Restaurant in Tokyo, Japan
Unconventional Japanese cooking. Hard to book.
Nishiazabu Otake holds a Michelin star (2024) and a 4.6 Google rating for Japanese cooking rooted in a Gifu ryotei tradition — but without the conventions. The seasonal menu includes hair crab and porcini croquettes, char-grilled fish and meat, and winter game such as duck and Asian black bear. At ¥¥¥, it is one of Tokyo's more distinctive special-occasion choices. Book hard and early.
Nishiazabu Otake is the right choice for a special-occasion dinner in Tokyo if you want a Michelin-starred Japanese meal that operates outside the conventions of kaiseki or omakase sushi. Book here for an anniversary, a celebratory dinner for two, or a night when you want to eat something genuinely difficult to find elsewhere in the city: seasonal croquettes stuffed with hair crab or porcini mushrooms, char-grilled fish and meat, and, in winter, game such as duck and Asian black bear sourced from hunters in Gifu Prefecture. This is not a restaurant for a casual Tuesday dinner or a quick business lunch. It rewards the kind of diner who wants a specific, considered meal at a place that has earned a Google rating of 4.6 across 100 reviews and a Michelin star in 2024.
For timing, the seasonal menu logic gives you a clear answer on when to visit. Spring brings hair crab croquettes; autumn shifts to porcini. Winter is arguably the most compelling season, when game from Gifu arrives on the menu and the kitchen's unconventional approach is most visible. If you are in Tokyo between November and February and your schedule allows a dinner reservation, this is the time to prioritise Nishiazabu Otake over many of its competitors in the Minato City area.
Nishiazabu Otake sits at the quieter, residential end of Nishiazabu, a neighbourhood in Minato City that functions as a lower-key alternative to the Ginza dining corridor. The address is on the ground floor of the CORE Nishiazabu building, which means the room is likely compact rather than grand — in keeping with the intimate, ryotei-influenced approach the kitchen takes to its food. Expect a focused, unhurried atmosphere rather than the buzzing energy of a larger Tokyo dining room. If you are planning a celebration or a date where conversation matters as much as the food, the setting works in your favour.
The culinary reference point here is the ryotei tradition of Gifu Prefecture, a style of cooking centred on seasonal produce, careful sourcing, and restraint. What separates Nishiazabu Otake from a more orthodox interpretation of that tradition is the freedom the kitchen takes with it. Croquettes, a Western-influenced preparation, are used as a vehicle for luxury seasonal ingredients. Char-grilled preparations apply to both meat and fish, which broadens the register of the meal considerably compared to a strictly kaiseki format. Game meat, especially the Asian black bear that arrives in winter, is genuinely rare on Tokyo menus and signals that the kitchen is sourcing from networks well outside the standard restaurant supply chain. None of this is fusion for its own sake , it reads as a deeply Japanese approach to cooking that simply does not feel bound by category.
At the ¥¥¥ price range, Nishiazabu Otake sits a tier below the ¥¥¥¥ restaurants that dominate the upper end of Tokyo's Japanese dining scene. That positioning matters. You are getting a Michelin-starred experience with a genuinely distinctive menu at a price point that leaves room in the budget for the kind of sake or wine pairing that a meal like this deserves. For a special occasion, that value equation is difficult to argue with.
Booking difficulty is rated Hard. A Michelin star awarded in 2024, a small room implied by the ground-floor address, and a menu format built around scarce seasonal and game ingredients all point to a reservation that requires significant lead time. Phone and website details are not publicly listed in Pearl's database, which means securing a table will likely require working through a concierge service, a hotel front desk with strong local connections, or a third-party reservation platform that covers Tokyo's more tightly held restaurants. Do not assume walk-ins are viable. If you are visiting Tokyo in winter specifically for the game menu, plan your booking at least four to six weeks in advance.
No dress code data is available in Pearl's records, but the ryotei lineage and Michelin star status suggest smart casual at minimum. Arrive dressed for a formal dinner rather than a casual meal and you will not be out of place.
