Kagurazaka Ishikawa

Delicate kaiseki, every ingredient is elevated to its highest potential. The sommelière knows her nihonshus and wines.

Kagurazaka Ishikawa's dishes look simple; be it grilled, steamed, fried, and simmered, they could consistently coax out the subtle essence/taste of the seasonal produce and meat. Even the rice served at the end of the course is exceptional. They adhere closely to the tradition of washoku, besides tastiness, presentation and plating are of great importance. Dishes are served on tableware like mino-yaki or lacquerware , and drinks with fine vintage Baccarat crystal glassware. Be it seated at the sought-after counter (table is from centuries old hinoki) or private room, service is always cheerful and enthusiastic. Chef-owner Hideki Ishikawa ensures he meets, chats, and thanks his guests. His restaurant also has a good selection of sakes, and quite often has the Juyondai. The only issue is, need to plan early to get a reservation.

Ishikawa was one of those places that quietly impresses you the longer you sit there. Tucked away in a peaceful alley in Kagurazaka, the restaurant feels more like stepping into someone’s home than a three-Michelin-star spot — and I mean that in the best way. It’s calm, understated, and genuinely welcoming. The kaiseki menu focused heavily on seasonal ingredients, and while nothing was overly flashy, each course felt incredibly thoughtful. The grilled nodoguro (blackthroat seaperch) was rich and smoky with crisp skin, while the clay pot rice with scallops served at the end of the meal was deeply comforting — warm, fragrant, and full of subtle flavor. Chef Ishikawa himself was present and warm, occasionally stepping out to serve and check in on guests. The staff moved gracefully and quietly, keeping everything flowing without you even noticing. It’s not about dramatic presentation or surprise ingredients — it's a place where technique, balance, and hospitality come together in a really grounded, memorable way. Not showy, but absolutely satisfying.

Excellence in taste, presentation, ambiance, service, quality to name a few. Well deserved Michelin 3 stars!

This is the best example of the kind of restaurant that the food does not look very special on the surface, but once you taste it you are immediately impressed the large amount of effort and technique being put into preparation. If you can't get a booking, it's sister restaurant "Ren" is definitely worth a try.

The juxtaposition of casual warmth and extreme excellence in execution and finesse is rarely seen anywhere in the entire world. I loved this meal and this chef and the team.

3 Michelin starred nihonryori restaurant. Quite good food and service but I think they need to improve some details. (For example, I got crabshell in my crab meat dish)

Wasn't as wowed as I had hoped to be. Don't get me wrong, the ingredients were great, food was generally very good and service was friendly. But I felt that the service was a bit too hurried for my liking.

A very special way to experience Japanese kaiseki. Absolutely believe the hype. Thoughtfully selected ingredients from across the country and a chef with the sharpest ideas.

