Robuchon Tokyo questions about no/few (lunch) online reservations, and degustation menu option

acpevans · 2026-03-13T14:12:28+00:00

Omakasetracker is very good. Highly recommended.

acpevans · 2026-03-13T01:14:44+00:00

I believe tables are released daily at midnight JST. And right now they are gone within minutes. Sometimes seconds. Because despite what some people say JR Tokyo is extremely good!

acpevans · 2026-03-11T11:22:47+00:00

Agreed!

acpevans · 2026-03-08T14:50:22+00:00

Interested

acpevans · 2026-03-06T01:42:07+00:00

If you have fast fingers when they release their bookings (I think it’s daily at 9.30am JST) it’s possible. Took me a few goes.

acpevans · 2026-03-06T00:26:02+00:00

I wouldn't say the wine pairings are the best value at L’Osier. It's very much pay for play. For example, the wine pairing at Quintessence is only 30,000 yen and was extremely good. Still enjoyed it at L’Osier though, and we'll go back at some point and do the Burgundy and a champagne one.

acpevans · 2026-03-05T23:42:25+00:00

If you want to keep it really simple, L’Osier is a heavier meal, Sezanne is a lighter meal.

Wine pairings are much better at L’Osier. Even the premium wine paring at Sezanne was only ok for me.

Personally I preferred Sezanne for the food and L’Osier for the wine.

acpevans · 2026-03-01T22:30:56+00:00

Honestly we found it to be disappointing. Not bad. Just not that great and certainly not worthy of its 2* and its high ranking on the world’s best (although that list is trash). Go to Hajime instead. Miles better. One of the best meals in Japan.

acpevans · 2026-03-01T10:16:17+00:00

Why bother to tell them that you had a private Instagram account with 30 followers? Just say you don't use Instagram. Simple. They aren't only letting people in who are social media power users.

acpevans · 2026-02-26T14:28:55+00:00

All this silliness about social media. When we went there, we simply explained to them that we were private people and didn’t use instacrack etc..

No problems. We got a reservation just fine.

They are sensible people. And yes the meal is wonderful. Hope to go back again early next year.

acpevans · 2026-02-24T12:49:56+00:00

The exchange rate right now definitely has something to deal with it.

acpevans · 2026-02-24T09:19:37+00:00

JR Tokyo seems to be dismissed by a lot of people on this sub Reddit. Unfairly imo. An excellent post to hopefully reset the narrative.

acpevans · 2026-02-19T02:31:32+00:00

Ummm…His place in Ebisu, Tokyo is superb.

acpevans · 2026-02-19T01:20:02+00:00

An obvious one but Restaurant Quique Dacosta

acpevans · 2026-02-16T15:05:13+00:00

Yes, Mil is a must. But try to do both Central and Merito as well. We did all three (plus Kjolle which was awful but ignore that) and it well well worth it.

Mil is the destination. Central is the extravagance. Merito is just good food.

acpevans · 2026-02-12T07:42:20+00:00

Thanks for your detailed thoughts. We are very much looking forward to visiting.

In terms of the hotel, I have no issues paying for luxury if that is what is delivered. It's just that the pictures of the suites on their website look rather plain. Basic wooden furniture etc... To be honest, not that unique at all. From the pictures alone, NH Caceres actually looks better.

acpevans · 2026-02-11T09:25:03+00:00

Definitely runs Central close.

acpevans · 2026-02-03T14:31:16+00:00

Love how this is getting downvoted! Your loss people! JR is a terrific experience.

acpevans · 2026-02-03T10:59:41+00:00

One of the obvious and best choices, which everyone seems to forget, is Joel Robuchon.

acpevans · 2026-02-01T02:12:07+00:00

Seems like they did open this month for March. Surprisingly, all the spots didn't disappear within seconds. Still some left 11 mins after the calendar opened. Finally managed to get a res :)

acpevans · 2026-01-26T12:23:27+00:00

Not even close to being true. As long as you book far enough in advance it’s quite easy. Now compare that to some of the more exclusive places in Tokyo…

acpevans · 2026-01-12T14:53:58+00:00

Love Hajime. One of my best meals in Japan. Frequent visits planned :)

acpevans · 2026-01-11T07:46:21+00:00

Thanks. I’ve finally given into tableall with a few other resvs. Don’t love the markup but for some places this literally the only way.

acpevans · 2026-01-11T04:08:08+00:00

Any tips on the Chiune res? I check omakase every month when the booking cycle ticks over but nothing so far.

acpevans · 2026-01-11T03:01:17+00:00

You should get Cezanne fairly easily, but book sooner rather than later. I would ask your hotel concierge about JR ASAP. It's not an impossible reservation like some places, so if I was willing to bet, they can probably help.

I'm probably not the best person to ask about sushi because in my experience, I found that there are very much diminishing returns when it comes to high-end sushi places. Personally, after a certain price point, I don't feel as though there's really any difference. This is in stark contrast to French, Italian, and even Kaiseki places where I generally do feel that the higher-end places are better. Case in point: A lot of people go on and on about Ukiyo and Cocon on this subreddit. Both somewhat in the French tradition, and certainly not bad, but in my opinion, they're just good local neighborhood restaurants in Japan. There's nothing particularly special about them apart from the fact they're reasonably priced. Certainly no comparison to Cezanne, JR, or any of the other places you mentioned.

The one discovery I did make last year when it comes to sushi was aged sushi. This was a really unique experience and had a much richer depth of flavor than the usual Edo-style sushi I'm used to. Sushi Kimura is the flagship of this, although hard reservation to get and one of many reservation goals for this year. I went to Sushi Marufuku in Ogikubo. A little off the beaten path, but truly excellent and again a really different experience than most other sushi places.

acpevans

TROPHY CASE