Restaurant in Tokyo, Japan
Michelin-noted dim sum; worth a second visit.
YAUMAY is Tokyo's Michelin Plate-recognised dim sum address in Marunouchi, built around Cantonese classics and Chinese tea culture at ¥¥¥ pricing. It is easier to book than most recognised Tokyo venues, delivers consistent execution, and works well for business lunches or special occasions. Weekend sessions give you the unhurried pace the format rewards.
If you have been to YAUMAY once and are wondering whether to return, the honest answer is yes — but time your visit carefully and come with the right expectations. This is a dim sum specialist inside Marunouchi's Nijubashi Square, where the format is built around Chinese tea culture and a full roster of Cantonese classics rather than omakase-style sushi or kaiseki precision. It holds a Michelin Plate (2025) and sits at #602 on Opinionated About Dining's Japan list, which tells you this is a credible, well-regarded address rather than a destination splurge. At ¥¥¥ pricing, it represents genuinely fair value for central Tokyo dim sum, and it is easier to book than most Michelin-recognised venues in the neighbourhood.
On a second visit to YAUMAY, what you notice first is consistency. The kitchen does not reinvent itself by season or by trend — the draw is the reliability of its Cantonese dim sum programme and the rhythm of pouring tea alongside steamed and fried dishes. That consistency is either reassuring or underwhelming depending on what you want from a booking.
The address is smart: Nijubashi Square in Marunouchi is a modern office and retail complex close to Tokyo Station, which makes YAUMAY a practical choice for a business lunch, a post-meeting dinner, or a special-occasion meal for visitors who want something genuinely different from Tokyo's dominant sushi and kaiseki formats. The red exterior signals its Chinese identity clearly, and the interior settles into a more composed, classic dining room than the exterior might suggest.
Chef Akifumi Sakagami leads the kitchen, and the menu reflects serious attention to dim sum technique. The Michelin recognition , awarded for 2024 and retained for 2025 , is for execution rather than innovation. Dishes listed in the venue's own description include jasmine-smoked pork, steamed scallop siu mai, steamed shrimp gyoza, and rice-noodle rolls wrapped in fried tofu skin. These are not fusion interpretations; they are traditional formats delivered with care. For anyone who has eaten dim sum in Hong Kong or Guangzhou, YAUMAY will read as a faithful Tokyo version of that experience rather than a reinvention of it.
The drinks angle matters here. YAUMAY frames its experience explicitly around Chinese tea culture, and this is where the visit earns its depth on a second or third trip. Pairing pu-erh, oolong, or jasmine teas with the progression of dim sum dishes is the intended format, and it is worth committing to rather than treating the tea as an afterthought. Chinese tea service in this style , where the tea is chosen to complement the weight and flavour register of successive dishes , is rare in Tokyo outside specialist Chinese restaurants. If you are used to ordering wine with a tasting menu, apply the same deliberateness to the tea selection here. It is the drinks programme that differentiates YAUMAY most clearly from its peers in the city, and it is what makes a return visit feel like a different experience even when the food menu is familiar.
The terrace is available when the weather cooperates, and the venue specifically notes it as a draw for absorbing the Marunouchi surroundings. Given the building's location adjacent to the Imperial Palace grounds, the outdoor option is worth requesting when booking if conditions allow.
Weekday lunch (Monday to Friday, 11:15am to 2:30pm) is the easiest and most practical window. The Marunouchi location means lunch draws a business crowd, so the room has energy without being chaotic. Dinner service runs until 9pm across the week, and Saturday and Sunday open from 11am through to 9pm with no afternoon break, making weekends well-suited to a longer, unhurried meal , the format that works leading when you are moving slowly through tea pairings and multiple rounds of dishes. Booking is direct by Tokyo standards; this is not a three-month waitlist venue.
See the comparison section below for how YAUMAY sits against Tokyo's wider high-end dining field.
For dim sum specifically, YAUMAY is one of the few Michelin-recognised options in Tokyo, which limits direct comparisons. If you want a higher-spend Chinese dining experience in the city, look at hotel-based Cantonese restaurants in the luxury tier. If you are open to shifting cuisine entirely, Harutaka is the move for serious sushi at a comparable or higher price point, while RyuGin gives you kaiseki at ¥¥¥¥ with deeper ceremony. For something more casual and still well-regarded, consult our full Tokyo restaurants guide for current options across price tiers.
