant J (03) 5798-9070

A favorite chef's overdue return

The Japan Times: Friday, Nov. 20, 2009

Masahito Ueki relaunches Restaurant J in the heart of Hiroo

Fantastic news: Restaurant J has returned. After a gap of over four years, one of our most talented chefs, Masahito Ueki, is back in action in Tokyo.

For longtime readers of this column, Ueki will need little introduction. Over the last 11 years, we have followed his progress from Tableaux to Stellato (from its very opening) and thence to the original Restaurant J, a superb little contemporary bistro that many (the Food File included) still rate among their all-time favorites.

Now, after an unforgivably long absence in self-imposed exile up in Nagano Prefecture, as executive chef of Masaa's in Karuizawa, here he is again. And he's raised the ante one more time. Those hoping for a reprise of the old J — chic but slightly scuffed around the edges; superb value for special occasions — will need to adjust their expectations several notches upmarket.

No obscure off-off-Omotesando location for him this time: The new J is firmly in the heart of the mainstream. He has taken over the restaurant above (and formerly operated by) Enoteca wine store in Hiroo, just steps away from Arisugawa Park and the National-Azabu store. It's early days yet — J only opened for business in the first week of October — but this venue could be a perfect match.

The main dining room is formal and crisp, filled with sunlight at lunchtime, more subtly lit in the evening. There are also a couple of small side rooms for more private occasions, and a handful of outside tables on a sunny, secluded veranda. Wherever, this is a place to get dressed up for. The food is definitely worth it.

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Restaurant J
Arisugawa West 2F, 5-14-15 Minami-Azabu, Minato-ku; (03) 5798-9070

Open: lunch 11:30 am-2:30 pm

          café 11:30 am-5 pm

          dinner 6-10:30 pm (last order)

          bar 6 pm-4 am (6-midnight. Sun. and holidays)

How to get there: From the Hiroo Crossing, take the side street by the Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ Bank (in the direction of the National Azabu store). Turn left at the first side street. After about 50 meters you will see the giant bottle marking the entrance to the Enoteca wine store, and behind it the stairs up to Restaurant J.

What works: Masahito Ueki's inventive cuisine is better than ever.

What doesn't: Some may find the atmosphere a bit too formal.

Number of seats: 50 in dining room; private rooms for 14; outside tables for 11

BGM: Classical to jazz, mostly unobtrusive

Smoking: Only allowed on the veranda

Price per head: Lunch plate ¥1,500, set meals from ¥2,800; dinner menu from ¥4,800, also a la carte; 10 percent service charge.

Drinks: Apertifs from ¥1,000; beer from ¥650; wine from ¥1,000/glass, from ¥5,000/bottle; digestifs from ¥1,000

Credit cards: Major cards accepted

Language: Japanese/English menu; English spoken

Reservations: Highly recommended
map here...