Michelin Eats: Ogasawara Hakushakutei

We’ve already given you a rundown and some features over the years of some of the Michelin restaurants we’ve eaten in. To close this year, we’ll be featuring two of our best Michelin experiences for 2016 as we launch our Michelin Eats series.

Ogasawara Hakushakutei was such a pleasant place to spend time in not just for the impressive Spanish fare but also for the rare opportunity to experience Japanese history. The place was designed by Mr. Tatsuzo Sone and Mr. Seiichiro Chujo, who studied under Mr. Josiah Conder, and was valued as the tallest Spanish style building in Japan at that time. In fact during the tour before our dinner, we went up the rooftop and we were told that when it was first built, it’s the best vantage point to view all of Shinjuku. Interestingly the current dining area used to be the Master’s bedroom. There were a lot of other details to the house that can be better appreciated in person so we hope you remember to put this restaurant in your list on your next Tokyo visit.

As for the food, we had the Menu Condesa. Some of our favorites from that dinner were the Oval Squid Tagliatelles and Citrus flavored Pilipil served with vinegar pickled Mustard grain. We also quite enjoyed the Grilled alfonsino and Wild plants, Estragon Oil and “Mojama” infusion. And since we have sweet teeth, the “Amaou” strawberry and Nutmeg Vacherin with white whine and Rhubarb Parfait Glace was certainly a delightful way to end the meal.