An Innovative French Experience Beyond the Door of HermesNestled quietly in Kitashinchi, this innovative French restaurant awaits. As you open the door adorned with the restaurant's logo, you are greeted by a serene waiting area. Softly curved sofas lined with Hermes cushions create an inviting atmosphere, and the custom-made Hermes door hints at the beginning of a special experience.In your hand, you receive what appears to be a piece of art—a fragment of a dish. As you ascend the stairs, you wonder what it could be used for, only to discover a whole new world awaiting you.The curved counter and purple-themed space resemble a secret research facility. The interior, enveloped in soft light, features real moss, allowing you to feel a sense of vitality amidst the tranquility.Once seated, you find a plate designed to match the piece you received earlier. This fragment is actually a resting place for your oshibori (wet towel). It feels as though the story begins before the course even starts, adding a playful touch that makes your heart flutter.This establishment offers not just exquisite cuisine but also an experience that transforms the entire space into a work of art.It was a special start that naturally heightened my anticipation for the upcoming course.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━【Menu Dégustation】 Special Menu (JPY 35,200)◇ Sakura Shrimp, Pea, and Tuna Amuse-Bouche ◇ Foie Gras, Aged Potato, Truffle ◇ Hairy Crab, Beef, Horseradish ◇ Caviar, New Onion, Wasabi ◇ Japanese Mushrooms and Black Truffle ◇ Blue Lobster, Black Rice, Firefly Squid ◇ Grouper, Mountain Vegetables, Aosa ◇ Nanatani Duck, Mitsuba, Morel ◇ Vanilla and Strawberry Dessert ◇ Mignardises (Petits Fours) ◇ Coffee or Tea ◆ Lanson Le Black Création 258 (Champagne, France) ◆ Vin de Paille Arbois 2014 (Jura, France) ◆ ERICA Chardonnay 2025 (Yoichi, Hokkaido) ◆ Sancerre Les Grands Champs (Loire, France) ◆ Brunello di Montalcino 2017 (Tuscany, Italy) ◆ Sainte-Magdeleine Rosé 2023 (Provence, France) ◆ Domaine MIA Mercurey Les Rochelles 2022 (Burgundy, France) ◆ Château Fayat 2013 (Bordeaux, France) ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━・Amuse-Bouche Sakura Shrimp, Pea, Tuna The course begins with four types of amuse-bouche. First, a warm consomme soup infused with the fragrance of yuzu awakens the senses, gently rousing the body with the rich flavor of duck.The dish featuring sakura shrimp has a light, airy texture. The warmth enhances the savory aroma of the shrimp, leaving a lasting impression.The tart combining beets and tuna is visually stunning, with the aroma of shiso adding a delightful accent. The crispy texture gives way to the rich flavor of the tuna.Another dish pairs peas with bresaola (cured beef), showcasing a delicate texture from the thinly crafted dough. The crisp sound upon biting into it releases the sweetness of the peas and the flavor of the beef.Each bite reveals different expressions, yet they harmonize beautifully, heightening the anticipation for what lies ahead.《Pairing》 Champagne from a historic maison founded in 1760. Its refreshing aroma reminiscent of citrus and green apple, along with delicate bubbles, perfectly complements the amuse-bouche's flavors.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━・Foie Gras, Aged Potato, Truffle A dish presented in a mille-feuille style with multiple layers. The base is a crispy, light cookie sablé, topped with a terrine of French foie gras, white figs, aged potatoes, Fontina cheese, and cocoa cream, all beautifully covered with a chamomile gel sheet.The cross-section reveals intricate layers, resembling an architectural masterpiece. The rich umami of the foie gras pairs beautifully with the flavors of the aged potato and the sweetness of the white figs, offering a different experience with each bite.When combined with the accompanying lemon and cardamom sauce, the impression transforms entirely. The refreshing acidity and spice elegantly tie together the overlapping ingredients.《Pairing》 A traditional sweet wine from the Jura region, "Vin de Paille." With concentrated flavors reminiscent of dried fruits and honey, it was served alongside the previous champagne. The interplay of sweetness and acidity beautifully enhances the flavors of the foie gras and white figs.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━・Hairy Crab, Beef, Horseradish A dish featuring tartare made from Tokachi herb-fed beef layered with hairy crab. The beef is prepared in a method similar to that of prosciutto, minimizing salt to bring out the natural umami of the ingredients. The delicate flavor of the hairy crab complements the moist sweetness of the beef, while horseradish adds a sharpness that ties the dish together.Notes of leeks, root vegetables, and soy sauce add depth, with a final touch of shaved cheese providing a gentle aroma. Despite the variety of ingredients, the flavors harmonize in a surprisingly balanced way.《Pairing》 A 100% Chardonnay from Hokkaido. With delicate aromas reminiscent of citrus and white flowers, it features a soft umami that evokes the essence of sake. This pairing, made with local ingredients from Hokkaido, creates a sense of connection to the land.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━・Caviar, New Onion, Wasabi The first dish presented is an impressive caviar can. Inside the glass, layers of new onion mousse, wasabi mousse, and tomato jelly are topped with caviar. On top, there is vermouth ice cream.The structure is carefully calculated to prevent the caviar from warming, and with each bite, the fresh scent of the ocean, nutty flavors, and the refreshing kick of wasabi unfold. This is the first time I’ve encountered a dish that makes caviar the star, and its overwhelming presence captivated me.