Restaurant in Tokyo, Japan
Kyushu-sourced Italian with abalone at its core.
A Michelin Plate Italian restaurant in Motoazabu built around Kyushu-sourced abalone, served three ways. Chef Mitsuaki Okamura keeps the presentation simple and the sourcing precise, making this a strong choice for food-focused diners at the ¥¥¥ tier. Easy to book and more personal in scale than Tokyo's starred Italian tables.
Piatto Mitsu is worth booking if you want Italian cooking in Tokyo that has a clear point of view. Chef Mitsuaki Okamura works with Kyushu-sourced ingredients — most notably abalone, which anchors the menu — and applies Italian technique with a restraint that sets it apart from the more theatrical end of Tokyo's Italian scene. At ¥¥¥ pricing, it sits at an accessible point relative to the city's top-tier Italian tables, and with a 4.6 Google rating across 37 reviews and a 2025 Michelin Plate, the quality signal is consistent if not at starred level. If abalone prepared three ways is not your priority, or if you need kaiseki-level ceremony, look elsewhere. But for food-focused diners who want ingredient-led Italian cooking with a Japanese producer's sensibility, this is a sound choice.
Piatto Mitsu occupies the seventh floor of the Galle Motoazabu building in Motoazabu, Minato City , a Minami-Azabu-adjacent address that puts it in one of Tokyo's quieter, more residential pockets rather than in the thick of Roppongi's busier dining corridor. The seventh-floor setting means you are removed from street level, which tends to create a more contained, focused atmosphere: the kind of room where the cooking is the main event rather than the spectacle of the room itself. Spatial data from the database is limited, but the building context and the Motoazabu neighbourhood both suggest an intimate rather than theatrical setting. That fits the food.
The kitchen's signature is abalone, available deep-fried, oven-baked, or in pasta. This is a serious commitment to a single ingredient, and it reflects Chef Okamura's background: he opened his first restaurant in Fukuoka before returning to Azabu, and the Kyushu producer relationships he built there are what underpin the sourcing here. Kyushu is Japan's southernmost main island, with a coastline well-regarded for shellfish, and abalone from that region carries a different texture and minerality than farmed alternatives. The decision to structure the menu around this single product, presented simply, is the clearest indicator of where Okamura's priorities lie. He is not trying to dazzle with complexity; he is trying to let the ingredient read clearly on the plate.
That philosophy sits within a broader category of Japanese-Italian cooking that Tokyo has made its own. The city has a deep bench of Italian restaurants, from the Michelin-starred formality of Aroma Fresca to the produce-led approach of PRISMA and the more conceptually adventurous territory of Gucci Osteria da Massimo Bottura Tokyo. Piatto Mitsu does not compete on the same axis as any of those. It is smaller in ambition and more specific in focus, which is precisely what makes it interesting to the right diner. The name itself encodes the premise: 'piatto' is Italian for plate, 'Mitsu' is drawn from Mitsuaki Okamura's name, and the combination reads as 'Mitsu's plates' , personal, direct, and without pretension.
The Michelin Plate recognition in 2025 is worth understanding correctly: it signals that Michelin inspectors found the cooking worth noting, but it does not indicate a starred performance. For a ¥¥¥ restaurant in this neighbourhood, a Michelin Plate is a credible signal without overpromising. The 4.6 Google score across 37 reviews is a modest but consistent data set, suggesting a loyal if small following rather than a venue that has broken through to broader tourist or media attention. That combination , Michelin-noted, neighbourhood-scaled, ingredient-specific , is actually the profile of a restaurant that rewards the diner who has done a little research. If you are building a Japan itinerary with stops at HAJIME in Osaka, Gion Sasaki in Kyoto, or Goh in Fukuoka, Piatto Mitsu fits the same explorer-oriented bracket in Tokyo.
For timing, a weekday dinner is the most reliable call. The Motoazabu neighbourhood sees less weekend tourist foot traffic than areas like Shinjuku or Shibuya, but the restaurant's small scale means even modest weekend demand can affect pace and availability. Book in advance to be safe; the booking difficulty is rated Easy, meaning you are unlikely to wait weeks, but walking in without a reservation at a seventh-floor restaurant with no published hours is a risk not worth taking. Specific opening hours are not confirmed in the venue data, so verify directly before visiting.
If you are comparing Italian options at the ¥¥¥ tier, also consider Principio and AlCeppo within Tokyo, or look at cenci in Kyoto for Italian that draws on Japanese producer relationships in a comparable way. For Italian at a higher price point and with a more documented international profile, 8½ Otto e Mezzo Bombana in Hong Kong is the regional reference point. Piatto Mitsu sits firmly below that in both price and profile, but the cooking logic is in the same family.
