Restaurant in Tokyo, Japan
Whole truffles, Japanese technique, no frills.
A truffle-focused French-Japanese restaurant in Nishiazabu where Chef Kenta Kayama applies Japanese culinary technique — kombu dashi consommé, raw egg on rice — to a French base built around whole truffles. Michelin Plate recognised and ranked on Opinionated About Dining's Japan list, it sits at ¥¥¥ with easy booking: a strong option when you want a singular, ingredient-led dinner at a lower price point than most comparable Tokyo restaurants.
If you've already done the French-Japanese tasting menu circuit in Tokyo and want something technically sharper and conceptually stranger, Margotto e Baciare is worth your evening. Chef Kenta Kayama has built a restaurant around a single ingredient — truffle — and applies Japanese culinary logic to a French base in ways that produce genuinely disorienting results: kombu dashi consommé served in wine glasses, truffle paired with fried egg on toast, raw egg on rice finished with shavings of black or white truffle. It holds a Michelin Plate and ranks #505 on the 2025 Opinionated About Dining Japan list. The price tier is ¥¥¥, which makes it meaningfully more accessible than most of its comparison set. Book it if the truffle format intrigues you; skip it if you want a broad tasting menu or a representative French meal.
The technical premise at Margotto e Baciare is unusual enough to deserve explanation. The restaurant's name is a creative spelling of marugoto, the Japanese word for "the whole thing," and whole truffles , rather than shaved garnish , are the organizing principle of the menu. Guests can select a single bead of their preferred truffle variety, and the kitchen constructs dishes around it. That format demands a different kind of culinary discipline than a conventional tasting menu: Kayama can't rely on the arc of courses to carry the experience. Each dish has to justify the truffle's presence on its own terms.
What prevents this from being a novelty act is the Japanese technique underpinning the French frame. Kombu dashi consommé is not a French preparation, but serving it in a wine glass to concentrate the fragrance is a sensory decision that borrows from both traditions with genuine purpose. The pairing of truffle with tamago kake gohan , raw egg on rice , is an example of Kayama applying Japanese comfort-food logic to an ingredient that French cuisine typically treats with formality. The result is approachable in texture and intensity, which is an unusual quality for a truffle-focused restaurant. If you've dined here before and worked through the more classical pairings, the egg-and-rice preparation is the direction to push toward on a return visit.
The Google rating sits at 4.3 across 129 reviews, which is a credible signal for a restaurant at this price point and with this level of concept specificity. Michelin's Plate designation confirms technical competence; the Opinionated About Dining ranking (up from #456 in 2024 to #505 in 2025 , note this is a rank number shift within a large list, not a quality decline) reflects consistent recognition among serious diners tracking the Japan restaurant circuit.
Margotto e Baciare is a strong choice for a returning visitor to Tokyo who has already covered the headline French restaurants , L'Effervescence, Sézanne , and wants something with a tighter, more singular concept. It also works for solo diners looking for an intimate counter-style environment where a focused menu removes the need to negotiate choices. The dinner-only format (6–11 pm, Monday through Saturday, closed Sunday) means there is no lunch option to consider; Sunday visitors to Nishiazabu will need to look elsewhere.
If your priority is the broadest possible expression of French technique in Tokyo, L'Effervescence or HOMMAGE deliver a more conventional tasting-menu architecture. If you want kaiseki-inflected Japanese precision, RyuGin is the stronger call. Margotto e Baciare is for the diner who wants to eat a single ingredient prepared across multiple registers , and who finds that constraint interesting rather than limiting.
For context on the broader Tokyo dining circuit, our full Tokyo restaurants guide covers the range from neighbourhood spots to three-star destinations. Elsewhere in Japan, the French-Japanese fusion tradition runs through HAJIME in Osaka and akordu in Nara, both of which offer useful comparison points if you're building a wider itinerary. For the kaiseki tradition outside Tokyo, Gion Sasaki in Kyoto and Goh in Fukuoka are worth knowing.
| Detail | Margotto e Baciare | L'Effervescence | HOMMAGE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price tier | ¥¥¥ | ¥¥¥¥ | ¥¥¥¥ |
| Cuisine | French-Japanese, truffle-focused | French contemporary | Innovative French |
| Service (dinner only) | Mon–Sat, 6–11 pm | Dinner (check current) | Dinner (check current) |
| Closed | Sunday | Varies | Varies |
| Booking difficulty | Easy | Moderate–Hard | Moderate |
| Michelin recognition | Plate (2025) | 2 Stars | 1 Star |
| Neighbourhood | Nishiazabu, Minato | Nishi-Azabu | Tokyo |
The address is Ryowa Palace 西麻布 1F, 4-2-6 Nishiazabu, Minato City , a ground-floor location in a residential part of Nishiazabu, close to the Hiroo and Roppongi axis. Plan your evening around the neighbourhood: our Tokyo bars guide and Tokyo hotels guide cover the surrounding area. If you're building a longer stay, the Tokyo experiences guide and Tokyo wineries guide are also available. For French-Japanese contemporary comparisons in other cities, Per Se in New York and The French Laundry in Napa define the Western end of the tradition. Closer to home, sio in Tokyo and Crony offer further points of comparison within the innovative French category. Harutaka is the reference point if premium ingredients in an intimate Tokyo setting is the draw and you're open to sushi rather than French. For creative cooking that reaches toward the regional and experimental, 1000 in Yokohama and 6 in Okinawa extend the Japan circuit further.
