Restaurant in Tokyo, Japan
Serious French cooking, accessible Tokyo pricing.
REQUINQUER holds a Michelin Plate for 2024 and 2025, delivers Japanese-French set menus anchored by a signature foie gras terrine, and prices at ¥¥¥, a full tier below Tokyo's starred French rooms. Booking is straightforward, the kitchen has a genuine sourcing identity, and it is one of the more repeatable French dining options in the city.
A Google rating of 4.5 across 222 reviews is a meaningful signal for a neighbourhood French restaurant in Tokyo's Shirokanedai district. REQUINQUER (the name translates roughly as "be of good cheer") holds a Michelin Plate in both 2024 and 2025, which places it firmly in the recommended tier without the price pressure of a starred room. At ¥¥¥ pricing, it sits below the ¥¥¥¥ bracket occupied by L'Effervescence and ESqUISSE, making it one of the more accessible entry points to serious French cooking in the city. If you are planning a Tokyo dining itinerary that covers multiple meals, REQUINQUER belongs in the first-visit column: good enough to anchor a night, accessible enough not to require weeks of planning.
The kitchen's approach sits at the intersection of classical French technique and Japanese sourcing philosophy. The signature terrine de foie gras is the dish most frequently cited as the reason diners return, and it functions as a useful anchor for understanding the restaurant's register: French in method, precise in execution, grounded in quality product. The soup and crepe courses draw on vegetables sourced from farms supplying produce that does not meet Japan Agricultural Cooperatives size standards, a direct engagement with the country's food waste problem that also, practically, gives the kitchen access to ingredients with more character than commodity stock. For food-focused travellers who want depth behind the menu, that sourcing context is worth knowing before you arrive. If you are exploring Japanese food culture across multiple cities, compare this approach to Gion Sasaki in Kyoto or akordu in Nara, both of which engage with Japanese producers in different ways.
The set menus are the primary format here. They are structured around the "unique traits of Japanese-French fusion cuisine," which in practice means you are not eating generic bistro food with Japanese garnish: the kitchen is actively working a defined point of view. For a solo diner or a pair with genuine interest in this sub-genre, the format rewards attention. For a group expecting à la carte flexibility, it may feel more constrained.
Because booking at ¥¥¥ pricing is considerably easier than securing a table at the ¥¥¥¥ rooms in this city, REQUINQUER is well-positioned for a repeat visit strategy. A first visit anchored on the foie gras terrine and one of the vegetable-forward courses gives you the kitchen's range in a single sitting. A second visit is worth treating as a seasonal check: the sourcing model means the vegetable courses shift with what the farms are producing, so returning in a different season delivers a materially different experience rather than a repetition. If you are building a broader Tokyo French itinerary across three days, REQUINQUER pairs logically with a higher-intensity meal at Sézanne or Florilège and a more casual night elsewhere, using the price difference to balance the overall spend. For regional context, HAJIME in Osaka and Goh in Fukuoka offer comparable engagement with French-Japanese hybridity at different price points if you are travelling beyond Tokyo.
