Derek K.
Yelp
Rating: 86/100 pts
Ryuzu is one of 15 or so French restaurants in Tokyo that has been awarded 2 Michelin stars. It was established by lead chef Ryuta Iizuka, who apprenticed at several 2- and 3-star Michelin-rated restaurants in France and also served as lead chef at a number of restaurants in Japan before opening this one in February 2011.
*Interior*: Dark, intimate, quiet, and romantic.
*Service*: Impeccable. They are highly staffed in proportion to their size, guaranteeing you'll be given the utmost attention. The timing of each dish was perfectly coordinated with our dining speed. Even complex dishes were cooked in perfect time to be completed just as you were finishing the previous dish.
*Dinner Menu*: Select from the 6-course Short Menu (8000 yen), the 8-course Tasting Menu (13000 yen), the chef's special Ryuzu Menu (19000~), or A La Carte. Prices include tax but not a 10% service charge. There's also a short menu for lunch.
*Experience*: I ordered the Tasting Menu for 2. With no alcohol, and just a bottle of mineral water, our total was 34,210 yen. The 8-course meal included a total of 11 dishes (including starters and bread), with the meal lasting 3+ hours. Despite each dish being small, this was plenty of food, and after the meal I couldn't desire a thing more.
*Dish Explanations*: Detailed explanations of each dish were provided (in Japanese), although some of the waiters spoke SO TACITLY that I could hardly understand them. I get that this is done to preserve the tranquility of the atmosphere in consideration of other guests, but at times they were laughably quiet and imperceptible over the occasional kitchen sounds.
*Style*: It was early autumn when I came, and the menu was largely tailored to highlight what was in season (particularly for desserts). All dishes were strongly representative of French cuisine; the small Japanese influence I perceived was some ingredients being sourced locally, such as the true wagyu sirloin steak, the hamo whitefish from Awaji, and the use of uni with one of the starter dishes.
*Taste*: Taste was overall very rich, at times perhaps slightly more than I'd prefer, and certainly more rich than elegant. However, at no point did I feel an overuse of oil. I loved their choices for appetizers and main dishes, and enjoyed the high level of artisinalism that went into each one. For a French meal, though, I found the bread service to be only average, and admiring the multi-colored glass iPhone case-shaped butter dish was the best part of the bread.
*Dessert*: To me, the strongest and most notable part of the meal was dessert. My course had 3 (a small, a large, and coffee + a plate of 5 mignardises.) The main dessert was an autumn chestnut dish containing a thick chestnut mouse, topped with chunks of chestnut, topped with a more refined chestnut mouse, further topped with shaved chestnut, and then crisped chestnut chips. I.e. 5 layers of the same ingredient, each prepared differently. This was a fantastic way to enjoy different textures of the same flavor. They employed the same technique with a nashi sorbet, which had 3 different textures, all of the same flavor.
*Summary*: Overall, I was very happy with my choice to eat here, and it was the perfect meal to use as a precursor to propose to my girlfriend(!). There are many restaurants of this caliber in Tokyo, and while Ryuzu may not be the best, it's still a great choice that may not be as crowded as some of the more firmly established places. I was able to easily get reservations 2 weeks in advance, booked online.