--Deep fried shitake mushroom with minced Japanese duck,sliced duck breast, dried shitake mushroom: the quality of both the duck and the mushroom was impressive, but there was more. There was technique (the cooking of both the duck and the mushroom superbly achieved in letting the deep meaty flavor of the duck expressing itself, the mushroom timely roasted so that its earthy flavor is left unaltered while the mushroom is cooked enough and nicely seasoned to spectacular mouthfeel ) and an inspired touch (it is easy to extract decent flavors out of  duck and mushroom, but harder to  get duck and mushroom complementing each other this well. Exciting 10/10 --White miso soup with savory rice cake. The quality of the ingredients continues to be, as I'd expect from a restaurant of this reputation, of the highest order. Such comment also applies to the technical execution of the food: as mastered as it gets ,meaning the balance of flavors is spot on, seasoning judicious (never too salty, never bland). The beauty of great kaiseki cooking is to extract the most out of the least, and that is what they've accomplished successfully: deep ,  balanced, delicious  and complex flavors out of a simple rice cake and miso soup. Miso soup is one of those things that escapes attention when done well but which failure you will quickly notice, so it is easy to take such great work of this soup for granted . Excellent Miso soup like this one I was sampling is a rare treat,even in Tokyo, as I came to realise. 9/10 --Seared Ise Lobster with vinegared soya sauce - quality lobster, one piece served raw (sashimi), the other seared. The quality of an ingredient is always half the battle/ the quality of this lobster was high. There was  a true fresh taste of the sea when eating the raw lobster, which was a reminder that no ordinary lobster was served. Then you had the charcoal grilled piece, which did not fail to remind that quality seafood cooked using a flavor-enhancing cooking method like charcoal grilling does ultimately water the mouth. Delicious as one would expect,the soya sauce is,of course, of the non ordinary sort  8/10 --Charcoal grilled horsehead snapper flavored with salted bonito innards sauce is a technique that I will steal from them as I love charcoal-grilling fish at home (using a hibachi charcoal bbq grill) but I was looking for new ways to enhance the natural flavor of charcoal grilled seafood. Bonito innards sauce is exactly what I was looking for: a distracted palate would think that you'll get the same palatable impact using just salt .Well,no...there is indeed an impression of  'that is easy to replicate' when flavoring fish with salted  bonito innards sauce, but the level of the  complexity of the resulting flavor is not that easy to emulate. This sauce matched beautifully with the snapper.  Whether it is street food or fine dining, I do not have  unrealistic expectations when it comes  to charcoal grill seafood. I just expect an exceptional understanding of what makes a simple piece of fish ..tasting great! Which is what they did. Superb  9/10 --Fresh water eel was flawless in all aspects: top quality eel, the tsume sauce highly enjoyable both in texture and taste, the mashed taro packed with vibrant fresh earthy flavors. As it is the case with all the other offerings, the ingredients are complementary BUT in an inspired/thoughtful/witty  way (only the 1st offering tasted and felt like an ordinary assemblage of food items). Flawless. 9/10 --Hot pot of snow crab, tofu and seasonal vegetable. That the ingredients would remain of very high quality was not a surprise anymore,  so it's in the work of the broth that I had high expectations. They were met: the broth had depth/complexity, its taste exciting.  A world class hot pot, with a benchmark tofu (I am a huge fan of tofu as it is one of those little things that is easy to overlook but that can marvel when executed masterfully ....the tofu,here, impossibly soft, its taste not bold at all and yet so revealing in subtleties) . 10/10 A world class dining destination with service and food to match.

It's been a few years since I've been to Ishikawa, but I have to give him his due. I didn't know what to expect from a kaiseki, but I was glad I left my mind open. Ishikawa is a 3 Michelin Star chef and I am very glad my friend made the reservation to come here. The whole meal and experience were sublime. Things I've never tried before, combinations ive never had. Everything was done with purpose and to fit the season we were eating in. Each course complimented each other and set up the next. Everything was crafted perfectly and the entire meal left me feeling absolutely amazing. He even comes in to mix the rice and preepare it food you at the end. This meal was very special. If you have the chance in Tokyo, I would highly recommend it.

Hideki Ishikawa owns both this and another 3-star restaurant right down the street (Kohaku) and he takes mastery of Japanese cuisine to a new level while still providing a friendly, down-to-earth atmosphere that guests of Japanese and Western origin alike can appreciate. Ishikawa is featured in Lutz Hachmeister's documentary Three Star (worth a watch- http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1764282/), where he describes in detail the work that goes into is Michelin rating. The service is exceptionally friendly and open- kind of a rarity in Japan, unfortunately- and the interior is a gorgeous, relaxing, beautiful place. The ingredients are incredibly fresh, creatively prepared, and are once-in-a-lifetime good. For a full-on dorky description, go here: ow.ly/oKB93001raF This is a about as good as it gets in Japan, or anywhere in the world, period.

