Fantastic review. Would have loved to go - as like you, I am a huge fan of Passard. Unfortunately away in Tokyo. So interesting that he would be happy to allow you to sit at the main room with little kids and not at the cave!

Lurker here - but thought it might be useful to give some trip report on a short trip to Tokyo a week ago, especially after reading so many tips and reviews of food from the board.

Kanesaka
Managed to get a lunch reservation at Kanesaka - Chef was Sanpei - and we went for the 15k menu.
Having been a fan of Shinji in Singapore, decided to head down to the mothership and taste their sushi and see if there was any difference. First of all, the atmosphere - pretty empty during lunchtime, but that is not a bad thing as the Chef was fully focused on serving. The 15k menu includes some sashimi and some grilled dishes. No need to wax lyrical about how good the sushi was - but enough to say that these tasted really fresh. Some couple of standouts: The tuna cheek - we had tuna cheek sushi as well as grilled cheek in shoyu and some yuzu. Amazing texture - tender, oily. A real treat. When the chef took those out, I thought they looked like wagyu (the amount of 'marbling'). Definitely a must try. What really stood out for Kanesaka wasn't their fish, but to me, I really really love their rice. Just the right amount of vinegar, temperature (slightly warm), and just the right amount of 'pressing' to make sushi where every grain of rice just fell apart in the mouth. I like that. I dislike sushi where the rice is pressed too hard.. Chef Sanpei also suggested that the water that is used in Singapore may be slightly different than the one used in Tokyo - which may explain why the rice is just so slightly better in Tokyo. I kind of like the way Chef Sanpei prepared the sushi - he pressed it very gently - almost gingerly, as if the sushi was kind of sacred. The other thing that stood out - and one which was significantly better than Shinji, was the nori. The nori was just the right amount of crispiness and umami - can't quite describe it. I asked Sanpei why this was so, and he postulated that whilst the supplier was the same, it could have been due to the temperature (Singapore is notoriously humid). Excellent.

Dons de la nature
Dons is helmed by Chef Yoshiji-san. A spritely old chap who is extremely proud of his produce. I don't really need to elaborate on how good his beef was. Me and my wife chose a 400g Kobe Sirloin cut at dinner - and whilst it must be the best beef I have had in my life, my wife thought it was just way too fatty and too 'melt in your mouth'. She preferred beef with a lot more texture, and unfortunately, wagyu being wagyu, this was not to be. To me, what I really like abt Dons wasn't so much the beef (which was amazing), but the wine list was also amazing - we had a rousseau clos st jacques at an amazing price to go along with the beef - and we had a good chat with the Chef. Chef Yoshiji had a few cards up his sleeve - apparently he trained in France many years ago - and Alain Passard (disclaimer: L'arpege is my all time favorite) worked in the kitchen under him (so I guess that must be in the 70s or early 80s). Another interesting fact: Apparently Chef Yoshiji ages his beef for 2 months before he deems it worthy to be served - combination of dry and wet aging. Well, next time anyone goes to Dons, do ask him to pull out his beef that is "aging in progress". It is amazing. He also keeps the 'birth certificates' of the cow that he buys from (comes complete with nose print, the cow's lineage etc - absolutely fascinating). Another interesting fact - I asked him whether he had Matsuzaka beef - and he said that he didn't serve them as he felt they ate too much grass - and that they were not suitable for his charcoal grill. Total for beef and wine was abt 80k - very pricey, but I can see why they cost so much.

Kyubei
Ah, the grand old dame of Sushi. While we didn't manage to get a first floor sitting, they sat us on the 5th floor for dinner. Can't remember the Chef's name - but he had very good technique, and very very precise in his use of sauces. What stood out for me was the 'dancing shrimp' - an amazing raw prawn that was still alive which he sliced quickly for sushi. The prawn was still throbbing - pretty disgusting, but tasted so good, and almost .. crunchy and muscular. My wife was a lot more squirmish and decided to eat the prawn cooked. Overall, very well executed, technically can't fault their sushi and every bit as good as any other top sushi place. Sometimes, I wonder whether what makes a place truly great - surely beyond technical execution it has to have that emotive element which really does it right? I felt that whilst this was very good, it didn't have that extra something (perhaps the chef?) that did it for me.

Takazawa
Many people here have talked about Takazawa - so I won't really go down to description of the food. Going straight to the point - my wife loved it. It is definitely her top restaurant of the trip - the food was inventive, playful and thematic. It was a play on all her senses, visual (and all the food trickery that Akiko-san suggested), smell (burning leaves, towels that smell like pine trees), texture (jelly that bursts out in flavor, vegetables that just tastes so different), company (yours truly) etc. I didn't feel that they were trying to be gimmicky - (I went for the "tea pairing course" because I had drank way too much during lunch and decided to go easy for dinner - also, I didn't want to drink Japanese wine to be very honest) - and I really appreciated how inventive they were. Moreover, this was a place that I felt I had "fun". I mean, the food is not as cutting edge as Pierre Gagnaire, but certainly I felt that it was place where I laughed a lot, where we were amazed and were shaking our heads on how only the Japanese could pull off something like this (like the hot air balloon dish) etc. I don't really want to spoil it for others who want to go, but Takazawa was amazing. Was it a life changing experience - no - but it was certainly a place that would be talked about, remembered, laughed at. Very memorable.

