Nihonryori RyuGin: Tokyo

Chef Seiji Yamamoto’s mission at his acclaimed restaurant in Tokyo’s Roppongi district is to convey the richness of Japan’s natural environment and its fluctuating seasons through a traditional kaiseki menu. The daily-changing selection of small dishes is shaped by what is available from the city’s premier markets each morning. Seasonal ingredients at their peak are the backbone of exquisitely presented dishes that are grounded in Japanese culinary traditions, but also break new ground.

Matsuba crab clear soup could be followed by a slice of sparklingly fresh bonito topped with dashi broth, while RyuGin’s signature dessert of candied fruit, frozen to -196°C using liquid nitrogen and filled with a hot liquid fruit, makes for a theatrical finale.

The intimate 18-seater restaurant also offers an à la carte menu for a short period each evening and is well known for its seasonal wild blowfish menu, which showcases every part of the fish from the fin and skin to tail and milt (reproductive gland). The French-leaning wine list has a concise selection of sake and Yamamoto has also created his own range of teas to complement the food.

When he isn’t in the kitchen, the popular chef is a passionate proponent of Japanese cuisine on the global stage, with a highly rated restaurant in Hong Kong and a further opening in the pipeline.