The venue data does not confirm a bar-seat dining option. YAUMAY is a full-service restaurant rather than a counter-led format, so arrive expecting a table booking. If bar-seat dining is important to your visit, confirm directly with the restaurant when making your reservation.
No dress code is specified, and at ¥¥¥ in a modern Marunouchi commercial complex, smart casual is appropriate and safe. The room is described as classic rather than casual, so lean toward neat rather than relaxed. You would be underdressed in beachwear and overdressed in a suit unless arriving from a business meeting, which in Marunouchi is entirely plausible.
At ¥¥¥, yes , particularly if you approach the meal as a tea-and-dim-sum session rather than expecting the format of a high-end tasting menu. The Michelin Plate and OAD recognition confirm the kitchen is executing at a level that justifies the price. If you want the leading end of Tokyo's dining hierarchy, the ¥¥¥¥ venues like L'Effervescence or Crony offer more elaborate experiences. YAUMAY earns its price through category specificity: it is a credible Cantonese dim sum address in a city where that format is rare at this quality level.
The venue's format is built around a traditional dim sum selection rather than a Western-style tasting menu progression. The better question is whether the full dim sum spread with Chinese tea pairings suits your party. For two people on a special occasion, ordering broadly across the menu with deliberate tea service is the way to get the most from the visit. If you want a structured tasting menu with wine pairings and a single auteur narrative, Sézanne or RyuGin fit that brief more closely.
| Venue | Cuisine | Awards | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| YAUMAY | Sushi, Chinese | A specialist in dim sum, popular in cities around the world. The red exterior belies the classic dining experience within, which is lively on every visit. Enjoy the culture of dim sum with Chinese tea to your heart’s content. The full complement of authentic dishes includes jasmine-smoked pork, steamed scallop siu mai dumplings, steamed shrimp gyoza dumplings and rice-noodle rolls wrapped in fried tofu skin. If the weather’s nice, taking in the local ambience on the terrace is recommended.; Michelin Plate (2025); Opinionated About Dining Top Restaurants in Japan Ranked #602 (2025); Michelin Plate (2024); Opinionated About Dining Top Restaurants in Japan Recommended (2023) | Easy | — |
| Harutaka | Sushi | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| L'Effervescence | French | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| RyuGin | Kaiseki, Japanese | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| HOMMAGE | Innovtive French, French | Michelin 2 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Crony | Innovative, French | Michelin 2 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
A quick look at how YAUMAY measures up.
For a different format at a similar price tier, Harutaka delivers precision omakase sushi in a counter setting that suits two diners more than a group. RyuGin is the right call if you want Japanese kaiseki at a higher spend. YAUMAY is the stronger choice when the specific combination of dim sum, Chinese tea culture, and a lively room is what you are after — no other Michelin-noted venue in central Tokyo makes that pairing its central focus.
The venue database does not confirm a dedicated bar or counter seat arrangement at YAUMAY. The terrace is flagged as an option when weather allows, which is worth requesting if you want a more casual configuration. check the venue's official channels to confirm seating formats before booking.
YAUMAY sits in Marunouchi's Nijubashi Square, a business and retail complex that draws a lunch crowd of office professionals. Neat, presentable clothing is a practical baseline given the location and the Michelin Plate recognition, though the room is described as lively rather than formal. There is no dress code specified in the venue data, so err toward tidy rather than dressed up.
At ¥¥¥, YAUMAY holds a Michelin Plate in both 2024 and 2025 and ranks in Opinionated About Dining's Top Restaurants in Japan, which gives the price a credible floor. The value case is strongest if you are combining dim sum with the Chinese tea programme — that pairing justifies the spend better than ordering around the sushi side alone. If budget is the priority, a weekday lunch is the more contained way to assess it before committing to an evening.
The venue data does not confirm a formal tasting menu format, so it is worth checking current menu structure when booking. What is documented is a full range of authentic dim sum dishes — jasmine-smoked pork, steamed scallop siu mai, shrimp gyoza, and tofu-skin rice-noodle rolls — alongside a Chinese tea programme. If those dishes are offered as a set, the combination is the clearest argument for the higher spend; if you are ordering à la carte, build the meal around the tea pairing to get full value.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