Others
Well - staying in Shiodome means that I am inherently too lazy to travel across town to track down the best restaurants in Tokyo - so I ate at places pretty much where I stayed. Tateru Yoshino at Shiodome for lunch (good if not very memorable), Tsunahachi Sui for Tempura (they killed the eel right in front of you - pretty brutal - but seriously good) and various random restaurants not worth mentioning. All in all - Tokyo was pretty good - this is my second time in Tokyo, but the first time looking out for some serious food. Would have loved to go to Ryugin, Sawada etc, but alas, time is too short.

Yes - I took the Esprit PG menu, if I recall was 265 euros. Not entirely sure, but I recall they were only open for Sunday dinners...

Oh yes, the GC (I forgot which plot) Raveneau was 130.. Some markup, but not obscenely so. Interestingly extremely old vintages are amazing value - for example, a 61 La Chapelle at Rostang is about 9000+, which is extremely good value and definitely of impeccable provenance. But yes, before going to l'ami louis, i was actually at Les Papilles (which I somehow forgot about writing in my reviews) and drank a full bottle of an aged beaucastel - I definitely overpaid for that bottle, but was too happy to care too much.

For sure there are definitely showstoppers at decent prices - alas - I stuck to coke at l'ami .. but having said that, they charged me 22 for 2 cokes and 1 bottle of water!

Hi everyone. I have been a lurker here for a while - and after doing so much research and reading about all the delightful recommendations, I have decided to "pay back" so to speak, and write about the 'food tour' that I did with my wife over 10 days. It was an amazing experience - and certainly a humbling one (well definitely made my wallet lighter) - will jump straight in and talk about these restaurants relying on memory rather than extensive notes... I will also not discuss too much about each course that I had (not having taken many photos and also a lot of the food has blurred after suffering from caloric overdose almost everyday) moreover, I do not think I can do the food justice. I decided against splitting up the topic and I hope that it is not too long (and tiresome) for everyone to read.

La Tour D'argent - landed on a saturday morning and after a couple of hours of rest, decided to head out to LTDA for my first meal having heard a lot about the restaurant and their duck. Duly seated (last seating at 1.30pm) and had a great view of the restaurant. It was bustling and certainly packed to the brim with families and dare I say it, tourists. We had the lunch fixed menu (at a pretty good price) and we were off. I really loved their wine list. It is the size of a telephone book and it is incredibly intimidating. You can probably spend days, just examining the tome and for all that, prices are surprisingly affordable, and for some reason, as a general observation, I find bordeaux prices to be very marked up, whilst prices of red and white burgundy to be very decent. I settled on a 2000 grand cru Chablis from Raveneau, which was singing. Great acidity, good balance. Very enjoyable. Whilst the overall quality of the food was high (the escargots were delightful), I found that they were on the richer side, and perhaps a bit more one-dimensionally. The duck (which came with a nice postcard with the number of the duck on it) was decent, but not something I would come back for. I found it a bit gamey, and not extremely enjoyable. But food aside, LTDA lacked a certain refinement of service - for example, we could not speak french, and having told them that a few times, they still explained to us the dishes in french, which was a little annoying. For me.. LTDA is all about the wine list - the view and perhaps the history (the walls on the side of the lift had ridiculous photos of people who have eaten there).

Pierre Gagnaire - made reservations for sunday dinner (as someone on this board said, Pierre Gagnaire is the king of sunday dinners) and off we went. This was an epic meal - we had the tasting menu which consists of something like 20 over little dishes of mindblowing food that changed my view of how food should be like. There is something about PG's restaurant that feels like a temple. Everyone is very serious (including our server) and I constantly feel as if I am in a place of serious business - as if to say "respect the food". Food is taken to a new level - food is not food - but more like a play in 20 acts, unfolding constantly to new heights - and I never felt comfortable. i can't quite describe it, except to say that at the end of the meal (4 hours later), I felt exhausted, and challenged. Certainly wasn't my favorite restaurant of all time (perhaps I am not that sophisticated) maybe because it was too challenging for me (I felt a little not worthy - and certainly no fault of theirs) but definitely a place to go. Service was impeccable (you really feel like a king) but not 'warm'

L'Arpege - went for monday lunch and had the fixed price menu. Decided to go for the hay smoked chicken which was sublime (Hints of hay without over grassiness). I felt like this was home - perhaps with all the vegetables and was cooked with no pretense. I loved their pumpkin soup with bacon foam (sounds far less than it tastes), and overall an excellent excellent meal. My favorite in Paris; mainly because it challenged my world on how vegetables can be cooked, and as a bonus, not terribly expensive either!

