Restaurant in Tokyo, Japan
Michelin Bib value, generous French portions.
Brasserie Poisson Rouge holds a 2024 Michelin Bib Gourmand and a 4.5-star Google rating across 306 reviews — strong credentials for a ¥¥ French brasserie in Shinagawa. Chef David Dellai's regional French menu runs from salad Niçoise and cassoulet de Toulouse to roast duck and lamb, with portions generous enough to make the price point one of the clearest value cases in Tokyo's French category.
306 Google reviews at 4.5 stars is a meaningful signal for a neighbourhood French restaurant in Shinagawa. Brasserie Poisson Rouge earned its 2024 Michelin Bib Gourmand not through technical acrobatics or tasting-menu theatre, but through something harder to sustain: generous, satisfying French regional cooking at a price point that doesn't require a special occasion to justify. If you're weighing up where to eat French food in Tokyo without spending ¥¥¥¥ for the privilege, this is the clearest answer in its tier.
The menu at Brasserie Poisson Rouge reads like a tour of French regional cooking: salad Niçoise from the south, fish purée soup in the bouillabaisse tradition, cassoulet de Toulouse from the southwest, roast lamb and duck in sauce as the kind of centrepiece dishes that make a meal feel complete. Chef David Dellai's approach is direct — French cuisine satisfying to both belly and soul, as the Michelin assessors noted. That's not a vague endorsement. It means portion sizes are generous from appetiser through dessert, and the cooking is calibrated for satisfaction rather than restraint.
For a first-timer, this is the practical implication: don't come expecting the kind of minimal, architectural plating you'd find at L'Effervescence or Sézanne. Brasserie Poisson Rouge is operating in a different register entirely , closer to a well-run French bistro than a contemporary French destination restaurant. The cassoulet and the roast duck are the benchmark dishes here; they're the reason the Bib Gourmand committee kept coming back. Order them if they're on the menu when you visit.
Wine is described as a natural companion to the food, which at a ¥¥ brasserie with French regional cooking means a list built for the table rather than for collectors. Don't arrive expecting a deep cellar , arrive expecting something that works with cassoulet and costs accordingly.
Brasserie Poisson Rouge sits in Ōi, Shinagawa City , a residential part of Tokyo that doesn't draw international tourists the way Ginza or Shinjuku does. The energy here is neighbourhood rather than destination. That's part of the value: this is a place where local regulars keep the room alive, not one that depends on first-time visitors looking for a badge. For a first-timer from outside the neighbourhood, the ambient feel will read as relaxed and convivial rather than hushed and reverent. If you're used to the quieter, more formal atmosphere of high-end French dining in Tokyo, recalibrate your expectations toward something warmer and more lived-in.
The address , 1 Chome-53-8 Ōi , puts you in a part of Shinagawa that rewards the detour rather than the impulse visit. Plan your route in advance. The restaurant doesn't appear to have a published English-language website, so booking logistics are worth checking directly or via a hotel concierge if you're visiting from abroad.
Against the ¥¥¥¥ French options in Tokyo, Brasserie Poisson Rouge occupies a different segment entirely. L'Effervescence, ESqUISSE, and Florilège are all playing the contemporary French game with tasting menus, modern technique, and price tags to match. Château Restaurant Joël Robuchon is in a category of formal grandeur that Brasserie Poisson Rouge makes no attempt to compete with. What Poisson Rouge does instead is fill the gap that all those venues leave open: generous, regional French cooking at a price that makes it repeatable. That's a genuinely useful position in Tokyo's French restaurant market.