The restaurant address is 1 Chome-7-12 Motoazabu, Minato City, Tokyo, Galle Motoazabu 7F. No phone number or website is currently listed in the Pearl database, so reservations may need to be made through a concierge or a third-party booking platform. Confirm hours and availability before making the trip, particularly given the building-specific location.
Quick reference: Michelin Plate 2025, Google 4.6/5 (37 reviews), ¥¥¥ pricing, Motoazabu, Minato City, Tokyo, 7F. Booking: Easy. Leading time: weekday dinner.
See the comparison section below for how Piatto Mitsu stacks up against Tokyo's leading dining options.
For a fuller picture of where to eat, drink, and stay in the city, see our full Tokyo restaurants guide, our full Tokyo hotels guide, our full Tokyo bars guide, our full Tokyo wineries guide, and our full Tokyo experiences guide. Further afield, akordu in Nara, 1000 in Yokohama, and 6 in Okinawa round out a Japan itinerary for food-focused travellers.
| Venue | Cuisine | Awards | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Piatto Mitsu | Italian | Chef Mitsuaki Okamura opened his own place in Fukuoka, but love of Azabu drew him back here. He sources his ingredients from Kyushu, owing to the strong relationships he has built with producers there. The shop’s speciality is abalone, served deep-fried, oven-baked or in pasta. Hometown dishes are all the more impressive for their simple presentation. ‘Piatto’ is Italian for ‘plate’, while ‘Mitsu’ is part of Chef Mitsuaki Okamura’s name, hence the name suggests ‘Mitsu’s plates’; his own style of cooking.; Michelin Plate (2025); Chef Mitsuaki Okamura opened his own place in Fukuoka, but love of Azabu drew him back here. He sources his ingredients from Kyushu, owing to the strong relationships he has built with producers there. The shop’s speciality is abalone, served deep-fried, oven-baked or in pasta. Hometown dishes are all the more impressive for their simple presentation. ‘Piatto’ is Italian for ‘plate’, while ‘Mitsu’ is part of Chef Mitsuaki Okamura’s name, hence the name suggests ‘Mitsu’s plates’; his own style of cooking. | Easy | — |
| Harutaka | Sushi | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| RyuGin | Kaiseki, Japanese | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| L'Effervescence | French | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| HOMMAGE | Innovtive French, French | Michelin 2 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Florilège | French | Michelin 2 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
Side-by-side comparison to help you decide where to book.
check the venue's official channels before booking. The menu centres on abalone, served fried, oven-baked, or in pasta, so guests with shellfish allergies should flag this upfront. Kyushu-sourced ingredients form the backbone of the cooking, which limits how far the kitchen can deviate without losing the point of the meal.
The restaurant is on the seventh floor of the Galle Motoazabu building, which suggests a compact format. Groups larger than four should confirm capacity and any private arrangement directly with the venue before booking. Intimate dinners of two to four are likely the natural fit here.
For French rather than Italian, L'Effervescence and Florilège both offer chef-driven tasting menus with strong local sourcing credentials. If you want Italian specifically in Tokyo, Piatto Mitsu is one of the few with a clearly personal angle: Kyushu produce applied to Italian technique. For a higher-end Japanese experience in the same Azabu area, Harutaka covers omakase sushi at a different price tier.
A seventh-floor restaurant with a clear chef identity and a focused menu around abalone is a reasonable solo choice if you want to eat attentively rather than socially. The ¥¥¥ price range means it sits above casual, so expect to spend meaningfully. Solo diners at the counter, if available, would get the most from the format.
Yes, with caveats. The Michelin Plate recognition (2025) and Chef Okamura's deliberate return to Azabu after running his own place in Fukuoka give the meal a sense of intention that suits a celebration. The ¥¥¥ price range and Motoazabu address add occasion weight without tipping into the four-hour omakase territory of Tokyo's most formal rooms.
At ¥¥¥, Piatto Mitsu sits in Tokyo's upper-mid tier. The value case rests on the specificity: Kyushu producer relationships, abalone as a signature, and Italian technique applied with a distinct point of view. If you want straightforward Italian without the ingredient sourcing backstory, there are cheaper options in the city. If the provenance and the Michelin Plate credential matter to you, the price holds up.
The menu format is not confirmed in available data, so check directly with the venue on whether a tasting menu or à la carte is offered. What is clear is that abalone in multiple preparations — fried, baked, and pasta — is the centrepiece. If that appeals, the meal has a coherent logic worth following from start to finish.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