《Pairing》 A dry white wine made from 100% Sauvignon Blanc. With a refreshing aroma reminiscent of citrus and herbs, and a crisp acidity, it pleasantly resets the rich aftertaste of the caviar, naturally leading to the next bite.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━・Japanese Mushrooms and Black Truffle First served are 20 varieties of Japanese mushrooms. Displayed in various states, from dried to fresh, they heighten the anticipation for the upcoming dish.The dish features a base of mushroom royale, layered with sautéed mushrooms, consomme soup, and mushroom puree, creating a mushroom-centric composition. The central mushroom puree is enhanced with Madeira wine and generously topped with Australian black truffle.The moment the spoon touches the dish, the aroma of black truffle bursts forth, overwhelming the senses. The umami of each mushroom intertwines, creating a flavor reminiscent of concentrated forest aromas.《Pairing》 100% Sangiovese Grosso. With aromas of red fruits and nuances of earth and mushrooms, this medium-bodied red wine offers a pure and delicate impression while also possessing the strength typical of red wine, perfectly complementing the deep umami of the black truffle and mushrooms.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━・Blue Lobster, Black Rice, Firefly Squid The dish features a base of chewy black rice risotto, topped with firefly squid paste, Brussels sprouts, bell peppers, and blue lobster from Brittany, France. The firefly squid paste has a rich umami reminiscent of miso, pairing well with the nutty flavor of the black rice.Hidden between the lobster meat is pancetta, enhancing the sweetness, saltiness, and smokiness of the lobster. When mixed together, the individual characteristics of each ingredient unite, creating a complex and layered flavor.The blue lobster is impressively plump, with sweetness that expands with each bite, showcasing a strength that rivals the umami of the black rice and firefly squid.《Pairing》 A rosé wine from Provence, Southern France. With fruity notes reminiscent of berries, it maintains a subtle sweetness while developing a solid structure towards the end. This pairing beautifully complements the umami of the seafood and the rich flavor of the firefly squid, seamlessly connecting the complex flavors of the dish.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━・Grouper, Mountain Vegetables, Aosa The grouper is cooked slowly to perfection. The skin is remarkably crispy, and the pleasant texture is felt the moment the knife cuts through. The flesh is tender and fluffy, releasing a refined umami with each bite. Accompanying it are aosa foam, mountain vegetable condiment, potatoes, and a sauce infused with the flavor of scallops and lemongrass.The slight bitterness of the mountain vegetables and the oceanic aroma of the aosa enhance the delicate flavor of the grouper, while the refreshing touch of lemongrass lightens the overall dish. The contrast between the crispy skin and the moist flesh creates a memorable experience.・Homemade Bread The bread is homemade using sake lees and grains. It has a pleasant weight while remaining fluffy inside, with the aroma of wheat spreading comfortably. The accompanying Calpis butter is whipped, offering an astonishingly light texture without sacrificing richness, making it easy to spread generously on the bread.Before you know it, you find yourself reaching for more.《Pairing》 The pairing features Chardonnay from Burgundy, Mercurey. With aromas reminiscent of vanilla and toast, and a creamy, rich fruitiness, it offers a mellow richness while the acidity tightens the overall experience, harmonizing beautifully with the refined umami of the grouper and the aroma of the aosa.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━・Nanatani Duck, Mitsuba, Morel The Nanatani duck from Hyogo Prefecture is aged for a week. When cut, the moist cross-section reveals an astonishing tenderness. The skin is perfectly roasted, and the umami of the duck expands with each bite. The morel mushrooms are stuffed with duck thigh meat, concentrating the rich flavors. The mitsuba sauce adds a refreshing accent, lightening the overall dish.Before the main course, a collaboration with RYUSEN introduces unique cutlery. The fun of choosing your preferred knife and fork from several options feels like selecting a special piece. It is said to be crafted using techniques similar to those used for Japanese swords, showcasing remarkable sharpness. This experience enhances not just the meal but the entire dining experience.《Pairing》 A Bordeaux from 2013. With a soft mouthfeel characteristic of Merlot, it features aromas reminiscent of coffee and chocolate due to aging. It harmonizes beautifully with the richness of the duck fat and sauce.・Palate Cleanser A surprise palate cleanser not listed on the menu. A refreshing dish combining Hyuga summer citrus, honey and lemon ice cream, white chocolate ice, and homemade ramune. The crunchy texture of the ramune and the subtle aroma of sansho pepper gently reset the lingering flavors from the preceding courses.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━・New Caledonian Vanilla, Strawberry The dessert is composed of strawberry compote, jelly, milk foam, and ice cream made from New Caledonian vanilla. The sweet and sour flavor of the strawberries beautifully intertwines with the rich aroma of vanilla, resulting in a light yet satisfying finish. The presentation of opening the box is also impressive, keeping the excitement alive until the very end.・Petits Fours Canelé, Financier, Macaron. For tea after the meal, you can choose from six varieties, and I opted for a caffeine-free herbal tea. The floral aroma reminiscent of lavender was delightful and paired perfectly with the petits fours.