Ao Nishiazabu

Section 1·A Tabelog Gold

AO

In 2023, when I had only just begun traveling through Japan for food, I came to Tokyo for the cherry blossoms. Back then even a Tabelog Silver had me thinking, "Ah, I have come somewhere good," while Gold was beyond my dreams; then, by a stroke of luck, I caught a cancellation and visited my first Tabelog Gold restaurant. That was Ao, the current number one in Japanese-French, a Tabelog Gold in Nishiazabu. Between my first visit in April 2023 and my return in December 2024 lay a gap of twenty months, and while it had already been delicious twenty months earlier, a few things fell short. This time, though, it struck me as a near-complete restaurant, one that had overcome even those few shortcomings.

Section 2·The Ingredients

Tabelog files Ao under French, but the truth, as I see it and as others tend to as well, is that it is too innovative and carries too much of a Japanese touch to be called French. Rather than the layered complexity of French cooking, it holds a certain simplicity, something you might call a Japanese sense of taste, 味. So how does it reach number one in Japan, a country said to be as devoted to French cuisine as France itself? The answer, I would say, lies in the ingredients.

Ao is supplied with the finest fish and seafood by Japan's finest fishermen, and you can read that pride right off the menu, which sets down the names of the people who supplied each dish as it introduces them. The flavor and impact that come from the quality of the fish and seafood I had at Ao are something, I will say cautiously, that I have yet to meet at any restaurant in France. The closest rival, to my mind, is Table by Bruno Verjus in Paris, which I visited after this meal. That is how clearly Ao shows you just how much ingredient quality shapes a dish.

That is how clearly Ao shows you just how much ingredient quality shapes a dish

Section 3·Fully Matured

When I visited in 2023 the chef's hair was blond; this time it had gone black, and he seemed altogether calmer, the operation too more fully matured. The course moved along perhaps a touch quickly, like flowing water, but I ate without a single hitch. Where before the dishes had come straight out, this time he showed us all the ingredients the course would use beforehand. Not only the seafood but the wagyu looked good, and above all there was a sense of greater care given to the vegetables.

Section 4·The First Courses

The night's wines by the glass opened with a Champagne, Bruno Paillard's 2013 Blanc de Blancs. Founded in 1981, the house is reckoned the youngest prestige maison created since the Second World War. Made entirely from Chardonnay of two Grands Crus of the Côte des Blancs, Oger and Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, and aged seven years on the lees, it is an Extra Brut with a dosage of 4.5 g/L. Lemon, minerality, and a faint salinity drawn taut made it a fine way to wake the palate before heading into the first consommé.

Shinkei-jime Red Sea Bream Consommé from Mr. Fujimoto, a fisherman in Ehime

The course began with a red sea bream consommé, and the madai that went into it was shown to us as well. I once described this consommé as being like a clear, spicy fish-stew broth, but this time the taste was richer still. And in the December cold it had the added effect of warming the body, which may be why it felt all the better.

Chilled Fedelini with Bigfin Reef Squid from Nagai by Mr. Hasegawa, a connoisseur of fish, and Oscietra Caviar

Next came pasta, a strand called fedelini. From the second dish on, it simply burst open. This pasta, in fact, had been one of the dishes that fell short when I came last year, since back then the texture of the noodles was not the best and there was a faintly hollow, two-percent-short quality to the flavor. This time, though, the texture of the squid joined with perfectly cooked noodles to make it truly excellent. The caviar not only filled in the missing salinity, the combination itself was good.

Charcoal-grilled Stray Bonito smoked with lemongrass straw from Maruyoshi Fish Shop in Sado Island, with Rice and Chinese sweet rice wine vinaigrette

When I visited two years ago there was a dish I found among the most memorable at Ao, the mejimaguro, the young bluefin. This time a charcoal-seared bonito came out, and the grilling seemed truly perfect.

The mejimaguro from before was, I think, more delicious to me, but this time a generous mound of wasabi may well have been what completed the dish. On this somewhat rich French preparation he set the most thoroughly Japanese of things, wasabi, and even the harmony its spiciness brought was good, so it was excellent.

On this somewhat rich French preparation he set the most thoroughly Japanese of things, wasabi

Section 5·The Gratin

Next came a vegetable dish. First the gratin was shown to us whole, and I wondered what it could be; it clearly looked of a different grain from the seafood that had come before.

It was a gratin made from three-year-aged potatoes, with truffle grated generously over the top, and the truffle aroma was very good while the gratin itself was impressive, full of fine flavor.

The potatoes had been aged three years; I learned only then that even root vegetables are aged. Perhaps because of that aging, the potato itself was remarkably sweet, which left a strong impression.

That said, if I may add my own taste, I felt the sweetness might have been dialed back a little for the sake of balance with the sauce.

Section 6·The Prawn

Before the prawn I moved on to a white, Kistler's 2021 Les Noisetiers, a Chardonnay that stands for the Sonoma Coast. Kistler is a sort of benchmark producer of California Chardonnay, and in recent years it has added a mineral tension to its characteristic fullness. Les Noisetiers, true to its name, is a glass in which the toasty nuance of hazelnut drifts alongside lemon, calling Meursault to mind. Toasty oak and firm acidity held it up, so it was not overpowered even by the rich flavor of the bisque to come.

Charcoal-grilled Japanese Lobster from Nagai by Mr. Hasegawa, a connoisseur of fish, with Bisque Soup

When I first visited Ao and read other people's reviews, Ao's signature seemed to be, above all else, the grilled prawn. Looking into what it was, it turned out to be akaza-ebi, a dish anyone who has been to Ao will surely have had, and perhaps because it was winter it tasted even better.

