Restaurant in Tokyo, Japan
Ten seats, one arc: Japanese in, French out.
A 10-seat Franco-Japanese counter in Nishiazabu, KIBUN delivers a prix fixe that moves from Japanese technique to French saucing across two distinct halves. Chef Ugo Perret-Gallix holds a 2025 Michelin Plate and trained at a Kyoto ryotei before bringing his French background to the menu. At ¥¥¥, it is one of Tokyo's more accessible Michelin-recognised counter experiences.
KIBUN operates a 10-seat counter on the second floor of a former wine bar in Nishiazabu, and that physical constraint is the first thing to understand about booking here. There is no large-party option, no walk-in fallback, and no a la carte alternative. You are committing to a prix fixe counter meal before you arrive — the question is whether the experience justifies that commitment. Based on available data, including a Michelin Plate recognition in 2025 and a 4.6 Google rating (18 reviews), it does, with some caveats worth knowing before you book.
Chef Ugo Perret-Gallix was trained in French cooking before an apprenticeship at a Kyoto ryotei shifted his focus toward Japanese technique and food culture. That biographical arc is not just background colour — it is the literal structure of the meal. The prix fixe at KIBUN moves in two distinct halves: the first draws on Japanese culinary logic (including sushi preparations), the second pivots to French cuisine, with particular emphasis on saucing. The progression from Japanese to French is the format, not a loose inspiration.
The room reinforces this dual register. The counter is blond hinoki wood , a material associated with Japanese craft and ceremony. Volcanic stone surfaces bring texture and weight. A single Hiroshi Sugimoto photograph anchors the space visually. The result is a compact, considered room that reads as Japanese in materiality and European in restraint. At ten seats, the atmosphere will be closer to a private dinner than a restaurant service, which is either the appeal or a dealbreaker depending on your tolerance for intimacy with strangers at a counter.
KIBUN is priced at ¥¥¥, which places it below the ¥¥¥¥ tier occupied by many of Tokyo's decorated counter restaurants. That positioning matters. The two-part menu structure , Japanese techniques applied to quality ingredients in the first half, French saucing discipline in the second , requires a kitchen that can source credibly across two culinary traditions simultaneously. The apprenticeship background at a Kyoto ryotei gives the Japanese half a verifiable grounding; Perret-Gallix's French training gives the sauce work a technical foundation. Where the sourcing choices land in practice is something only confirmed guest accounts can fully verify, but the structural logic of the menu demands dual-track quality.
For the food-focused traveller comparing value across Tokyo's contemporary counter scene, KIBUN at ¥¥¥ represents a lower financial commitment than most Michelin-starred peers while still delivering a format , prix fixe, counter service, chef-driven sequencing , that matches the experience architecture of more expensive rooms. If ingredient sourcing and technique are your primary criteria and you want a Franco-Japanese perspective rather than a purely Japanese one, this is the right price tier to be looking at.
The counter format and small seat count mean KIBUN will feel different depending on who fills the other nine seats on any given night. For the leading experience, book mid-week when the room is less likely to be dominated by a single group dynamic. Tokyo's fine dining season runs year-round, but spring (March to May) and autumn (October to November) bring the strongest seasonal produce to Japanese kitchens generally , worth factoring in if you are planning a trip around food. Because the menu's Japanese half draws on seasonal Japanese culinary logic, those windows may offer the most complete version of what KIBUN is trying to do.
Booking appears to be manageable relative to Tokyo's more heavily allocated counters. The small seat count does not automatically mean impossible to get , it means plan ahead by a few weeks rather than months. For context, securing a seat at KIBUN is considerably easier than booking Harutaka or RyuGin, both of which require significantly more lead time.
KIBUN is the right call if: you want a French-Japanese prix fixe at a price point below the top tier, you prefer a small counter format over a full dining room, and you are interested in a menu that takes both culinary traditions seriously rather than using one as flavouring for the other. It is not the right call if you want traditional kaiseki, direct sushi, or a large-group setting. For a purely French experience in a similar Nishiazabu neighbourhood bracket, HYÈNE and Crony are worth comparing. For a Japanese-first counter, hakunei is in the same general conversation. If you are building a broader Tokyo itinerary around serious eating, see our full Tokyo restaurants guide , and for context on how KIBUN sits within Japan's wider contemporary dining scene, HAJIME in Osaka and Gion Sasaki in Kyoto offer useful calibration points.
The 2025 Michelin Plate recognition signals quality without the reservation pressure that stars bring. That is a meaningful distinction in Tokyo, where the gap between a Plate and a Star often reflects the size of the operation more than the gap in cooking quality. At ten seats, KIBUN cannot absorb the volume that star recognition would generate , so the Plate status may actually be working in the diner's favour right now.
Location: 4 Chome-11-28 2F, Nishiazabu, Minato City, Tokyo. Price tier: ¥¥¥. Seats: 10 (counter). Format: prix fixe only. Recognition: Michelin Plate 2025. Booking difficulty: Easy to moderate , book 2-3 weeks ahead. Leading timing: mid-week; spring and autumn for seasonal produce.
If you are in Nishiazabu and want to extend the evening, nôl, FUSOU, and JULIA are all worth knowing about. For the full picture on where to stay, drink, and explore in the city, use our Tokyo hotels guide, our Tokyo bars guide, and our Tokyo experiences guide. Travellers connecting KIBUN to a broader Japan itinerary will find akordu in Nara, Goh in Fukuoka, 1000 in Yokohama, and 6 in Okinawa useful reference points across the country's contemporary dining tier. For international comparisons in the same contemporary counter format, César in New York City and Jungsik in Seoul share some structural DNA worth knowing before you go.
