For my partner's birthday dinner this year, we chose RADICE located in Marutamachi. As soon as you exit Marutamachi Station and head west along Ikekawa Street, you will find the restaurant right away. The owner-chef, Mr. Nemoto, hails from Shiga Prefecture. After studying Japanese cuisine in Gion and Kitashinchi, he traveled to Italy to train for two years at a Michelin-starred restaurant. Upon returning to Japan, he worked as a chef at an Italian restaurant in Gion before opening RADICE in 2013, driven by his desire to share the true beauty of Italian cuisine with many people. After a renewal in 2021, here we are today! This time, we opted for the chef's special course with full pairing. ☆ Idee e Sapori + Full Pairing (8-9 types) JPY 29,700◎ Grissini We started with some crunchy grissini to warm up! ◎ Fava Bean with Caviar A fava bean paste wrapped in crispy crepe, topped with caviar. The sweetness of the fava beans pairs perfectly with the saltiness of the caviar! ◎ Prosciutto with Cream Puff Currently, prosciutto cannot be imported from Italy or Spain, so this one is from the USA. It’s still delicious! Underneath the prosciutto, there was a fried bread called gnocco fritto. The cream puff was filled with espresso and foie gras cream. ◎ Panzerotti with Sweetfish This dish features fried bread, which is a specialty of RADICE. Inside, there’s a sweetfish that has been fried to a crisp, served with a marinara sauce made from tomatoes and oregano. ◎ Tomato with Hairy Crab Underneath the bright red Italian tomato is creamy burrata cheese. Inside, there’s shredded mozzarella cheese, hairy crab, and zucchini, all topped with fermented tomato sauce and basil oil. ◎ Brioche Next, we were served freshly baked brioche, which was the best I’ve ever had as a meal bread! ◎ Bird Shell with Lemon and Capellini The first pasta dish featured homemade whole wheat capellini. The ingredients included finely chopped charcoal-grilled bird shell from Mikawa and fried Tuscan white beans. The sauce was made by simmering the bird shell liver with red wine and onions to remove any gamey flavor. ◎ Eel and Clam Risotto This risotto made with eel and clams was like a freshwater version of acqua pazza. The eel was grilled over charcoal, and the clams were fried, topped with deep-fried okahijiki. ◎ Sweetfish with Artichoke For the fish course, the sweetfish was grilled over charcoal, with the scales removed and fried separately. Fried artichokes were placed on top, with a puree underneath. ◎ Kyoto Prefecture Beef Tenderloin with Eggplant The meat course featured tenderloin from Kyoto Prefecture, grilled over charcoal with the aroma of cherry branches. Accompanied by eggplant from Wakayama Prefecture, marinated in sherry vinegar and grilled. The sauce was a rich blend made by simmering vegetables for eight hours. It was absolutely delightful! ◎ Palate Cleanser We reset our palate with American cherries filled with white chocolate. ◎ Green Asparagus with Dried Meat The second pasta dish was a carbonara made with homemade tagliolini. The ingredients included asparagus from Kagawa Prefecture and pancetta, which is pork belly that has been dried for ten days. The harmony of flavors between the asparagus and pancetta was wonderful! ◎ Dessert We enjoyed the chef's specialty tiramisu. The authentic tiramisu made by a trained chef is on a whole different level compared to what you find in regular pastry shops. My partner had a birthday version of dessert, featuring chamomile pudding, a citrus medley, and refreshing Hyuganatsu. ◎ Petit Fours & Drinks We had a small but rich pistachio gelato and hazelnut chocolate. I had iced coffee, while my partner enjoyed her usual herbal tea. And that concluded our course! The love for Italian cuisine that Chef Nemoto wants to convey was beautifully reflected in each dish. The pairing included eight types, starting with champagne, followed by rosé, white, red, and even Japanese sake. For more details, stay tuned for my partner's review! In any case, I must say, this is truly a perfect restaurant for special occasions, so I hope everyone gets to experience this wonderful food and atmosphere with all their senses! It was a great meal!
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