For French dining elsewhere in Japan, HAJIME in Osaka and akordu in Nara offer comparison points across different price tiers. Internationally, the bistro-with-regional-credentials model has a strong parallel at Les Amis in Singapore and the Michelin tradition of generous regional cooking is leading understood through something like Hotel de Ville Crissier in Crissier, though those are very different scale and price points.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Booking Difficulty | Michelin Recognition |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brasserie Poisson Rouge | French (Regional) | ¥¥ | Easy | Bib Gourmand 2024 |
| L'Effervescence | French (Contemporary) | ¥¥¥¥ | Hard | Two Stars |
| ESqUISSE | French (Contemporary) | ¥¥¥¥ | Moderate | One Star |
| Florilège | French (Contemporary) | ¥¥¥¥ | Moderate–Hard | Two Stars |
| Sézanne | French (Contemporary) | ¥¥¥¥ | Very Hard | Two Stars |
Book Brasserie Poisson Rouge if you want French regional cooking done with real generosity at a price that doesn't demand justification. The Bib Gourmand signals exactly what it's designed to signal: exceptional value for money, with cooking that earns the recognition. If you want contemporary French technique or a prestige dining experience to mark an occasion, look at L'Effervescence or Sézanne instead. If you want cassoulet, roast duck, and a room that feels like a real French brasserie rather than a performance of one, Poisson Rouge is the right call in Tokyo at this price point.
For more options across the city, see our full Tokyo restaurants guide, our Tokyo bars guide, our Tokyo hotels guide, our Tokyo wineries guide, and our Tokyo experiences guide. If you're travelling further afield, Gion Sasaki in Kyoto, Goh in Fukuoka, 1000 in Yokohama, and 6 in Okinawa are worth knowing about.
| Venue | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|
| BRASSERIE POISSON ROUGE | ¥¥ | — |
| Harutaka | ¥¥¥¥ | — |
| L'Effervescence | ¥¥¥¥ | — |
| RyuGin | ¥¥¥¥ | — |
| HOMMAGE | ¥¥¥¥ | — |
| Crony | ¥¥¥¥ | — |
Side-by-side comparison to help you decide where to book.
Booking a week or two ahead is a sensible baseline for a Michelin Bib Gourmand with 4.5 stars across 306 Google reviews — that kind of consistent reputation fills seats. Brasserie Poisson Rouge is in Ōi, Shinagawa, not a tourist corridor, so last-minute tables may open up more often than at comparable spots in central Tokyo, but don't bank on it for a specific evening. No online booking details are currently listed, so contacting the restaurant directly is the only confirmed route.
At ¥¥, yes — this is one of the clearer value calls in Tokyo's French category. The 2024 Michelin Bib Gourmand is awarded specifically for good cooking at a good price, and the kitchen's focus on generous portions across a full meal from appetiser to dessert reinforces that. If you're comparing to ¥¥¥¥ options like L'Effervescence or Florilège, those are different propositions entirely. Brasserie Poisson Rouge is the answer when you want French regional cooking without the tasting-menu price commitment.
No bar seating is documented for Brasserie Poisson Rouge. Given its brasserie format and neighbourhood setting in Ōi, the setup is most likely table service throughout. Confirm directly with the restaurant before planning a solo bar visit.
No tasting menu is confirmed in the available information for Brasserie Poisson Rouge. The kitchen's documented strength is French regional cooking — dishes like cassoulet de Toulouse, salad Niçoise, and roast lamb — served with generous portions in a brasserie format rather than a structured multi-course omakase style. If a formal tasting progression is what you're after, venues like L'Effervescence operate in that mode at a higher price point.
Expect a neighbourhood French bistro in Ōi, Shinagawa — not a destination dining district, but that's part of the point. Chef David Dellai's menu covers French regional classics, and the kitchen's stated emphasis is on generous, satisfying portions rather than architectural plating. The 2024 Michelin Bib Gourmand signals reliable cooking, not fine-dining ceremony. Getting there requires a short trip from central Tokyo, so factor that into your evening.
For French cooking at a closer price point, HOMMAGE and Crony are worth comparing — both offer French-influenced menus with more central Tokyo locations. If budget isn't the constraint, L'Effervescence and RyuGin operate at a different level entirely, with multi-course formats and higher price tags to match. Harutaka is Japanese omakase, not French, so only relevant if you're open to switching category. Brasserie Poisson Rouge holds its ground specifically on value and portion generosity within the French bistro format.
It works for a low-key celebration where the meal itself is the focus — generous French regional cooking with wine, at a price that won't dominate the conversation. The Michelin Bib Gourmand status gives it credibility without the formal fine-dining weight. For a milestone dinner where setting and ceremony matter as much as food, a ¥¥¥¥ option like L'Effervescence would be the stronger choice. Brasserie Poisson Rouge is the right call for an occasion that calls for good food and ease over spectacle.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