Yes, for the right diner. The prix fixe format at ¥¥¥ delivers a structured Franco-Japanese sequence across a 10-seat hinoki counter with Michelin Plate recognition in 2025. The price tier is lower than most of Tokyo's comparable counter experiences, so the value calculation is more favourable than at ¥¥¥¥ peers. The caveat: if you have no interest in French saucing technique, the second half of the menu will not resonate. But if the idea of a kitchen that takes both traditions seriously appeals, the tasting menu is the only way to experience what this room is doing , and at this price point, that is a reasonable ask.
KIBUN is prix fixe only, so the menu is not something you choose , it is something you commit to. The meal moves from Japanese-inspired preparations (including a sushi element) in the first half to French cuisine with an emphasis on sauces in the second. There is no a la carte option. If you have dietary restrictions, contact the restaurant directly before booking; the 10-seat format gives the kitchen a degree of flexibility that larger restaurants cannot offer, but there is no public information on how accommodating they are.
No dress code is published for KIBUN, but the room , a former wine bar reworked with volcanic stone and hinoki wood, anchored by a Hiroshi Sugimoto photograph , reads as considered and intimate. Smart casual is a safe call. At ¥¥¥ pricing in a Nishiazabu counter setting with Michelin recognition, turning up in athleisure would feel out of register. Think dinner clothes rather than formal wear: Tokyo's fine dining scene is less rigidly dressed than Paris or New York at equivalent price points, but the 10-seat format means you will be visible to everyone in the room all evening.
For a French-Japanese contemporary counter at a similar or higher price tier, HYÈNE and Crony are the closest comparisons, though both sit at ¥¥¥¥. For innovative French in Tokyo, HOMMAGE and L'Effervescence are well-regarded at ¥¥¥¥. If you want the counter format but with a Japanese-first focus, hakunei is worth considering. For traditional kaiseki, RyuGin is the benchmark, also at ¥¥¥¥. KIBUN's advantage over all of them is the lower price tier and the easier booking window.
At ¥¥¥, KIBUN is priced below most of Tokyo's Michelin-recognised counter restaurants. You are getting a 10-seat prix fixe experience with a chef who trained in both Kyoto ryotei tradition and French technique, in a room that has been carefully considered. The 2025 Michelin Plate confirms a quality floor. The honest comparison: if you are spending ¥¥¥¥ at RyuGin or L'Effervescence, you are getting more decorations and arguably deeper specialisation in a single cuisine. KIBUN's argument is the dual-track format at a lower price point. For food-focused travellers who want that Franco-Japanese structure without the top-tier spend, the price-to-format ratio is strong.
Yes, with caveats. The 10-seat counter creates genuine intimacy, the Michelin Plate adds occasion weight, and the two-act menu gives the meal a narrative shape that suits celebratory dinners. But a counter means you are seated alongside strangers for the duration, which is the format's trade-off against a private room. If you need complete privacy for a proposal or a milestone dinner, KIBUN is not the right venue. If you are comfortable with counter dining and want a considered, chef-driven meal at ¥¥¥ , rather than the ¥¥¥¥ tier that dominates Tokyo's special-occasion restaurant shortlist , it is a strong option.
Yes, at the ¥¥¥ tier it offers a clear point of difference: a prix fixe that moves deliberately from Japanese technique to French cuisine in a single sitting across 10 seats. Chef Ugo Perret-Gallix trained in France and apprenticed at a Kyoto ryotei, so the format reflects a real culinary arc rather than a superficial East-meets-West conceit. If you want that specific experience at a price point below Tokyo's ¥¥¥¥ decorated counters, it holds up. If you are after a straightforward omakase or a strictly French tasting, KIBUN is not the right fit.
KIBUN operates a prix fixe only format, so there is no à la carte ordering. The menu follows a fixed arc: Japanese-inspired courses first, including sushi roll, then a pivot to French cuisine with an emphasis on classical sauces. You eat what the chef serves that evening, which means the decision is whether to book, not what to order.
The venue data does not specify a dress code, but the setting gives useful context: a 10-seat counter in a former Nishiazabu wine bar, with a hinoki wood counter and a Hiroshi Sugimoto photograph on the wall. The room signals considered, low-key refinement rather than formal ceremony. Neat, understated clothing is a reasonable read; overly casual dress would feel out of place at a ¥¥¥ prix fixe counter of this kind.
For French-leaning fine dining in Tokyo, L'Effervescence operates at a higher tier with stronger award recognition and a more overtly seasonal French framework. HOMMAGE is a closer price-tier alternative with a French-Japanese sensibility. If your priority is a pure Japanese counter experience, Harutaka at the sushi end or RyuGin for kaiseki both represent established options at the top of their respective formats. Crony offers a more casual counter format for those who want the intimacy without the prix fixe commitment.
At ¥¥¥, KIBUN sits below Tokyo's most decorated counter restaurants and carries a Michelin Plate for 2025, which signals quality without the premium attached to starred venues. The value case is strongest if the French-into-Japanese format is specifically what you are after: you are paying for a 10-seat counter, an original culinary structure, and a chef with real credentials in both traditions. If price-to-prestige ratio is your primary metric, there are starred options in Tokyo at comparable or marginally higher spend.
Yes, with one caveat: the 10-seat counter means the atmosphere on any given night depends heavily on who else is in the room, which is worth factoring into your expectations. The physical setting, a reworked former wine bar with volcanic stone and a single Hiroshi Sugimoto photograph, is considered and intimate. For a two-person occasion where an unconventional French-Japanese prix fixe matters more than a grand dining room, KIBUN works well. For larger groups or events requiring a private dining space, this is not the venue.
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