Dined at the one star French restaurant apotheose in Toranomon Hills neighborhood of Tokyo. Overall, we thought the flavors were quite delicate and refined but overall it lacked a bit of flavor. Overall it was fine dining, but just “fine”. The best bites were the scallop with a beautiful caramelized onion sauce and the “ginger ale” dessert which was beautiful, fun, and delicious. These had more flavor than the other dishes. The signature dish was roasted duck breast with truffles. The truffles sadly had no flavor or aroma. It was served with a single roasted beet which was exactly that and nothing more. The whole plate was outshined by the duck meatball on the side which was divine.
The service was impeccable and the view was fantastic. Despite this the price was not exactly commensurate with the meal in my opinion, especially with the wine pairing. There was a French-only and Japanese-only wine pairing, both upsells, which we tried to mixed success. (We recommend choosing French, although the Japanese pairing was unique.) Based on the price we wrongly assumed there would be at least one dessert pour, and yet there was none. We had a lovely evening and we were happy to splurge as we were celebrating our honeymoon but I don’t think I would choose the same place again if I were looking for French cuisine in Japan.
by breadrobinson