Andreas Jensen
Google
¥27,500pp (AU$285, US$185, £147)
2 Michelin Star
Tempura omakase
Awesome hidden away tempura restaurant in Shirokane. The restaurant is run by a humble husband and wife duo; Ginya San is a tempura master and an absolute legend of a guy, he is very humble, soft spoken and is able to communicate a little in English. His wife runs the service in the restaurant, she was extremely kind and helpful.
Ginya San uses a light flour for his tempura, which I prefer to the heavier flour. The dinner started with squid and akami followed by prawn tempura. The prawns were live when the chef prepared them, this was a unique experience. Ginya San also indicates which courses to have with salt and which courses to have with the tempura sauce, I think this is great as this was you get the best flavours out of every bite.
Highlights for me were the lotus bulb, fugu with yuzu and chilli paste, uni and the anago. We were given the option of having the full/half piece or no anago, which I thought was great as it gives the customer the option to choose portion size based on how full they are.
Throughout the evening the chef engaged with the customers. It is evident that speaking Japanese is an advantage as most omakase chefs do not speak English. Ginya San was able to introduce the ingredients in English as well as talk a bit about their origin.
The service, carried out by his wife was superb, she was very professional and friendly and worked seamlessly with her husband to create a great atmosphere for the guests.
The cover for the oil is made of metal, and we were sat in front of it, so it was hard to see him cooking, but other than that it was a flawless evening.
I think compared to other restaurants of this standard, Ginya is very reasonably priced and represents good value for money. I will definitely be returning on future visits to Tokyo.