Kanda

There are no words. This was the best dining experience of my life. We had a total of 12 courses from heaven, ranging from sashimi to a Japanese style steak. Every single course was prepared to perfection with each course being better than the last. The course I was most hesitant to try was a small smoked fish (from head to tail), it was awesome. The service was wonderful with the chefs preparing the meal in front of us. Our hosts explained every dish to us and gave us their undivided attention. This experience redefined my impression of Japanese cuisine. If an experience such as this is in your reach, you must go to Kanda. Our hosts asked us if we needed a taxi, they ordered it for us and courteously saw us off with the hosts and sous chef waving till our car had gone. This was an experience I will never forget.

Nestled in a beautiful Tokyo neighborhood known as an enclave for wealthy expats, Kanda is a gorgeous 8-​counter-​seat restaurant serving traditional Japanese fare with a French flourish. Most of that flourish is likely thanks to head chef Hiroyuki Kanda’s 5-​year stint as a chef in Paris when he moved there at the tender age of 23.
Opened in 2004, Kanda is located in something that feels a lot like a residential apartment building, because that’s exactly what it is. Though finding restaurants using Google Maps in Japan is always a struggle, this one was particularly vexing since the address on the restaurant’s website takes you to what is, in fact, either a gas station or a bread factory several blocks away. Seriously couldn’t tell which. Give yourself an extra few minutes if you visit.
The food is excellent– I would call it Japanese fare with French style. The chef offers champagne as soon as you sit, but there are some hardcore fatty tuna sashimi and sushi courses in there as well. For a dorky, course-​by-​course description, go here:
Service is really good, almost excellent, and English skills are strong.
One of my favorite visits in Tokyo, hands-​down.

Kanda, Three Michelin starred Restaurant in Tokyo, Japan.
Everything is as natural as you can go. Mr. Kanda uses the most rarest and exclusive ingredients that pack the most natural favorable flavor the mother nature has to offer. Nothing is too over cooked or undercooked, its just cooked to the perfect degree.
Every dish has its own meaning and it is never over powering. It feels like you become one with the nature. Sometimes you feel like you are in middle of the highest mountain eating the mushroom you just found with homemade fire. The miyazaki a5 filet is one of the most tenderest beef with the most beautiful flavor that is not from just the fat but the meat itself. White truffle has its earthy taste that makes you feel like you are eating in the french restaurant in some country side by the castle in some old village.
The flower eel with matsutake mushroom was one of the most beautiful complex yet simple dish i have had in my life. The knife technique used was incredible and im aware it is one of the most difficult and labor intensive dish to create. Ishikawa is very well known for this particular dish.
Overall its good but not michelin 3 star good standard. Its more like a solid 2 or maybe 1. I would not dine here again but I can justify the super price tag due to the rare exotic ingredients mr. kanda uses on all of his dishes. Also this restaurant is out of nowhere in the residential area literally.

I was taken aback when the long train ride led to a walk up a hill and in to a residential sector Motoazabu. It’d been raining all day and it would be my first dinner in Tokyo. As i made my way up the slight wind of streets i thought to myself, «please dont be late. Please dont be lost» for some reason the current version if Google map directions leaves out street details so you have to keep the map open and follow the lines.
Once cresting a turn I saw my destination in the alcove of a fairly well lit entry way. I had recognized the sign from the fact that my badass concierge not only got me into a place like this, also printed out pictures with addresses and estimated times from various forms of transit. Blond wood encompasses everything here. The front door, the long hallway you traverse to the dining room, and the magnificent bar that seats 8. There’s a private dining room off to the side which i never got to see into. I had the luck of sitting right in front of Kanda-​san himself, witnessing him prepare all my food. What a great privilege. At first he and the staff were a bit hard to talk to but as the meal went on we were able to have some fun conversation. The Dake and Shochu started flowing and im sure we were being total gaijin even with two Tokyo locals in the group.
The grand kaiseksi meal started in a great progression and would just get more amazing as it went on as follows
–Chawanmushi with Shirako
–Fried Kaki from central Japan
–Kani with ivy root dumpling jn broth
–Razorfish with its liver, herbs and togarashi sauce
–Maguro two ways, sea salt and aged shoyu
–Kani tsumami with it’s head fat
–Ankimo with Sichuan pepper corn and pickled radishes
–Rice dumpling, yam, marinated mushroom in broth
–Micro shrimp over rice and nori, assorted pickles
–Miyazake beef, seared medium rare with nori and micro greens in shoyu vinaigrette
–Azuki bean and soybean milk custard
–Strawberry milk ice cream
Sublime, precise, and ultimately delicious. I can see how theyve held 3 Michelin stars since 2008. It’s well deserved. chef Kanda and his crew are ridiculously talented. watching one chef perform cuts on cucumber, the micro thin slices of chives and radishes, the masterful, clean, precise carving of fish. It’s insane. The staff kept us at a good progression and kept our drinks filled and stemware/​plateware cleared meticulously. If you love Japanese food and want to see it at its highest form, make yourself a reservation at Kanda. It’s well worth it.