"Chef Mory Sacko has become a star of French gastronomy for the originality of his intriguing African French Japanese cooking in Montparnasse. The son of Malian immigrants to France, he grew up in the suburbs eating his mother’s African dishes and American fast food. After a job at a big Paris luxury hotel, he worked with chef Thierry Marx (who has achieved two Michelin stars), a Japanophile who taught Sacko to love Japanese ingredients and techniques. Expect dishes like lobster in miso sauce with smoked pepper and lacto-fermented tomato, sole seasoned with togarashi shichimi, and lovage cooked inside a banana leaf and served with a side of attieke, a couscous-like preparation of dried fermented cassava pulp. The name of the restaurant derives from the names of the chef and one of his heroes, Yasuke, an emancipated Mozambican slave who became a samurai in 16th-century Kyoto. Located in the 14th arrondissement." - Alexander Lobrano
"Locals book half a year out to come to this residential area near Montparnasse for a fine dining experience that simply doesn’t exist anywhere else. That’s because the French-Malian chef has created a tasting menu that blends his heritage and fascination for nearly everything Japanese, including manga (one character even inspired the restaurant's name). In four, six, or nine courses, that fusion might come out in a clever twist on beef mafé stew or langoustine grilled on a Japanese barbecue and dressed with dja sauce, or a chocolate-wasabi mousse that gets served alongside a decadent chocolate tarte for dessert. In the hands of a lesser chef, the combos might not land. Lucky for you, they shine from the very first bite to the last sip of wine. " - sara lieberman, lindsey tramuta
"Locals book half a year out to come to this residential area near Montparnasse for a fine dining experience that simply doesn’t exist anywhere else. That’s because the French-Malian chef has created a tasting menu that blends his heritage and fascination for nearly everything Japanese, including manga (one character even inspired the restaurant's name). In four, six, or nine courses, that fusion might come out in a clever twist on beef mafé stew or langoustine grilled on a Japanese barbecue and dressed with dja sauce, or a chocolate-wasabi mousse that gets served alongside a decadent chocolate tarte for dessert. In the hands of a lesser chef, the combos might not land. Lucky for you, they shine from the very first bite to the last sip of wine." - Lindsey Tramuta
"A tasting-menu restaurant from a Top Chef alumnus that fuses Malian and Senegalese heritage with Japanese technique, offering seasonally changing plates such as Aubrac beef with tamarind and carrots (a riff on mafé), binchotan-grilled langoustine with a shrimpy dja sauce, and a signature dark chocolate tart paired with chocolate-wasabi mousse and a scoop of wasabi ice cream." - ByLindsey Tramuta
"The restaurant’s name is a fusion of the chef’s first name and that of Yasuke, the first and only African samurai in Japan, which rather sets the scene. The chef successfully mixes his Malian and Senegalese roots, his fascination for Japan and, of course, his passion for Gallic food and techniques, honed during stints with Christophe Moret and Thierry Marx. The end result is inspired and original, featuring dishes that are distinctive, consummate and sprinkled in a melting-pot of flavours: oshizushi of artic char, cucumber, dill and vin jaune-flavoured beurre blanc; peppersoup, mackerel, red mullet, gombo, mussels and palm oil; Tanzanian and Madagascan chocolate pie with wasabi ice cream…" - Michelin Inspector