Michelin season is in full swing, and Tokyo is the latest city to have new stars shown upon it.
The most recent Michelin Guide for the Japanese capital was revealed earlier this week, and Tokyo now has an additional three-starred restaurant: Sézanne, at the city’s Four Seasons hotel, has been upgraded from the two-star ranking. Led by the chef Daniel Calvert, the restaurant serves up modern French fare.
“With a refined, borderless sensibility, the restaurant blends French ingredients with Japanese influences, resulting in exceptional, sophisticated, and emotionally resonant creations,” the Michelin Guide wrote. With the elevation of Sézanne, Tokyo now has a total of 12 three-starred spots—which nearly equals the number of top-rated restaurants in all of America.
Another Michelin-starred restaurant has reason to celebrate this week: Tempura Motoyoshi has moved from a one-star to a two-star. With the chef Kazuhito Motoyoshi at the helm, the establishment is focused on elevating and innovating with tempura. “Light, crisp, intense in flavour, remarkable in texture, and intriguing in temperature, each dish presented by the chef from the open kitchen at the counter is a masterpiece worth a special detour,” the inspectors wrote. In total, there are now 26 two-starred restaurants in Tokyo.
Farther down the list, 13 restaurants have received their very first Michelin star. The bulk of those are known for either their Japanese or French cuisine—some for their mix of the two. In the former category, you have Yakitori Takahashi, Sanosushi, Kappo Muroi, Yotsuya Minemura, and Higashiyama Muku. In the latter, Héritage by Kei Kobayashi, Cycle by Mauro Colagreco, Apothéose, Hortensia, and Saucer. Hakunei, meanwhile, serves a Japanese-French fusion. Rounding out the new one-stars are the Italian Primo Passo and the dessert-only Yama, the first such starred restaurant in Tokyo. In all, the city has 132 one-starred establishments.
With an impressive 170 starred restaurants, Tokyo holds the title of being the most Michelin-starred city in the world, Time Out reported on Friday. Still, that doesn’t mean some restaurants weren’t demoted from the list this year. Udatsu Sushi, for example, held one Michelin star in the previous ranking—and used some of that cred to open an outpost in Los Angeles just last month. But the Tokyo location seems to have lost its star in the new Tokyo Michelin Guide.
While many restaurants will be celebrating, then, others may be ruing their loss.
