SPRINGTIME IN PARIS TOKYO
le table du robuchon
           
beige
           
les creations de narisawa
           
benoit
           
pierre gagnaire tokyo
           
This, a short list of Tokyo restaurants, is for my friend Yvonne, who will be spending a glorious slice of summer in the city next week. It may seem somewhat of a travesty to be recommending nothing but French eateries in Japan, and in that regard I plead guilty to being, first in line, the biggest Francophile in all matters culinary. But it really makes perfect sense to eat French in Tokyo - if anyone, it is the Japanese - meticulous, perfectionistic, obsessive aesthetes that they are - who are true kindred spirits of the French. With a bit of forethought and planning*, one can dine in the capital of Japan like a true Parisien princess with her own permanent table at le Grand Vefour (or better still, on air-kissing terms with Yannick Alleno  ) And at a fraction of Paris prices!
* OK, it pretty much amounted to military planning on my part, plus the extraordinary ability of the conciergerie at the Park Hyatt to score the unscorable.
The five restaurants I went to and would recommend are, purely subjectively in order of my preference, as follows :
La Table du Robuchon
La Table is the lunch room in the Chateau Robuchon fantasy castle set in the grounds of Yebisu Garden Place in Ebisu. The initial attack of kitsch melts into believability once those wonderful pain l'ancienne baguettes turn up and the perfectly executed amuse arrive. The more chi chi Chateau Restaurant is upstairs, and the bakery is in the basement. Whoever brings me fougasse from there will immediately be my friend
Prix fixe lunches are incredible value at 2800 or 3700 yen. Wines aplenty by the glass, and cheaper than HK too.
Their website is here
Beige
I headed to Beige with some reservations - first, with the Ghost of Spoons Past lurking in the shadows and second, asssuming that the restaurant, ostensibly the canteen for the Chanel crowd, would be pretty much the local hangout for the ladies-who-lunch-but-who-don't-really-eat-much-because-they-have-to-fit-a-size-2. I was right on the latter - I don't think anyone in that room weighed over 90 pounds. But slow metabolisms need not worry - Beige's food is light as air, all touched with nothing but the most angelic vegetable and stock jus but wondrously flavourful. Stupendous cooking, and it was nice to see Monsieur Jerome Lecressonniere at the helm in the kitchen. Monsieur Lecressioniere came to Tokyo from Paris via a stint as the French Consul's chef in Hong Kong; it was good to see someone from Hong Kong doing well in higher places.
Prix fixe lunches at 6,000 8,000 and 11,000 yen. Website and menu.
Les Creations de Narisawa
Very competent french cuisine in a small but meticulously run restaurant by Japanese chef Yoshihiro Narisawa and his lovely wife. We had a delightful spring lunch there - a melting slab of salmon poached in just barely warm olive oil, a splendid bouillabaise (in response to my query Mme Narisawa said yes there was indeed rascasse in Japan!), tender but flavourfully vinegared beef brisket hiding under the choicest baby greens... and delightful desserts! Be sure to drop in the Sony Computer Entertainment centre next door and check out all the kids coming at 3.30 pm to do their "homework" - all-you-can-play playstation! 
Prix fixe lunches at 4,500 7,000 and 12,000 yen. Website
Benoit Tokyo
My virgin Ducasse experience was at the old location on the ave. Poincare and (as with other kinds of first-time experiences *nudge nudge wink wink*) subsequent visits to the Plaza Athenee never really matched up. Spoon in HK left a bad taste in the mouth, so again it was a pleasant surprise with Benoit. Lovely mediterranean flavours from the kitchen headed by the chef Massimo Pasquarelli who hails from Montepulciano. There's a Pierre Herme downstairs too! (oh, and anyone who brings me a macaron truffe blanche gets a free massage )
Prix fixe lunches at 4,000 5,000 and 6,000 yen. Website and menu.
Pierre Gagnaire Tokyo
I'm including PG Tokyo, but with a caveat - our dinner there was disappointing but friends who had lunch there sang its praises. I think the restaurant is still in its teething stages. Dinner was a scattergun mish mash of dishes with trite/cliched Japanese touches that added nothing to the flavour (random bits of nori and dried soba noodles that begged not to be eaten  ). I really really really hope they get their act together - Monsieur Gagnaire is a genius and it would be a terrible shame if the kitchen doesn't live up to his name. We had a lovely chat with a lady from the Mandarin Oriental who was spending some time at PG Tokyo in preparation for Gagnaire Hong Kong and I am still looking forward to their Hong Kong restaurant with great anticipation. Ganbatte!
Dinner was 17,450 and 26,880 yen. Lunches are 7,350 yen. Website
Other eats to think about :
Tapas Molecular Bar at the new Mandarin Oriental in Ginza. The Tokyo version of El Bulli. I'm still hitting myself over giving up our reservation for this in favour of PG Tokyo. Oh well. There's always an excuse to go back then hahahahaha
Then there's the always entertaining and reliable Chanto group of restaurants - Ken's Chanto, daidaiya etc
Tokyo eating tip # 1 : the Japanese say that soju will never result in a hangover. They are lying.
Tokyo eating tip # 2 : hangover sushi at Tsukiji is quite effective.
And always - when in doubt, order what the next table is eating.
| 
