MICHELIN Guide’s Point Of View

As with all the best addresses, you’ll need an actual one to arrive at Bar Uchū, because their sign is so discreet you could easily walk past. Once inside, find yourself being guided gently by a member of staff to your seat at the L-shaped counter where you’ll be then greeted with that most heartening of questions: “Do you drink alcohol?” Yes, this is a bar counter, not a kitchen counter—so instead of having a gaggle of diligent chefs beavering away in front of you, you’ll be faced with what for some is the far more appealing sight of seductively illuminated bottles of Japanese whisky and cut-glass tumblers. As soon as you’ve been served the house cocktail of the day, the kaiseki-style meal commences. This cuisine is nominally Japanese but Chef Sam Clonts' cooking is unfettered by tradition and puts all his experience reaped at the illustrious Chef's Table at Brooklyn Fare to good use. The most striking element here is that these dishes are burnished with a roll-call of exceptionally luxurious ingredients, as might be evidenced by the golden Osetra caviar in the temaki, or the A5 Miyazaki rib-eye couched in the Hokkaido milk bread. The kitchen's largesse will leave a lasting impression.