Dining Out 3 minutes 26 December 2023

2023 Year in Review: MICHELIN Inspectors’ Trends in Tokyo

Restaurants showcasing the diversity of Tokyo, the world’s greatest gourmet city

From glamorous luxury hotel dining to delightfully spicy and flavourful Mexican cuisine. This year, the MICHELIN Inspectors again enjoyed dining at an array of remarkable restaurants.

Diversity was clearly apparent over the year. The Tokyo Guide revealed a significant shift toward gastronomy without borders, with a host of restaurants presenting a rich selection of international cuisines.

Another noticeable trend was the increase in highly unique cuisines authentically reflecting the ideas and heritages of chefs. These meals offer a glimpse into each chef’s perspective on life and their lived experiences — and you can really feel the futures they are dreaming of achieving. These are culinary journeys which shouldn’t be missed.

1. Hotel Restaurants


Tokyo is one of the world’s leading cities for tourism. Many luxury hotel restaurants were selected for the MICHELIN Guide Tokyo 2024. These elegant hotels are distinct for their contemporary spaces and refined services.

One hotel that has particularly stood out is Bulgari Hotel Tokyo which recently opened in Tokyo’s Yaesu district. The hotel’s main dining establishment, Il Ristorante - Niko Romito, is overseen by Niko ROMITO, the chef at the three MICHELIN star Reale in Italy’s Abruzzo region. A leading figure in gastronomy in Italy, Romito is now expanding into the rest of the world. He offers modern Italian cuisine created with Japanese ingredients.

Another superb selection is Azure 45 in Roppongi which has recently overhauled its restaurant concept. Azure 45 is overseen by Kei KOBAYASHI , chef of the always innovating, three MICHELIN star Kei in Paris. Enjoy visually stunning French cuisine from a great height while taking in the fabulous views of Tokyo below.

ⒸArva/ Aman Tokyo
ⒸArva/ Aman Tokyo

2. Overseas Restaurants Opening in Tokyo

The travel restrictions of the last few years have come to an end. People across the world are back to travelling with both great excitement and enthusiasm. And one piece of great news that accompanies this, is that chefs working overseas have been coming to Tokyo.

Maz is the sister restaurant of Central in Lima, Peru’s capital city. Showcasing Peru’s natural environment from a high altitude, the restaurant’s unique perspective on food has received attention from gastronomes around the world. Well suited to Japanese ingredients, the one-of-a-kind courses at Maz highlight biological and natural diversity.

L'ÉTERRE was recently opened in Tokyo’s Kagurazaka district by Yoshiaki ITO, the chef of one MICHELIN star L’Archeste in Paris’s 16th arrondissement. The name comes from éternité (eternity) and terre (earth). This restaurant uses ingredients from producers they know personally and prepares traditional French cuisine with a modern flare.

Search the new overseas restaurants in Tokyo in the MICHELIN Guide Tokyo 2024

L'ÉTERRE ⒸMichelin
L'ÉTERRE ⒸMichelin

3. Success of Female Chefs

Female chefs are happily finding success by bring their own great passion for cuisine. Each chef brings her own story to her work and cuisine— demonstrating free and unconventional thinking, while incorporating sentiments from their lives and upbringing, and connecting with producers to bring local ingredients to wider audiences. The restaurant industry is only growing ever more vibrant thanks to the ascendancy of these chefs.

Search the new restaurants with female chefs in the MICHELIN Guide Tokyo 2024

ⒸTsurutokame
ⒸTsurutokame

4. Sustainable Gastronomy

Sustainability is now essential in the gastronomy world. We must be environmentally conscious as we nourish connections between food and future generations. Consequently, we are delighted to have created the new MICHELIN Green Star.

Nôl was given the new MICHELIN Green Star in the MICHELIN Guide Tokyo 2024. The restaurant’s name means creating harmony between people and the Earth to create a “new normal.” They work to develop connections with farmers who protect the natural environment and to reduce food loss as they pursue gastronomy. They are spreading the word about ensuring a future full of delicious food, in fulfilment of the restaurant’s crucial role of being the “new normal.”

When they changed locations, Florilège took the opportunity to shift to plant-based cuisine. Their menu makes rich use of local vegetables, reducing the environmental burden. They are exploring new possibilities for urban restaurants and engaging in a new, sustainable gastronomy.


Search for MICHELIN Green Star restaurants in the 2024 MICHELIN Guide Tokyo

Chef Tatsuya Noda on the left Ⓒnôl
Chef Tatsuya Noda on the left Ⓒnôl

5. Selected Restaurants

One of the most significant features of the MICHELIN Guide Tokyo 2024 is the addition of selected restaurants . Restaurants distinct to Tokyo that are serving cuisines from around the world were selected to enable us to introduce more recommended restaurants than ever before. We would like to draw your attention to these selected restaurants.


Search for various national cuisines from Selected restaurants in the MICHELIN Guide Tokyo 2024

ⒸHASUO
ⒸHASUO

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