Quintessence, French – Shirokanedai

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Quintessence is hidden away in a side street in Shirokanedai off Platinum Dori.  It is a top class luxurious restaurant. Waiters greet you formally dressed in black suits, all displaying sommeiliers badges, in itself impressive. The room is not large and only seats about 28 people. There are white tablecloths, lots of space between tables, note children are not allowed and you are not allowed to take photos, this place is strictly for adults!

The novelty about Quintessence is not that it is Omakase which is usual in Japan’s high-end restaurants but that each diner’s Omakase can be different.  You will see other diners eating some dishes the same and others different. The key being fresh ingredients bought each day. The chef will make dishes for each table depending on who the diners are, i.e elderly/ couples/ regulars and adjust the taste to suit. Infact, the chef is proud to say that you will never eat the same dish twice, which after having dined here, I feel for some dishes, this would be a shame! That is the novelty experience which Quintessence offers and which no other restaurant can match.

The food as you would expect with a 3* Michelin restaurant is beautiful and the presentation of each dish is well thought out. The plates are made of stone and are interesting pieces.

We ordered a glass of champagne and then the first amuse-bouche arrived.  A sliver of shitake coated with porcini powder, which smells beautiful, on a cube of sable biscuit. Next was gazpacho, served in a small shot glass with tomato, cucumber and crushed watermelon ice on top both refreshing and summery. Sliced brown bread with butter was served.

Then the entrees started. First, a small rectangle pancake with mushrooms and tiny orange mussels with italian parsley and dill. This was followed by goats milk “mozzarella” with olive oil, lily seeds, macadamia nuts and rock salt which is a signature dish with the olive oil and the rock salt being the star ingredients. This dish is unusual and the olive oil was great but very rich, I felt like dipping my bread in the oil. The goats milk was beautiful. I do not usually eat goats cheese but the chef made goats milk into a soft cheese akin to mozzarella with a very slight taste, very different to the strong crumbly goats cheese I am used to. Next was fried artichoke and charcoal grilled anago (sea eel), with the bones of the anago used to make a beautiful dashi foam. The final starter and for me and my husband our favourite, was thin apple flan with blood sausage and foie gras. The presentation was beautiful, the apple flan was about 20cm in length and 1.5cm wide. The blood sausage was spread on top, coating the flan in black with the foie gras positioned on the right side of the flan. This dish was amazing and for me the signature dish. Infact if I went back again in Autumn I would like to specifically request this dish. The foie gras was delicious, not too rich and with the combination of apple and blood sausage, it was truly perfect!

Next was the main course. One fish dish followed by a meat dish.  The Snapper (Madai) was grilled semi-rare! which is a very unusual style of cooking for a french restaurant and it was a hit with my husband. The fish was served with okura and pickeld enoki.  Our main meat dish was pigeon gradually cooked and was beautiful. It was oven cooked for one minute, taken out and cooled down for 5 mins, following the same process repeatedly for 3 hours! The meat was a dark red colour akin to lamb though tasted similar to chicken. It was amazingly soft and succulent with all the flavours of the meat condensed, served with young bamboo, this dish was delicious. I noticed that all the other diners seemed to have a different main course, one looked to be duck confit, another roast chicken leg and another roast pork.

I was waiting for the cheese board though surprisingly they do not have a cheese selection and serve only one portion of cheese, if you would like. It was a thin slice of Saint Nectaire cheese with marmelade and a small square of french toast. The cheese is nutty and the combination with the marmelade was perfect.

Next was dessert and there was an incredible assortment of dessert, four in total.  The first dessert was served in a small shot glass, it was ice cream made from sake waste which was bitter and strong, paired with small cubes of musk melon.  It was unusual, strong and delicate and was the signature dessert for me.  This was followed by coconut milk pudding which was very muted in taste with pistachio oil and a dash of espresso oil which had a wonderfully strong coffee taste. Next was a marzipan slice with chocolate and white toffee inside coated with cacao powder which was good but very very sweet.  Finally we were served crushed meringue ice-cream which was made from meringues (made from egg and sugar), once made then crushed. The same sugar and egg mixture was then used to make the ice-cream, served with a coating of sea water! from Kanazawa prefecture, on top. The dessert was both sweet and salty and my husband’s favourite.  13 dishes later and a final cup of Darjeeling tea completed our 3.5hours of dining decadence.

We paired our entrees with a glass of Domaine Fouassier (Melodie) Sancerre which reminded me more of a Chardonnay with pear and a strong honey taste, unusual for a Sauvignon blanc. The fish was paired with Domaine Latour-Giraud Meursault Charmes Chardonnay which had a strong vanilla oak flavour. Finally, the red wine recommended was Hospices de Beaune Pommard Premier Cru pinot noir which matched wonderfully with the blood sausage and pigeon dish.

It is very difficult to secure a reservation as phone lines are always busy and reservations are only accepted at certain times in the day.  Also reservations are only accepted exactly 2 months in advance for that particular day in 2 months time.

No menu (menu carte blanche=omakase).  Dinner for two including drinks approx JPY 25,000-30,000 per person.

http://www.quintessence.jp/english/chef.html

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