The menu is built around truffles , not as a garnish but as the central ingredient. You select your truffle variety and dishes are constructed around it, which means this is not a conventional tasting menu. Expect Japanese technique applied to French form: kombu dashi in wine glasses, truffle over fried egg on toast, raw egg on rice. The price tier is ¥¥¥, which is accessible relative to Michelin-recognized peers in Tokyo. Booking is currently easy, so there is no pressure to plan far in advance, but dinner-only hours (6–11 pm) and Sunday closure should factor into your itinerary.
At ¥¥¥, Margotto e Baciare offers Michelin Plate-recognized cooking with a clear and unusual concept. For the price tier, the value is strong: you get a focused truffle-led experience from a chef with Japanese culinary training applied to a French base, at a lower price point than most comparable Tokyo restaurants. The caveat is format , if you want variety across ingredients and cooking styles, the single-ingredient focus will feel limiting. If the truffle concept interests you, it is worth the spend at this price level.
There is no lunch service. Margotto e Baciare operates dinner only, Monday through Saturday, 6–11 pm. Sunday is closed. If you are planning a Sunday evening or a lunchtime meal in Nishiazabu, you will need to book elsewhere.
Yes, and it is one of the better solo dining choices in the Nishiazabu area at this price tier. The truffle-focused, concept-driven format lends itself to counter or intimate seating where a single diner can engage fully with the progression of dishes. The ¥¥¥ price point makes it a lower-commitment solo dinner than comparable Michelin-recognised destinations in Tokyo. For solo sushi at a higher price point, Harutaka is the comparison benchmark.
Seat count is not confirmed in available data, and the restaurant has not published group booking information publicly. Given the format , an intimate, concept-driven truffle restaurant in Nishiazabu , this is likely a small room. Parties of more than four should contact the restaurant directly to confirm capacity before assuming availability. Booking is currently rated as easy for standard reservations, but group logistics are worth clarifying in advance.
For broader French tasting menus at a higher price tier, L'Effervescence (¥¥¥¥, 2 Michelin stars) is the direct step up. Sézanne is the choice if you want French technique with a strong seasonal Japanese ingredient emphasis. For innovative French at ¥¥¥¥, HOMMAGE and Crony are both worth considering. If you want to move away from French entirely, RyuGin covers the kaiseki tradition at ¥¥¥¥. Margotto e Baciare is the pick when concept specificity and price accessibility matter more than breadth of menu.
| Venue | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Margotto e Baciare | ¥¥¥ | — |
| Harutaka | ¥¥¥¥ | — |
| L'Effervescence | ¥¥¥¥ | — |
| RyuGin | ¥¥¥¥ | — |
| HOMMAGE | ¥¥¥¥ | — |
| Crony | ¥¥¥¥ | — |
How Margotto e Baciare stacks up against the competition.
Margotto e Baciare is a small counter-format restaurant in Nishiazabu, so large groups are unlikely to be well-served here. It suits parties of two more naturally than groups of four or more. If your group wants a truffle-forward French-Japanese concept, this is the right address, but confirm capacity directly before assuming a table for six is viable.
Yes. The counter format and the chef-driven tasting concept make solo dining a natural fit at Margotto e Baciare. Chef Kenta Kayama's French-Japanese menu, built around the guest choosing their preferred truffle variety, translates well to a single diner's experience. It's an easier solo booking than larger room restaurants in the same ¥¥¥ tier.
The concept is built around whole truffles — the name is a creative spelling of marugoto, meaning 'the whole thing' — so truffle is not a garnish here, it's the organizing principle of the menu. Chef Kayama applies Japanese technique to a French base, with touches like kombu dashi consommé and truffle paired with raw egg on rice. It holds a Michelin Plate (2025) and is ranked #505 on Opinionated About Dining's Japan list for 2025. Service is dinner-only, Tuesday through Sunday, 6–11 pm.
L'Effervescence and RyuGin are the headline references in Tokyo's French-Japanese space and represent a more established, higher-profile option if credentials matter to your group. HOMMAGE is closer in scale and register to Margotto e Baciare and worth comparing directly. Crony is a lower-formality alternative if the ¥¥¥ price point is a stretch. Harutaka is a different category entirely (omakase sushi) and only relevant if you're flexible on cuisine format.
Dinner is the only option. Margotto e Baciare operates Tuesday through Sunday, 6–11 pm exclusively, with no lunch service listed. Plan accordingly, and note that Sunday is a closed day.
At the ¥¥¥ price tier, Margotto e Baciare earns its place if you're specifically interested in truffle-focused cooking with a Japanese-French hybrid approach. The Michelin Plate recognition (2025) and consistent Opinionated About Dining inclusion since 2023 suggest a kitchen that delivers reliably. It is not the choice if you want the prestige of a starred room — but for conceptual originality at this price point in Nishiazabu, it holds up against peers in the same tier.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
