I finally made it, with some effort, to Kurogi, a Japanese restaurant rumoured to be really hard to book. Japan has quite a lot of places where getting a reservation is tough. You have to research ahead and get your booking in before you go. If you want to do it properly, it’s best to settle your schedule about two months out. At the very least, do it three weeks ahead.
I got to the front of the shop, but there’s no sign.
Just a mark. Cherries, maybe?
The table setting
Aged sea bream comes topped with wasabi. They’ll even give you a refill. You put the sea bream and wasabi on rice and make ochazuke out of it, and maybe because it’s aged so well, it has a lovely rich, savoury flavour. The place has a slightly fusion feel, but it’s chasing the taste of traditional Japanese cooking.
Beer made with Hakkaisan’s water
I had no idea Hakkaisan, the famous Niigata sake brewer, also made beer. I didn’t drink it myself, but I’m told it’s crisp and refreshing, probably thanks to the good water. It was about 800 yen a glass.
Dessert
A course can’t do without one. But it wasn’t Japanese-style, so I was a bit disappointed..
Tea
And that was the whole lunch menu. A simple lineup, and the menu was around 1,000 yen. Considering the price I was really satisfied, but honestly they could have done what Hirosaku does: set the price a bit higher and use better ingredients. If I ever come back, I’ll have to come for the dinner course.