Restaurant in Tokyo, Japan
Sky-high French dining with Japanese terroir.
Michelin-starred est on the 38th floor of the Four Seasons Otemachi delivers contemporary French cuisine anchored in Japanese terroir, with a 530-bottle wine list and Tokyo skyline views. It holds 94.5 La Liste points and earns its ¥¥¥¥ pricing — book lunch for the best entry point, and reserve well in advance.
At ¥¥¥¥ pricing with a Michelin star, a La Liste score of 94.5 points (2025), and a 38th-floor perch above Otemachi, est is one of Tokyo's most credential-heavy French restaurants. It earns its place on a serious itinerary — but it is a specific kind of booking: a hotel-anchored, view-forward, contemporary French experience that trades classical richness for Japanese terroir. If that framing appeals, book it. If you want purer French technique without the Tokyo-twist philosophy, Château Restaurant Joël Robuchon is the alternative to consider.
Est sits inside the Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Otemachi — a Forbes Travel Guide Four-Star property in Otemachi One Tower, one of the city's newer downtown high-rises. Chef Guillaume Bracaval, who trained under Christian Le Squer at Paris' Le Cinq, has run the kitchen since the hotel opened in 2020. The culinary premise is French cooking rebuilt around Japanese ingredients: the menu tracks Japan's 72 micro-seasons, sourcing fish and meat locally, and a map of Japan in the dining room marks where each ingredient originates. Imported French staples like butter and cheese are replaced with housemade tofu cheese and hummus , an eco-conscious choice that also makes the food lighter than classical French cuisine.
The dining room is dressed in beige and ecru. The kitchen is visible behind a glass wall. The view of Tokyo's skyline is the most arresting thing in the room, and the restaurant knows it , the layout is designed around it. Pastry chef Michele Abbatemarco handles desserts, working with artisanal Japanese sugar and fruit-forward, sustainable compositions. The signature peau de soja , a tofu and Japanese citrus dessert , is the dish most consistently flagged by inspectors as worth ordering.
The beverage program is run by Wine Director Takahiro Kawasaki. The list runs to 530 selections across 3,420 bottles in inventory, with core strengths in Burgundy, Bordeaux, and Japanese wines. Pricing sits at $$$, with a $200 corkage fee if you bring your own. Organic French Champagne and Japanese spring waters anchor the non-wine side of the menu. For a Tokyo French restaurant, the local wine emphasis is notable and deliberate.
Est serves both lunch and dinner, and the lunch format is the sharper value proposition. One-, two-, or three-course options are available at midday , making it accessible even if a full dinner commitment feels steep. For the view alone, a clear winter evening (December through February) gives you the crispest skyline visibility. The menu shifts with Japan's micro-seasons, so any visit in spring (cherry blossom period, late March to April) or autumn (October to November, when Japanese produce is at peak diversity) will catch the kitchen working with its leading seasonal materials. Avoid mid-summer if you are sensitive to the haze that dulls the view.
Est is a sit-down, atmosphere-dependent experience. The 38th-floor view, the open kitchen theatre, and the course-menu pacing are inseparable from what the restaurant is selling. This is not a venue where the food travels well off-premise , the tasting menu format, multi-component plating, and delicate tofu-based preparations are designed for the room. If you are considering est purely for the cuisine in isolation, that is a reason to visit in person rather than a reason to seek a takeout alternative. For a comparable Japanese-ingredient-forward French experience that emphasises ingredient provenance over spectacle, L'Effervescence in Nishi-Azabu operates in a quieter, lower-key room with similar philosophical grounding.
| Detail | est | L'Effervescence | ESqUISSE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cuisine | French (Japanese terroir) | French | French |
| Price range | ¥¥¥¥ | ¥¥¥¥ | ¥¥¥¥ |
| Setting | Hotel, 38th floor | Standalone | Standalone |
| Michelin | 1 Star (2024) | 2 Stars | 1 Star |
| Lunch available | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Booking difficulty | Hard | Hard | Moderate |
| Wine list depth | 530 selections | Varies | Varies |
Reservations are strongly recommended. The restaurant lists outdoor seating, private dining, valet parking, and self-parking among its amenities. Business casual dress is the stated expectation. Google rating: 4.3 across 138 reviews. For more options at this level, see our full Tokyo restaurants guide. Travellers planning around est may also want our Tokyo hotels guide, bars guide, and experiences guide.