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If Nishiazabu Otake is fully booked or you want to compare options before committing, the following Tokyo restaurants are worth considering: Myojaku, Azabu Kadowaki, Kagurazaka Ishikawa, Ginza Fukuju, and Jingumae Higuchi. Outside Tokyo, the same level of considered Japanese cooking can be found at Gion Sasaki in Kyoto, Isshisoden Nakamura in Kyoto, Kashiwaya Osaka Senriyama in Osaka, HAJIME in Osaka, akordu in Nara, Goh in Fukuoka, 1000 in Yokohama, and 6 in Okinawa.
Quick reference: Nishiazabu Otake, Nishiazabu, Minato City, Tokyo | ¥¥¥ | Michelin 1 Star (2024) | Google 4.6/5 (100 reviews) | Booking: Hard , plan 4–6 weeks ahead minimum.
| Venue | Awards | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nishiazabu Otake | The chef practises ‘cuisine that lingers in the soul’ that he learned at a ryotei, or traditional high-end Japanese restaurant, in Gifu Prefecture. Croquettes, a perennial favourite, are as seasonal as they are whimsical, stuffed with hair crab in spring and porcini mushrooms in autumn. Char-grilled fare includes meat as well as fish, enhancing satisfaction. Uniquely, Nishiazabu Otake serves game such as winter duck and Asian black bear, sent by hunters in Gifu. Definitely Japanese cuisine, yet free of convention.; Michelin 1 Star (2024) | ¥¥¥ | — |
| 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 | ¥¥¥¥ | — |
A quick look at how Nishiazabu Otake measures up.
The venue data does not confirm a bar counter, so assume table seating only. The ground-floor address in CORE Nishiazabu suggests a compact room, so every seat is close to the action regardless. If counter dining is important to you, confirm directly when booking.
The kitchen operates with a philosophy rooted in Gifu ryotei tradition, which means the menu follows strict seasonality — what you eat depends entirely on when you visit. Expect unusual proteins: game such as winter duck and Asian black bear appear alongside more familiar seafood and vegetables. Booking is hard since the 2024 Michelin star arrived, so plan at least several weeks ahead.
The ground-floor address implies a small room, which makes large groups a risk. Parties of two to four are the safer format for a venue like this; if you are six or more, check the venue's official channels before planning around it. A small room also means noise levels stay low, which works in favour of groups that want to talk.
At ¥¥¥, Nishiazabu Otake sits in the serious-spend tier for Tokyo dining, and the 2024 Michelin star gives that price independent validation. The differentiator here is the game programme: hair crab croquettes, seasonal char-grilled fish and meat, and hunter-sourced bear and duck are not what you get at a standard Michelin counter. If you want conventional kaiseki, there are cheaper options; if you want Japanese fine dining that takes real risks with its ingredients, the price is justified.
Given the seasonal, ingredient-driven format inherited from Gifu ryotei cooking, a tasting menu structure is likely the primary way the kitchen expresses itself — the rotating croquettes and game dishes are built for that format. The Michelin recognition in 2024 confirms the execution is there. Worth it if the format fits your appetite for surprise; less so if you prefer to pick from a menu.
Harutaka is the stronger pick if pristine nigiri is your priority over a cooked-course format. RyuGin offers a more theatrical kaiseki experience at a higher price point. HOMMAGE sits at the French-Japanese intersection if you want European technique applied to Japanese produce. Crony is the more casual, lower-commitment option. L'Effervescence is the choice if you want ingredient-led tasting menus with a French spine rather than a Japanese one.
Solo dining at a small, intimate restaurant with a fixed seasonal format is generally a good match, and Nishiazabu Otake's ryotei-rooted style suits a single diner who wants to focus on the food. The compact room means you will not feel isolated. Confirm whether counter or table seating is available for one when booking, as the room size is not fully documented.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
