Esquisse

Tokyo, Japan

The name translates as 'sketch' in French, but nothing is hastily drafted in Corsican-born chef Lionel Beccat's precise Japanese-inspired French cuisine. Beccat's set menus are ever-changing with seasonality leading all the way. In the evenings, you'll be offered a glass of Champagne, eight courses, bread, mineral water – and a gift. Cheese, if you've room, is an addition. Recent iterations include an amuse-bouche of deep-fried shrimp with coriander sauce; grilled maitake and shiitake mushrooms with black truffle consommé; and duck consommé with dried duck meat. As much attention goes into desserts – 'Geometry is poetry', for example, an eyecatching presentation of two perfectly straight lines on the plate (the white one is celeriac cream and ginger ice cream, the red is strawberries macerated in fermented rosé wine). The setting is just as sophisticated as the cuisine: nine floors up in the upscale Ginza district.

Key Information

• Tasting menu from $235
• Lunch and dinner: Fri – Tues
• 81 3 5537 5580
• Visit Esquisse's Website

Location

Royal Crystal Ginza 9F 5-4-6 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, 104-0061