REQUINQUER is located in Shirokanedai, Minato City, at 5 Chome-17-11 Shirokanedai, Yamada Building 1F. Booking difficulty is assessed as easy relative to Tokyo's more pressured French rooms, which means you do not need to plan months in advance. That said, the Michelin Plate recognition drives consistent demand, so booking at least one to two weeks ahead is sensible for weekend tables. Weekday availability tends to be more open. Phone and direct website details are not confirmed in our current data; the most reliable booking route is to approach via a concierge or a Tokyo reservation service if you are unfamiliar with Japanese-language booking processes. For a broader view of what is available across 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.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Booking difficulty | Michelin recognition |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| REQUINQUER | French / Japanese-French | ¥¥¥ | Easy | Plate 2024, 2025 |
| Florilège | French | ¥¥¥ | Moderate | Starred |
| L'Effervescence | French | ¥¥¥¥ | Hard | Starred |
| HOMMAGE | Innovative French | ¥¥¥¥ | Moderate | Starred |
| Sézanne | French | ¥¥¥¥ | Very hard | Starred |
Book REQUINQUER if you want serious French cooking in Tokyo without committing to a ¥¥¥¥ starred room. The foie gras terrine is the obvious anchor, the vegetable sourcing gives the kitchen a genuine identity beyond generic French fare, and the Michelin Plate recognition over two consecutive years confirms the kitchen is consistent. It is not the destination for a once-in-a-trip splurge (for that, look at Château Restaurant Joël Robuchon or L'Effervescence), but it is a strong, repeatable choice for food-focused travellers who want depth at a price that does not require the full-commitment mindset of Tokyo's top tier. For international comparisons in the French genre, Les Amis in Singapore and Hotel de Ville Crissier show how the French fine dining format plays out in different cultural contexts. REQUINQUER's value is that it does something similar, but grounded specifically in Tokyo's producer relationships and Japanese-French hybridity. Across two visits, you will understand the kitchen considerably better than most of its neighbours who charge more. Closer to home, 1000 in Yokohama and 6 in Okinawa offer additional data points on how Japanese chefs are interpreting Western fine dining formats in different regional contexts.
| Venue | Price | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| REQUINQUER | ¥¥¥ | Easy | — |
| Harutaka | ¥¥¥¥ | Unknown | — |
| RyuGin | ¥¥¥¥ | Unknown | — |
| L'Effervescence | ¥¥¥¥ | Unknown | — |
| HOMMAGE | ¥¥¥¥ | Unknown | — |
| Florilège | ¥¥¥ | Unknown | — |
How REQUINQUER stacks up against the competition.
Yes, and it suits solo diners better than most ¥¥¥¥ rooms in Tokyo. The neighbourhood setting in Shirokanedai is relaxed rather than ceremonial, and set menus are designed for individual diners. If you want serious French technique without the social overhead of a formal multi-hour omakase, this is a practical pick.
The terrine de foie gras is the dish the kitchen is known for and the reason regulars return. Beyond that, the set menus are the way to eat here — they frame the Japanese-French sourcing approach and include soups and crepes made with vegetables sourced from farmers whose produce doesn't meet standard JA size regulations. Order a set menu and let the foie gras terrine anchor it.
REQUINQUER sits in Yamada Building 1F in Shirokanedai, Minato City — a quieter residential pocket of Tokyo rather than a dining-district address. The name translates roughly as 'be of good cheer,' and the tone matches: this is French cooking without stiffness. Booking is considerably easier than securing tables at Tokyo's Michelin-starred French rooms, so you don't need weeks of lead time.
At ¥¥¥ pricing, the set menus here are good value relative to the Michelin Plate recognition and the kitchen's sourcing philosophy. Chef Soichi Furuya's menus are built around Japanese-French fusion with an explicit focus on seasonal and irregular-grade produce, which gives them a distinct angle compared to generic French tasting menus in the city. If you want a comparable format with more accolades behind it, L'Effervescence operates at a higher price tier and carries Michelin stars — but REQUINQUER is the smarter call when budget matters.
Yes, for what it delivers. A Michelin Plate rating across two consecutive years (2024 and 2025) at ¥¥¥ pricing is a strong signal in Tokyo, where French restaurants at this quality level often sit in the ¥¥¥¥ bracket. The foie gras terrine and vegetable-forward soups and crepes give the menu a defined identity rather than generic French positioning. For ¥¥¥¥ French with Michelin stars, Florilège or L'Effervescence are the comparison; REQUINQUER wins on value and booking ease.
The venue data doesn't confirm private dining or group-specific capacity, so contact directly before planning a large booking. The Shirokanedai address is a ground-floor neighbourhood restaurant, which suggests an intimate room rather than an event-capable space. For groups where a guaranteed private setting matters, confirm availability before committing.
Bar seating isn't confirmed in the available venue information. REQUINQUER is a set-menu French restaurant in a neighbourhood building, so the format likely centres on table service rather than counter or bar dining. If bar access is a priority, verify directly — no phone or website is currently listed in Pearl's records, so approaching the restaurant in person or through a reservation platform is the practical route.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