I liked the dense, springy texture of this prawn.

Above all, the bisque soup absolutely must be drunk down at least once. They suggest you dip the prawn, dip the bread, but you have to throw back half a glass of it at least once to feel its flavor fully, as if swept up in a wave, and to know its true worth.

Section 7·Best of the Day

Next came a dish I was trying for the first time at Ao, a snow crab risotto. They were not large snow crabs, it seems; he said he had put in eight or nine small ones whole.

It was the dish I would pick as the best of the day. I have not eaten all that much risotto, but thinking hard about whether I have ever had one more delicious than this, I do not think I have.

The texture of the rice was good, and the crab's meat, roe, and innards went in abundantly, the crab's flavor melting in wonderfully and deeply. It was a dish that made me actively feel, "Ah, I am eating a dish of crab right now." That said, the seasoning may come across as a touch strong.

Section 8·Before the Main

Mousse of Paprika named SHIZUKU from Higashi Farm in Hida-Takayama

Next came a mousse made from a paprika called Shizuku. I did not quite catch whether there was tomato inside or whether it simply tasted of tomato, but it was a dish in which the aroma and flavor of paprika were faint while the taste and sweetness of tomato came alive.

I found it remarkable that paprika could taste like this, and it was a good experience.

Shinkei-jime Tilefish from Nagai by Mr. Hasegawa, a connoisseur of fish, with Oura Gobo Burdock

For the grilled fish came shiro-amadai, tilefish. Burdock came alongside it, and although I am not particularly fond of burdock, this one was prepared so well you could hardly tell it was burdock. The fish, too, was very well grilled, but the burdock was so impressive that the fish itself faded in my memory. The sauce had something of a Chinese ankake about it, and unlike the other dishes it carried a mysterious appeal, some distance from any intuitive deliciousness.

Granité with a Traditional Variety of Yuzu from Kanazawa

Midway through, a granité made from a traditional variety of yuzu from Kanazawa came as a palate cleanser.

Section 9·The Main

Before the main wagyu I moved on to red, to Burgundy: the 2012 Echézeaux Grand Cru from Domaine Gros Frère et Sœur. Rooted in Vosne-Romanée, this domaine is known for a ripe, full, somewhat modern style. 2012 was a small but concentrated vintage, and in the glass red berries, dried flowers, rose petals, and licorice mingled, with silky tannins carrying long. It was a brightness more than equal to facing the charred aroma of the charcoal-grilled wagyu.

Charcoal-grilled 42-month-old Female Cow of Kobe Beef, Special Tajima-Gen, from Ueda Livestock Farm, with Lily Bulb named GEKKO from Mr. Kijitani

The last of the savory courses was wagyu. I had picked this wagyu as one of the most disappointing dishes when I visited two years ago, when it was merely rich, with no strong point of flavor I could make out. But on this December 2024 visit I ate this wagyu main with real pleasure. It is a female cow, they said, and perhaps for that reason the meat had a good aroma, with charcoal smoke subtly soaked in that was superb. The meat, too, was very tender, and here as well, as with the bonito, wasabi was set on top, and eaten together the cooling freshness of the wasabi kept it from growing heavy right to the end. I like seafood best, and among meats I favor poultry, so I had rarely been moved by a hanwoo or wagyu main before, but at Ao this time I was. That said, the sauce was not yet as impressive as the wagyu itself, and a bread containing lily bulb came with it, which I thought was bread we could have done without.

Section 10·The Close

Risotto with Clear Soup made from Clams from Ichiyama Fish Tank, with Toasted Seaweed named Kontobi 1st Class from Mikuniya in Hiroshima

After the main came a risotto made with clams, and this was the only thing I ate that day that came with a "huh?" of a question mark. Apart from the texture of the risotto, I could not tell what was good about it at all. The taste was ambiguous, and the somewhat sticky texture of the risotto might, I thought, come across as a turn-off for many people.

AMANE Muskmelon from Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture

Ice Cream from Egg of Hinai Wild Chicken with Red Sake by Hananoka Sake Brewery

For dessert came a melon from Hamamatsu and an ice cream made with red sake, akazake, from Hananoka Sake Brewery.

The ice cream was delicious, not a simple sweetness but a complex, layered one with a certain depth alive in it.

The melon, with such good produce behind it, was of course sweet and delicious. Before this meal I had mentioned going to Hamamatsu and visiting Seirin, and I remember the chef calling Seirin's chef his brother.

And so I finished my meal at Ao. If there was one thing that fell short at the end, it was the somewhat opaque billing; this is something Japanese restaurants share to a degree, and while it is not quite the place to detail it here, it is good to know going in that with tax and a service charge added on, it comes to rather more than you might expect.

Section 11·The Essence

For me, Ao may be the very essence of Japanese-French. I believe Japan's greatest strength is its outstanding produce, and Ao puts that strength to excellent use. Rather than the shallow, surface-level pairing that chases only the visual form of "French" or "Japanese," it is a place that serves very high-level cooking in which deep thought and insight are visible.

Perhaps that is why a reservation at Ao does not seem so hard to come by these days. I suspect it is because, with a cooking style that does not change often, local Japanese foodies do not visit so frequently; but I see this not as a flaw so much as, for foreign travelers like us, a strength. It lets us have exactly the high-level meal we boarded a plane and came all this way hoping to taste.