Ryugin

"Straw-grilled duck: Duck meat enhanced by fragrant straw smoke, served with sieve-pureed liver and chopped ginger, highlighting the iron-rich flavor transformed into a stock-like aroma." - The MICHELIN Guide

"Seiji Yamamoto sums up his considerable experience simply and humbly: “I’m a chef because I love to cook”. That approach is reflected in his entertaining cooking, which resonates with all five senses. His focus on serving each dish at the apex of its flavour is single-minded: he switches knife techniques to vary the flavour of decorative sashimi and pike conger, manipulates blazing charcoal to tease out the flavour of eel. With skill as well as respect for the spirituality of Japan, he preaches Japanese cuisine as food culture." - Michelin Inspector

"Ryugin’s name means “dragon’s voice,” and chef Seiji Yamamoto’s revolutionary approach to traditional kaiseki—he once used a CT scanner to examine the skeleton of a pike eel—has made him a living legend. In recent years, he's adopted a more subdued aesthetic, but his highly refined dishes prove that he’s still at the top of his game. Seafood is his wheelhouse, and his product-driven and cleverly technical dishes are meant for serious foodies." - Melinda Joe

"The modern twist that Ryugin puts on traditional Japanese kaiseki (multi-course) meals has made this a must-visit. Expect dinner to cost $400 or more per person for a meal with both seasonal meat and fish. So, what does $400 get you exactly? Things like “olive beef,” which is meat from cows that are fed only leaves from olive trees. The space matches the food: a modern spin on traditional Japanese style. The dining room is quiet and extremely formal (so formal they ask you not to wear strong fragrances that could get in the way of the food), so make sure you’re cool with that if the price tag alone hasn’t already made you squirm." - josh layne

"One of the many culinary skills for which Japan is renowned throughout the world is knife technique. We spoke with Seiji Yamamoto, owner-chef of RyuGin, about knife technique, the spirituality of knives and some of his own cherished views. [...] The o-tsukuri (decoratively-arranged sashimi) ©RyuGinThe instant when knife technique changes the flavour [...] The o-tsukuri of daggertooth pike conger (hamo) ©RyuGin [...] The o-tsukuri of sea bream ©RyuGin [...] For example, one dish served at RyuGin is straw-baked duck. [...] Photo：©RyuGin [...] Related Restaurants：RyuGin MICHELIN Guide Tokyo 2022 Japanese restaurants." - MICHELIN Guide Japan