Michel Rostang - Tuesday lunch. By now, you must be wondering how I can stuff myself with so much food without palate fatigue. Basically the premise is simple - one good meal a day, coupled with a lot of walking. I know many posters here recommended pacing, and here I must say that it is extremely good advise. I did not pace as well as I could (after Taillevent on Wednesday, I was exhausted and began to yearn for something 'simple'), and certainly I suffered from 2 states - either very hungry, or very full, which is definitely not healthy. In anycase - I couldn't remember much of the food at Michel Rostang - but certainly I would suggest that one should order half portions here. Their portions were huge! I had a great seat overlooking the kitchen (looking at Mr Rostang - still looking so energetic in the kitchen despite being old), and had a look at their wine cellar (in the basement). They have an epic cellar (not as intimidating as LTDA), with some really old grail wines. I ordered a 91 chablis for an apperitif and d'yquem by the glass (which was very decently priced) for desert. What I really like about Michel Rostang is their generosity. Their sommelier for example, served the d'yquem out of a fresh new bottle. Portions were immense. Very hearty / rich food that made me so full that I swore not to eat at anymore restaurants again.

Taillevent - Wednesday dinner. Having had more than 24 hours to recuperate; we proceeded to another old establishment - Taillevent. Taillevent is a beautiful restaurant; finely decorated, packed seating (I was not seated on the main hall, but the backroom). Again, another fine wine cellar. I was simply amazed at how cheap their wines were - I ordered a grand cru musigny which was selling at 30% of the market value!!! Taillevent's food was quite straightforward (I had the dinner tasting menu - deciding to skip the truffles), but very delightful.. and I felt really like a king here. The service was absolutely amazing, with me mentioning that I did not like the artichoke; they removed the artichoke from all my dishes. I had fun here, even though I expected this to be quite a staid environment, with the server constantly teasing whether I was full etc. Taillevent feels like an old friend - warm, comforting. I would definitely be back.

Having had a few restaurants in succession, I decided to check out L'entrecote on Thursday (the one at rue marbeauf). Nothing too difficult - and it was more like comfort food. Small dish of beef and fries.. after you finish the dish, the server (a wonderful lady) will come and give you a new dish of beef and fries. Nothing too sophisticated, and feeling warm and happy, we were ready for the assault to find the best poulot roti in France.

As my concierge could only secure l'ami louis for Saturday dinner, I decided to check out Atelier Maitre Albert for lunch on Friday. Very modern; simple food (menu off a chalkboard) - had a chicken liver salad and the chicken for main. They served the chicken thighs - great firmness, excellent texture. The jus of the chicken was really concentrated, which added to the balance of the dish. Certainly not cardboard tasting. Skipped dessert (by now, we were eating as little as possible).

L'ami Louis - after having an extremely light lunch at Breizh cafe (oysters and crepes), we were all eagerly waiting for dinner at l'ami louis (yes, having read the great debates on the board, read and re-read AA Gill's article etc). Turned up at 10.30pm, and amazingly still packed. Guy with white suit walks over, snorts out "you have a reservation?" and then proceeded to place me on a table near the back. Let me just say this first. I really really enjoyed l'ami louis. I think back about a memorable experience in Paris, and I smile when I think about this place. Yes the restaurant looked pretty beat up, and yes the servers did this "throw the jacket onto the top" shtick, but it did not feel very touristy to me (everyone there spoke french, other than a japanese couple who knew one of the burly white jacketed men). Service was not as bad as I thought it would be, and for all that is said and done, the escargots and chicken was amazing. I steered away from the wine menu (ordered coke instead - thinking that the servers must have sneered at me - but they didn't). Now the chicken. It is very juicy - very firm. It was a lot more flavorful than a normal chicken, and certainly worth every euro. Walked out with a smile and probably paid the least amount of money in the restaurant (spied some tables drinking some crazy first growth bordeaux).

Sunday dinner - final day. I told my wife that Sundays were typically not a good day for dining, and that perhaps we should eat something simple. My wife suggested that we could perhaps walk down the champs-elysee and see if there was anything to nibble. Ended up at Etoile Joel Robuchon. Ironic. Pretty light food and I was really happy at Etoile (Suga was there that night). Had the most amazing calamari (which had the texture of fish!?), and I think a wonderful end to the crazy food tour.

Alright, will answer any questions (if any) and many apologies for writing such a long post and at the same not being able to do justice to some of the restaurants. Thanks to chowhound France board once again!