Further afield, similar French-with-local-terroir ambitions are pursued at HAJIME in Osaka, akordu in Nara, and at a global level, Les Amis in Singapore and Hotel de Ville Crissier.
Tokyo is one of the world's most competitive French dining cities. Nearby options worth cross-referencing include Florilège and ESqUISSE. Outside Tokyo, comparable ambition in the French-with-Japanese-ingredients register can be found at Gion Sasaki in Kyoto and Goh in Fukuoka. For a complete picture of where est sits in the broader Japan fine-dining map, start with our Tokyo restaurants guide and 1000 in Yokohama for a contrasting regional perspective. The Tokyo wineries guide is worth a look if the Japanese wine program at est has piqued your interest.
| Venue | Awards | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| est | Serving innovative French cuisine with a Japanese twist on the top of Tokyo, Est sits on the 38th floor of Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Otemachi. The Forbes Travel Guide Four-Star property is housed in Otemachi One Tower, which is one of the newest downtown towers.; Located on the 39th floor of Tokyo’s Four Seasons Otemachi hotel, Michelin-starred Est examines French cuisine through the lens of Japanese terroir. Ever since executive chef Guillaume Bracaval launch...; La Liste Top Restaurants (2026): 93pts; Perched on the hotel’s top floor, the dining room affords stunning views of the city below. The modern kitchen, visible through a curtain-glass wall, is full of motion. Chef Guillaume Bracaval creates contemporary French expressions inspired by Japanese ingredients and culture. The map of Japan indicating where the various ingredients come from proclaims the bounty of Japan’s landscape. Desserts are a gorgeous flourish of contemporary art.; Chef: Guillaume Bracaval document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", function() { var el = document.getElementById("Achievements_chefs"); if (el && el.parentNode) { el.parentNode.removeChild(el); } });; Opinionated About Dining Top Restaurants in Japan Ranked #449 (2025); WINE: Wine Strengths: Burgundy, Bordeaux, France, Japan Pricing: $$$ i Wine pricing: Based on the list\'s general markup and high and low price points:$ has many bottles < $50;$$ has a range of pricing;$$$ has many $100+ bottles Corkage Fee: $200 Selections: 530 Inventory: 3,420 CUISINE: Cuisine Types: French Pricing: $$$ i Cuisine pricing: The cost of a typical two-course meal, not including tip or beverages.$ is < $40;$$ is $40–$65;$$$ is $66+. Meals: Lunch and Dinner STAFF: People Wine Director: Takahiro Kawasaki Chef: Guillaume Bracaval General Manager: Uday Rao Owner: Mitsui Fudosan Resort Management; Serving innovative French cuisine with a Japanese twist on the top of Tokyo, Est sits on the 38th floor of Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Otemachi. The Forbes Travel Guide Four-Star property is housed in Otemachi One Tower, ... **Our Inspector's Highlights Not only is Est eco-friendly, but it’s also healthy. In order to reduce carbon emissions, imported French dining essentials, butter and cheese, are swapped out for homemade tofu cheese and hummus—both of which are prepared to perfection so as not to compromise on taste.Chicly adorned in beige and ecru, Est is sophisticated. But the focus here is not the décor, but the outstanding cuisine and the view of Tokyo’s crisp skyline.The chef-designed course menu changes with some of Japan’s 72 micro seasons. Local fish and meat are, of course, served at their peak in flavor. But no matter the time of the year, expect ingredients such as Black cod, yuzu flavors and artisanal soy products to find their way onto dishes.Try Est’s unique peau de soja. This crowd-pleasing dessert is made of tofu and Japanese citrus. The delicacy is creamy, crunchy and tangy all at once.The beverage menu has a local focus. Organic French Champagne is served alongside the best of Japanese wines and spring waters.