I visited Reminiscence in Nagoya, located in the Kurumamichi area.This is one of my favorite French restaurants that I have visited multiple times.The owner-chef is Masaki Kuzuhara, who honed his skills at "Kantensance" in Tokyo and "HAJIME" in Osaka before opening Reminiscence in Nagoya. The restaurant has received high acclaim, earning two stars in the "Michelin Guide Aichi, Gifu, Mie 2019 Special Edition" and currently holds the The Tabelog Award 2026 Silver, making it one of the top restaurants representing Nagoya.The theme of Reminiscence is "Aftertaste and Memory."Rather than completing a dish in isolation, the idea is to connect the aftertaste of one dish to the next, creating a lasting memory of the entire course. Chef Kuzuhara emphasizes not only the deliciousness of each dish but also how each item contributes to the overall experience of the course.As a repeat visitor, I can truly appreciate this philosophy. While the signature dishes have a consistent foundation, the seasonal ingredients and combinations create a different experience each time.This time, I enjoyed a course that fully showcased the essence of Reminiscence.It started with kudzu chips, sea urchin, and nori.The dish simply highlights the umami of the sea urchin, complemented by the crisp texture of the kudzu chips and the aroma of the nori. The sweetness of the sea urchin spreads in your mouth from the very first bite, making it a clear and delicious opening dish for the course.Next was the hamachi from Minami Chita.It was paired with a ravigote sauce, mussels, and a green asparagus sauce.The fluffy hamachi melded beautifully with the fragrant sauce, and the acidity was superbly balanced. The aroma of truffle added an accent. Using hamachi, a quintessential summer ingredient in Japan, the dish firmly established itself as French cuisine through the sauce.Then came the grilled ayu and ayu croquette.The grilled ayu had a rich aroma and a distinct bitterness typical of the fish. It was interesting to enjoy the same ayu in croquette form, which was melt-in-your-mouth tender. The grilled ayu and croquette offered a delightful contrast in aroma and texture.The next dish, fried shark fin, was also impressive.It was served with potato purée, dried shrimp, a shellfish sauce, and cuttlefish.By frying the shark fin, which is often enjoyed in Chinese cuisine, it allowed for a completely different exploration of its unique fibrous texture. The creaminess of the potato purée deeply absorbed the aroma of the dried shrimp, while the texture of the cuttlefish added another layer.The red snapper with cauliflower purée was one of my favorites this time.It was paired with surf clam, caviar, a sauce made from kouda mushrooms, and a white wine sauce.The rich flavor of the red snapper blended well with the creamy white wine sauce. The caviar, surf clam, and kouda mushrooms complemented the fish's deliciousness, creating a wonderful harmony with the sauce. The fatty red snapper was enjoyable until the very last bite.Next was one of the signature dishes of Reminiscence, the Nagoya Cochin soup.This bowl, made with water from the Amanoiwato in Ise-Shima and Nagoya Cochin, is described by Chef Kuzuhara as essential for enhancing the dishes that follow.Visually simple, it is deeply flavorful and truly delicious.Rather than an immediate impact, it gradually spreads, leaving a lingering taste. Instead of resetting the palate, it connects the flow of flavors to the next dishes.Following that was the grilled eel from Isshiki.Eel, a staple ingredient in Nagoya, is one of the signature materials at Reminiscence.This time, it was prepared with octopus and chimichurri sauce.The sweetness of the eel's fat paired well with the acidity and herbal aroma of the chimichurri. The texture and flavor of the octopus added depth, creating a delightful interplay of eel fat, smoky aroma, acidity, and herbaceous notes in the mouth. While retaining the strength of the eel, the aftertaste was surprisingly light. It was an incredibly delicious dish.For the meat course, there was squab breast, thigh, gizzard, and heart.It was served with a sauce made from yamamomo purée and meat juices.The squab was cooked to perfection, bringing out its unique aroma. The different textures and flavors of each part were enjoyable. The strong flavor of the meat was complemented by the fruitiness of the yamamomo, and the acidity and sweetness of the sauce blended well with the squab's aroma.Accompanying this was a salad from Ai Farm, served with a bagna cauda-style sauce.I really liked this flow.The flavorful vegetables paired with the gentle bagna cauda sauce stood out, especially right after the meat course, refreshing the palate as we approached the end of the meal.For dessert, we started with pineapple ice cream.By layering sorbet, ice cream, and fruit from a single pineapple in different forms, it created a delightful variation in flavor. The acidity emerged in the mouth, followed by a wave of sweetness, which was quite interesting.Next was a cake with white peach and walnuts, along with fromage blanc.While combining multiple flavors, the elegant sweetness of the white peach remained at the center. There were variations in temperature and texture, making it a high-quality dessert.After the meal, we were treated to opera, cheesecake, chocolate pie, and purin.Each dessert evoked a sense of familiarity while being elegantly crafted as restaurant petit fours. Everything was delicious until the very end.What I felt once again is that Reminiscence excels not only in the quality of each dish but also in skillfully balancing the flavors throughout the course.With ingredients like sea urchin, hamachi, ayu, shark fin, red snapper, eel, and squab, it was a lineup of powerful ingredients.Yet, it never felt overwhelming.In between, the Nagoya Cochin soup and salad seamlessly connected the dishes, preserving the aftertaste of the previous plates while leading into the next. Thus, when the meal concluded, it was not just one standout dish that remained, but the entire course became a memorable experience.No matter how many times I visit, the core concept remains unchanged.However, as the seasons change, so do the ingredients and sauces, creating different layers of "aftertaste and memory" even in the same restaurant.As a repeat visitor, chasing these changes is one of the joys of Reminiscence.Once again, from start to finish, it was an exceptionally delicious course. Less