This is my first attempt at writing a restaurant review. It’s great that I can start with a good one. All the good things about it prompted me to write this.
Last year I attended a Lexus presentation An Encounter with Anticipation during Milan Design Week. I was amazed by the vision of chief Yoji Tokuyoshi, who expressed car design and technology through taste and food. He is a repeated owner of Michelin stars and his culinary skills impressed me more than imagination of car designers (as I mentioned it in a post dedicated to Milan Design Week).
So it happened, that I came to restaurant Tokuyoshi knowing absolutely nothing about where I was going. It was a surprise.
After trying the first dish, I immediately associated it with the last year’s experience. Although the dish itself was totally different. Probably, this is how author’s style declares itself. I started to google the chef and confirmed my guess – chef of the restaurant Tokuyoshi is the chef from Lexus presentation.
It was a long entry. So I move to the dishes or rather mini-installations, which the chef calls Contaminated Italian Cuisine set.
All dishes are accompanied by a liquid component (warm or hot) in a cup. The set is giving the impression of something very holistic. As if you are flipping pages of a book.
A little more about some dishes.
Eel, glazed with balsamic vinegar on a multi-colored vegetable powder. Bright combination of color and flavor. All taste in the fish. Powders just give an interesting texture to it. Eel succulent and tender.
One of the specialties of restaurant – Gyotaku Mackerel. Gyotaku – is the traditional Japanese method of printing fish. Bright mackerel flavor balanced by crisp vegetable coal breading. Very delicate dish, which is accompanied by cedar milk.
Crunchy piadina, sea urchin, burrata. Served with roasted potato broth broth (taste from childhood, potato roasted in the fire).
https://www.instagram.com/p/BRDw81UBYGW/
Fake risotto. In fact rice made of celery root. Very smooth and tasty dish and it’s moving!
Wine pairing worth a separate post – all 7 wines and sake perfectly underline the taste of dishes. We discovered a few new names, and also met a few familiar bottles. The surprise was sake – it smelled like apples and was amazingly soft.
About the interior. Furnishings and color chosen very well. Emerald walls, dim lights, but not dark. Light, slightly minimalist interior.
Friendly service, not persistent. Food is served by different waiters and cooks, explaining the composition and idea.
After dinner Yoji Tokuyoshi himself thanked us for a visit.
Set CONTAMINAZIONE costs 135 euro, wine pairing – 75 euro.
I highly recommend this restaurant for those looking for a fresh taste and who want to get a new experience in gastronomy tourism. Dinner at Tokuyoshi is a subtle delight for all the senses. You pay not for the quantity of food and calories, but for new experience and memories.
All photography © Frombaltic.eu. and ristorantetokuyoshi.com