First VisitThree days before my visit, I searched for "tempura" and found an available slot at this restaurant, making a reservation for a single diner at 21:00 (totaling JPY 31,900).I arrived at 20:55.There was one other group of two already seated.I was shown to a great seat right in front of the kitchen.The restaurant, which has been open for nearly four years, is well-maintained, with a clean design that hides the cooking area. The copper frying pot at the back of the counter stands out.The dishes that were served included:1. **Appetizer** Gold Rush (sweet corn) with a dashi made from bonito and kombu kelp.2. **First Course** Hairy crab from Funka Bay, sea urchin from Nemuro, caviar (medium grain: Ossetra?), topped with Tosa vinegar jelly and flower buds.3. **Second Course: Assorted Appetizers** - Sado Island vinegared seaweed - Ebi Toast (Hatoshi: shrimp paste sandwiched and fried) - Grilled abalone with liver sauce - Red wine poached yamamomo (Japanese peach), served in a hōzuki (Chinese lantern) - Okinawa's jimami tofu - Vinegared octopus.4. **Sashimi** Thinly sliced flounder from Miyagi, served with chili vinegar, salt, and sudachi.5. **Main Dish** Tempura of young sweetfish from Lake Biwa, served with salt.6. **Noodle Dish - 1** Nigiri sushi with otoro (fatty tuna) from Ōma.7. **Main Dish** Tempura of hamo (pike eel) from Amakusa, served with tempura dipping sauce and grated daikon.8. **Soup** Clear soup with cultured soft-shelled turtle from Hamana Lake, with winter melon and white leek.9. **Bowl Dish** Grilled eel from Shizuoka, served with Japanese pepper from Wakayama.10. **Noodle Dish - 2** Homemade hand-cut ju-wari cold soba, served with water shield and fried sakura shrimp.11. **Main Dish - 1 (Additional Option)** Fried fugu (pufferfish).12. **Main Dish - 2 (Additional Option)** Grilled skewers of four parts of soft-shelled turtle, served with Japanese pepper from Wakayama.13. **Main Dish - 3** Hida beef from Takayama, A5 rank Chateaubriand, grilled over charcoal, served with three condiments (smoked pepper paste, sautéed onions, salt).14. **Rice** 1: Tempura rice bowl 2: TKG (Tamago Kake Gohan) with fried egg yolk (Oita: Ran-ō, Ibaraki: Araokana).15. **Dessert** - Sorbet: Ume (plum) - Sweet: Mango from Miyazaki, mascarpone, freshly made mochi wrapped in white bean paste, dusted with coffee powder.I stayed for 2 hours and 20 minutes. I added two options (11 + 12) and had four glasses of drinks, resulting in a total of JPY 43,000 after rounding down.Here are my impressions of the meal:- The ingredients are sourced from across the country, taking advantage of the urban location.- While the seafood is fresh, it feels slightly lacking compared to what I’ve had at local spots.- However, the fourth dish was well-aged, with both flavor and texture being excellent. I wish they had included the engawa (flounder fin).- The structure of the meal seems to be based on the chef's previous restaurant, "Shinohara," with elements from a very famous restaurant interwoven.- Each dish was on the smaller side, but the atmosphere and the way they incorporated the 24 seasonal divisions into the dishes felt just like "Shinohara," which was enjoyable. However, I got carried away and ended up adding options 11 and 12, plus having two servings of dish 14, realizing afterward that I was quite full.Will they settle for being a sister restaurant to "Shinohara"? Or will they elevate their master’s cuisine to create their own unique identity? With the difficulty of making reservations now behind them, it seems they are at a crossroads. In any case, I truly felt how challenging it is to establish oneself near such a famous restaurant.
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