This is a once in a lifetime kind of meal. You will receive very traditional japanese food - so don't expect any kind of modern cuisine kind of twist which is so popular with the michelin set nowadays. The flavors are subtle and understated. Half of the beauty of the plates are in the pottery itself. This place is like no other michelin star restaraunt. You feel like you're walking into a family owned place which is warm, relaxed and welcoming. No worries about having 10 waiters hovering around you waiting to see you use the wrong spoon or drop your napkin. In fact, our party had a private room and could completely relax. The pacing was perfect. No long waits - as soon as we considered getting the bill, it appeared. We had a late seating (10:00pm) and the place closes at 11. Notwithstanding the fact we were the last table there and I'm sure they all wanted to go home, Chef Ishikawa walked us out to our taxi and the whole staff waived goodnight to us as we sped away from the little alley into the neon streets of Shinjuku. The whole thing felt pretty magical.

Fantastic Kaiseki food! Great place to book as a tourist: 1) Easy to book (you can speak in English if you call in the evenings). Just book a month in advance. 2) The waitresses were able to explain the dishes to us in English 3) Fairly easy to find The food was amazing. A lot of the dishes feature ingredients from specialized regions in Japan. Asides from food, the service was also incredible. Chef Ishikawa personally came to our room to talk to us (in English) and talked about some of the ingredients he chose for his dishes. It was an absolutely amazing, and quite affordable 3 Michelin Star restaurant.

Best customer service. Excellent food. Good place to dine in. If you travel to Tokoyo, you don't want to miss this restaurant. However, it is hard to make reservations. We tried to make a reservation two months in advance, but we only got the 9-9:30pm. Good luck on making reservation.

I guess this place is no1 or 2 of my Unagi experience. Be careful, this place takes a lot of time. Even you made a reservation and pick the order beforehand, they will start picking up an Unagi and killing it when you arrive at the place. So please make sure you have enough time about 45 mins to start eating from your arrival. I've visited here about 5 times but everytime I came here hungry and felt so craving for 45 mins. But it tastes sooooo great. The source, freshness, crispness, everything is good. It's an art. I defo recommend this place for you.

Three Michelin stars. No. 42 in the Best 50 restaurants in the World. Let's just say the expectations are high. This was my first three Michelin restaurant so I'm not experienced enough to different restaurants of each star rating. However I can say that this was a great meal with very subtle layers of flavor. ** Appetizer- Fresh Salmon Roe with diced lotus rood, taro, shiitake mushrooms with a hint of yuzu citrus ** Deep fried- "kakiage"- soft shelled turtle, lotus root, and oba herbs, ginko nuts -- the Ginko was picked fresh so had a interesting crunchy initial bite followed by chewiness ** Soup- Matsutake mushroom, tofu dumpling, and turnip -- So glad we came during matsutake season. Hard to go wrong with this ingredient. ** Sashimi- Sea bream garnished with fresh seaweed and Japanese herbs. Steamed abalone with abalone stock jelly ** Charcoal grilled- Fresh water eel and sweet onion with grated white radish. --Easily one of my favorite dishes. The eel was perfectly grilled and had a great charcoal taste ** Delicacy - wagyu tongue, eggplant, and tofu -- My other favorite dish. Melts in your mouth! ** Hot pot- horsehead snapper, wax gourd, okura, maitake mushrooms and wood ear mushroom ** Steamed Rice- Steamed rice with horsehair crab, miso soup, and pickled vegetables. --Apparently the secret ingredient to great rice is crab brains. We had extra so they made it into Onigilly so we could take it home! ** Dessert- Japanese pear, grapes, muscat, peach, sudachi citrus sherbet in white wine jelly --Great refreshing dessert. I love Japanese citrus Chef Ishikawa came in and mixed the rice for us and chatted with us. It's not every day you get to talk to a 3 michelin chef! Great experience!