** **Things to Know Guillaume Bracaval launched Est in 2020, when the hotel first opened its doors. The France-born chef, who has had experience in Japanese kitchens, trained under gastronomic maestros such as Christian Le Squer of Paris’ Le Cinq.Michele Abbatemarco is Est’s pastry chef, making fruit-focused, sustainable treats with artisanal Japanese sugar as opposed to the processed white variety found in most dessert creations.Though Est is the perfect place for an intimate dinner, its versatile menu also works for lunch. With one-, two- or three-course options, the restaurant has something for you, no matter how sizable your midday appetite.** **Treatments:** Amenities Business casual Dinner Gluten-free options Lunch Outdoor seating Private dining Reservations recommended Self-parking Valet parking Vegetarian options **Amenities:** 1 Chome-2-1 Ōtemachi, Chiyoda City, Tokyo 100-0004, Japan; La Liste Top Restaurants (2025): 94.5pts; Opinionated About Dining Top Restaurants in Japan Ranked #488 (2024); Michelin 1 Star (2024); Opinionated About Dining Top Restaurants in Japan Recommended (2023) | ¥¥¥¥ | — |
| Harutaka | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | ¥¥¥¥ | — |
| L'Effervescence | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | ¥¥¥¥ | — |
| RyuGin | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | ¥¥¥¥ | — |
| HOMMAGE | Michelin 2 Star, World's 50 Best | ¥¥¥¥ | — |
| Crony | Michelin 2 Star, World's 50 Best | ¥¥¥¥ | — |
What to weigh when choosing between est and alternatives.
Book the dinner tasting menu for the full experience: the 38th-floor view, the open kitchen, and chef Guillaume Bracaval's French-Japanese course format are all part of the same proposition. Business casual dress is appropriate for the Four Seasons setting. Est earned its Michelin star in 2024 and holds a 94.5-point La Liste score (2025), so expectations should be high and are generally met.
L'Effervescence and ESqUISSE are the natural French comparisons — both Michelin-starred, both without the hotel-tower setting, and both worth considering if you prefer a more intimate room over a view. For Japanese fine dining at a comparable price tier, RyuGin brings greater local press recognition. Est is the stronger choice if the panoramic setting and the French-through-Japanese-terroir angle are specifically what you are after.
At ¥¥¥¥ pricing with a Michelin star and a La Liste score of 94.5 (2025), Est sits among Tokyo's most credentialed French tables, and the lunch format with one-, two-, or three-course options gives you a lower-cost entry point. The value case is strongest if you want the view and the tasting format together; if you are purely focused on the plate, equally decorated rooms without the hotel surcharge exist in Tokyo. For the full package, the price holds up.
The chef-designed course menu changes with Japan's 72 micro seasons, built around domestic ingredients including black cod, yuzu, and artisanal soy products. The peau de soja dessert — a tofu and Japanese citrus preparation — is a signature worth noting. Since the menu is course-based and rotates with the season, ordering à la carte is not the format here.
The venue data does not confirm bar seating as a dining option at Est. The dining room on the 38th floor is the primary format, with an open kitchen visible through a glass wall. If bar-side access is a priority, confirm directly with the Four Seasons Otemachi before booking.
Yes, for the right type of diner. The course menu is the vehicle for Bracaval's French-Japanese terroir concept, and the seasonal structure means the format has a clear point of view rather than a generic progression. If tasting menus are not your preferred format, the lunch service offers shorter one- to three-course options that make the experience more accessible. At ¥¥¥¥ pricing, the Michelin star and La Liste 94.5-point ranking (2025) provide reasonable assurance of execution.
Est has private dining available, which makes it viable for small group bookings. The venue amenities also list business casual dress and reservations as recommended, suggesting a formal group-dinner context is well-supported. For larger parties, contact the Four Seasons Otemachi directly to confirm private room capacity and menu options.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
