L'Effervescence (Tokyo) - return visit
L'Effervescence received a promotion to a third star since my last visit, and it was a pleasure being in this serene dining room once again.
So, what's changed? Plenty.
First, Chef Shinobu Namae used to put a savoury spin on a McDonald's apple pie that is now gone. Think meat in pastry stuffed inside a red, rectangular paper box. I was pleased to see it go, as this wasn't a successful dish for me and was out of place in my previous menu.
Second, the tableside presentations have grown, not only in preparations, but in previews of the bounty you're about to receive.
Third, it's criminal the restaurant doesn't have a green star as its commitment to sustainability, variety and freshness is unyielding.
Let's begin...
Instead of plopping down some bread and butter, at the start, vegetable crisps, lightly seasoned, are accompanied by the most delicious tofu sour cream. You can not get enough of it. Such a bold move to awaken the palate with a hint of salt and sour that could have otherwise come in the standard-issue canape.
A scallop dish appears next with a healthy dose of black truffle on top of mushroom, fugu-milt risotto. How do you take risotto and make it creamier and impart even more flavour in to it? Add some shirako apparently. This was an absolute stunner of a luxurious first course.
The 50+ ingredient salad is next, which takes four chefs to prep and prepare. Nothing in this salad runs together. Each ingredient, and its purposeful preparation offers a masterclass in technique. I savored the ingredients one at time, appreciating textures and flavour bursts.
The signature turnip follows, one that is juicy and succulent with the addition of cured ham. So many chefs are showing off signature root vegetable dishes, such as beets with Mauro Collegreco or Hiroyasu Kawate at Florilege down the street.
Grilled grouper is next with a sublime beurre blanc and "house-made caviar." This is another one of those dishes that when you see it executed at a three-star restaurant, you know you're in for a treat. Here, the sauce work is immaculate combining with the charcoal taste of the grouper.
Duck with two sauces comes from Kyoto. The guts sauce being the umami rich counterpoint to the sweet duck. But perhaps the most surprising dish of the meal is the second serving of duck, seen in meatball form with duck consomme and whole-wheat pasta. This is just superb cooking and the perfect end to the savoury portion of the meal.
A cheese board arrives next, and, spoiler alert, all the fromages come from Japan. This restaurant with the height of French gastronomy is putting out some seriously good Japanese cheeses. I gave some tips to the team on how to present this course, because I think the diner would truly be shocked to find out about the origin of the cheeses only after they eat them and not before.
As it's strawberry season, nearly every restaurant I went to had some version on the menu in the pastry category. This one did not disappoint. The verjus jelly veil bringing a creative nod to a twist on champagne and strawberries.
The final touch to the meal is a traditional matcha tea ceremony. Every time I watch, it amazes me. The whisking is so precise to get the matcha fluffy.
One story about what makes three-star service: The dining room has a bespoke playlist ranging from Bon Iver to R.E.M. to Ray LaMontagne. It's not something you'd typically find at a three star, especially in Japan. When I remarked how much I enjoyed it and how it "curated" the dining experience, the restaurant director told me the selections were hand-picked by Chef.
Minutes later, tucked in to a envelope, the restaurant director brought me printed copies of the playlists for both lunch and dinner.
It's touches like these that take an experience from excellent to extraordinary.
L'Effervescence has rightly earned its third star, and is executing and performing at that level. I am very happy I made the return trip, and will be sure to return, hopfully with less time between my visits.
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