Absolutely amazing! I can see why this place gets 3-Michelin stars. We had the 19,000 yen kaiseki course, and it was phenomenal. They use very fresh, seasonal ingredients in their dishes, and everything is perfectly executed. The ikura was very fresh and the hint of yuzu added a a hint of complexity to the dish. The charcoal grilled unagi was perfectly crispy on the outside, fatty and flavorful on the inside. The wagyu tongue dish just melted in my mouth. The sudachi sorbet with seasonal fruits was probably one of the best desserts I've ever had. I also really enjoyed the kamameshi (hot pot steamed rice), when Chef Ishikawa himself came out to mix the crab liver directly into the rice himself, and then chatted with us for a bit. He's a very nice guy, and seems to really appreciate all of this guests that come from around the world to check out his restaurant! Service was phenomenal, and I love how they even prepared an English menu for us. The staff is very helpful, and will answer your questions in English, so I don't think there's any problem here for travelers. This place is a bit hard to find, so when you're traveling, make sure you have a smartphone with internet to map directions to the place, and I also recommend looking at pictures of the building entrance so you can identify it when you see it (since it's very nondescript).

Sadly disappointing for a Michelin rated restaurant in a country where food has been elevated to an artform. Food quality was sub-par: sea-bream sashimi was stringy and chewy; black snapper was gelatinous; lobster was sinewy and flavorless; the beef in broth was gristled and slightly rancid. Excellent service could not make up for poor food and an hour delay for our 2100 reservation. Hard pass.

This restaurant is what should come to your mind when you think of culinary excellence. I have never experienced such impeccable service and doubt any restaurant could mesmerize me the way Ishikawa did during my stay in Tokyo. Watching Chef Ishikawa and his staff work was a wonderful experience and I truly felt special experiencing this meal. Each course was wonderfully displayed and tasted fantastic. From sea urchin to soft shelled turtle, each course felt like a once in a life time meal. At the end Chef Ishikawa escorted me outside and thanked me for coming. He's the man and I will eat here again when I return to Tokyo. I had to make a reservation for August 2nd at the end of June and I was travelling alone so make sure to get a reservation way ahead of time.

One of the best meal I had. Exquisite food presentation yet humble. All courses taste phenomenal! The owner hand made rice balls for us upon our departure which is great and a very personal touch.

Kagurazaka Ishikawa. solidly executed. --Appetizer: Hard clam, monkfish liver and rape flower bud covered with egg yolk sauce with Japanese mustard --Deep Fried: Conger eel and mashed garden peas with butterbur bud petals --Soup: Freshly harvested bamboo shoot dumpling and wakame seaweed --Sashimi: Sea bream garnished with fresh seaweed and Japanese herbs Snow crab topped with crab innards with broth jelly --Charcoal-grilled: Kinki fish and freshly harvested onions --Specialty: spear squid with roe garnished with 7 kinds of spring vegetables --Hot Pot: Japanese Duck, duck dumpling, tofu, tofu skin, chinese cabbage and broth agar --Steamed Rice: Fresh sea urchin, short neck clam and wasabi buds Miso soup and pickled vegetables --Dessert: strawberry and setoka tangerine and sherry flavored mousse topped with genko citrus sherbet delicious meal where you can tell Japanese cuisine stays light, highlights ingredients, and is always fresh. nothing too complicated or overpowering. really enjoyed the appetizer, fried batter was so light, bamboo shoots here are so good, crab, grilled fish, hot pot, dessert. michelin 2 star, and 4.39 tabelog

There should be a special category for reviews of this restaurant. It set a new bar for me for what a good meal can be, and it is a bar that has not been exceeded. Better than Benu. Better than even Manresa. And it is not simply the food. The chef and his staff are an encyclopedia of cooking. They have books about each element of the food. I have been told (and have every reason to believe) that this place has the BEST RICE IN JAPAN. think about how much rice is cooked in restaurants in Japan and let that sink in. Our experience was particularly special. My wife and I were there for a late night meal at the end of a big vacation and celebrating our first six months of marriage. They gave us a book and a bottle of rice wine. They talked to us about their trip to California. The chef and his hostess walked us out to our cab. When we sent them an email of thanks and told them we were going to Manresa on their recommendation, they sent a gift to us at Manresa. I later learned the word omotenashi and only understood it because of our experience here.