Takazawa

Time for review 800 and trying to keep the even hundreds being five star ones. This tiny little restaurant is often mentioned as the best restaurant in the world not to have a Michelin star and I am inclined to agree. It is a tiny little place, currently accepting 10 guest per night and that is after their expansion.
It is run by husband and wife team Yoshiaki and Akiko Takazawa as well as a few more chefs working in the kitchen. It is a very intimate setting and the dinner is a true experience. Here there is only one menu and it is best just to go with the flow here. The menu is playful and there are lots of things that may not be what they first appear to be. Several lovely creative dishes and I am just amazed that they can deliver such an excellent experience in such a small setting.
The food was amazing and the beverages were interesting, we sampled excellent Japanese wine from Hokkaido as well as some sort of grape beer. Both very interesting and really nicely matched with the food.
Service was impeccable and Akiko who manages all the serving easily managed the full dining room (ok it was only 10 people). We started our dinner fairly late so half-​way through our meal the other tables were already done so at that point we actually got the undivided attention of everyone there. Normally I would say that being alone in a restaurant may feel a bit weird but not here. Strongly recommend a visit here.

We’ve eaten at many of the best restaurants in the SF Bay Area (including French Laundry) and the world, and without a doubt Takazawa gave us the best meal of our entire lives! The level of creativity in each of the dishes was off the charts, and they also happened to all be superbly delicious. Add to the food the fact that there are only 10 seats, and Chef Takazawa was about 5 feet away from us the entire night cooking our meal in plain sight, and then he and/​or his very kind and gracious wife would present and explain each course to us, and this was a dining experience like no other. If you’re planning a trip to Tokyo and want an unforgettable and delicious experience, then book in advance and go learn firsthand the culinary mastery of Takazawa. You won’t be sorry!

Dinner at Aronia de Takazawa is simply the best meal I’ve ever had and truly a once in a lifetime experience. My brother somehow got the two of us a reservation to this tiny 10 seat restaurant in Akasaka, Minato (a bit hard to find, so leave early) run by Chef Takazawa and his wife. Upon securing a reservation — do so far in advance — Akiko, the wife and your gracious guide, will assist you in preparing a multi-​course kaiseki meal that will exceed your wildest foodie dreams. We chose the 16 course dinner and the chef’s skills and imagination in both Japanese and French culinary arts were exceptional, unique, and memorable as I write this months after our visit.
The dinner wowed us from its opening of an amuse bouche of pea soup (with the soup contained inside of the peas). We then moved to the famed ratatouille with 15 types of vegetables placed into one magical bite, a «terrarium» of bread crumb «dirt» with the freshest asparagus popping out, a faux coral reef that when smashed open by the chef reveals wonderful hidden bites of seafood, the Okinawan pork (pigs there are fed with awesome purple sweet potatoes), a foie gras crème brûlée, the vegetable parfait, and so much more. It was a three hour work of art, whimsy, and phenomenal personalized service with the best and freshest tastes one could imagine.
The prix fix of the dinner was around $ 300 per person, plus wine and service (by Akiko, who is supremely warm and welcoming). Remember… this is once in a lifetime — for me, at least — and for only 10 people per night. It was well worth it. A most memorable experience at one of the world’s finest restaurants with one of my favorite people in the world (my brother gets all the props for finding Aronia de Takazawa), you can’t beat that!