Jay (Eire)
12399
A happy salad !
I don’t often post in the sub forum but I just booked another visit to this restaurant (a lot easier for returning diners) which inspired a post.
For those that don’t instantly recognize the salad or the fried chicken, this is Den. It will be 20 years old next year and has been a somewhat offbeat Japanese star all that time. Offbeat I say because of the style, the informality and the fun.
You will not walk into a warmer welcome anywhere in the pointy end of fine dining.
A foie gras Monaka. The traditional Japanese wafer which would normally be filled with red bean paste (a traditional confectionery, or wagashi) is instead foie gras and on this occasion fig jam. The chance the fruit on season.
The famous Dentucki Fried Chicken. This one stuffed with Japanese parsley, ginko nut, mitake mushrooms and sticky rice. And that leaf, not just random (more below).
The rice dish, with 16 different types of wild mushrooms. All foraged by a friend of the Chef. The same guy that chooses the leaf for the Dentucky above.
While I’d be happy for a redo on the last meal, the chef prefers to mix things up. Here’s a selection of photos from last time around. Note, this is not the entire meal.
This salad has 20 types of vegetables; leak, pepper, potato, pickled tomato (yes, I know it’s a fruit), beetroot, a smiling pickled carrot, radish, pumpkin, okra, pickled mini carrots with hojicha, various greens with black seaweed and then I lost count and forgot !
The many many awards this restaurant has won. Messages on the wall from guests, many famous.
This salad has 20 types of vegetables; leak, pepper, potato, pickled tomato (yes, I know it’s a fruit), beetroot, a smiling pickled carrot, radish, pumpkin, okra, pickled mini carrots with hojicha, various greens with black seaweed and then I lost count and forgot !
The many many awards this restaurant has won. Messages on the wall from guests, many famous.
A foie gras Monaka. The traditional Japanese wafer which would normally be filled with red bean paste (a traditional confectionery, or wagashi) is instead foie gras and on this occasion fig jam. The chance the fruit on season.
The famous Dentucki Fried Chicken. This one stuffed with Japanese parsley, ginko nut, mitake mushrooms and sticky rice. And that leaf, not just random (more below).
The rice dish, with 16 different types of wild mushrooms. All foraged by a friend of the Chef. The same guy that chooses the leaf for the Dentucky above.
A happy salad !
I don’t often post in the sub forum but I just booked another visit to this restaurant (a lot easier for returning diners) which inspired a post. For those that don’t instantly recognize the salad or the fried chicken, this is Den. It will be 20 years old...
The DFC is a very smart take on KFC.
Do they stuff chicken breast, or what part of the chicken is used? It looks thin walled, so I wonder what they use to create a chicken pocket.🤔
Lots of reviews going back to read.
I think you’d like it too ; no dress codes, no fancy tablecloths, casual like you’re in someone’s home.
The food looks amazing.
Any high quality restaurant that serves fantastic dishes and can inject some humour during your meal is doing it right IMO, so no surprise you are a returning customer Marc
That’s right Marc. And as important I don’t think I’ve ever been in a more welcoming environment.
Service, hospitality, has always been really really excellent. And matches all, and exceeds most, of other of the worlds best/3* I’ve eaten in over the last two decades. I’m a little biased in saying this too, as the formality and sometimes stuffiness of ...
This is looking fabulous 😋😋😋
And the humor is a much missed component in a lot of fancy dining, so doubly welcome 😊👍🏻 Thanks so much for sharing this 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
Indeed, it doesn’t need to be so so serious all the time.
And here, the seriousness is in the craft and skill of the food and service but it’s all delivered in a welcoming informality.
Yes, phone only for first time. While they graciously engage with my pigeon Japanese, English is good.
It’s not going to be easy, it took me years (based on trying twice a year) to get a reservation. But once you’ve been once, you can just email them. Good luck.
It sure is. As mentioned it took me several years.
But like you that’s driven by only being in Tokyo twice a year and so my calling for reservations would have been for an approximately 10-15 days in any one year. It also required staying up late here in the US to make those calls, you’re a little bit bet...
Thanks for sharing this gem 😁
For a restaurant to have lasted and thrived that long in Tokyo, it must have its unique experience and taste that keep the crowd coming back.
