NoJennyNo: Top 3 Japanese Inspired Restaurants in Paris

Champagne of the month. Bollinger 007 edition!

And of course, there is the food.

I haven't been able to share any of the food porn that I've captured over the last 6 weeks. The photos have been amassing to a rather intimidating pile so I'll just do a summary of my top 3 moments of authentic and inspired Japanese cuisine in Paris.

Restaurant Kei
Reviews

This is one of my favorites go-to celebration restaurant. It's a 1 Michelin starred Japanese French fusion that opened just a couple years back and still considered a newcomer in the French gastronomy scene. There's no menu, just choose from the number of plates you'd like and tell them if you have any allergies, then trust the chef to do his magic. And they're usually amazing - as a passionate salad hater, this is the only place in the world I crave the salad.

Salad, their specialty, back in 2014 when they first opened. They've changed things since then.

The outside decor

From the plates to decor everything is ultra-modern and the attention to every tiny detail from food to service is mind blowing. For example, from my first visit - a casual lunch - they took notes of my phone number and just by my first name they were able to recall allergies/preferences of even the guests who attended with me.

"Hi, it's Jenny and I'd like a reservation..."

"Hello! You last visited in xxx and your boyfriend's mother don't like cheese, oysters, etc etc... correct?"

The perfectionism is tangible here.

It's definitely the boyfriend's favorite place in Paris so we went for his birthday celebration.

Chef himself is always near the entrance

View of the room from the corner table

Boyfriend's mom and I

Birthday boy

They show you the steak of the day, which was the Spanish Galice steak

Chandelier

We took the Prestige menu, which is around 10 dishes of their best. The only thing you choose is from the 3 main dishes - fish, bird, or steak. We took the steak, obviously.

1. Amuse Bouche

3 different types of little salty snacks. Check out that dish - it's actually a bowl filled with moss and clear plastic wrapped for an extra special presentation.

2. Oyster

Can't really comment on this, since I don't eat oysters. They were the size of my hand, though.

3. Beef tartare

Raw beef with Japanese shiso and yuzu sauce.

4. Special salad

They changed the dish to a heavier mayo-based salad, but still delicious. I do prefer the previous version better, though, fresher with the beautiful veggies not hiding under the heavy sauce.

5. Truffle dish

Cheesy cream and gnocchi with Spanish Iberico ham and truffles

Since I don't like cheese, I got a spinach salad with truffles and pickled shallot on the top instead.

6. Fish

Perfectly crispy sea bass with garlic and miso sauce

7. Seafood

Langoustine with miso sauce

8. Steak

Steak with garlic and some sort of roots instead of potato fry

9. Pre-dessert

A tart sorbet to refresh the palate. Ginger yuzu sorbet <3

10. First dessert

Yuzu meringue and lime sauce

11. Second dessert

Special tiramisu concept with foamy espresso - delicious!

11. Side dessert to finish

Grape and liquid gel enveloped in jelly and pistachio 'bbopgi' - nostalgia to the max, my Korean childhood candy!

Le Gabriel
Reviews

The new restaurant that opened in 2015 and already received 2 Michelin stars. It's located in the lovely La Reserve Hotel in Champs Elysees and by far some of the best decorations I've seen. It's dripping in extravagance from floor to ceiling; even the columns are carved from marble. From the gold embossed wallpaper to Patrick Roger's chocolate-and-metal sculptures, I was floored. He's known as the insane genius French chocolatier that also creates sculptures. If you want to impress a girl, always invest in an oversized chocolate artwork.

Entrance

Beautiful and cozy 12-15 table seating.

Even the low key chairs are top notch.

Chocolate sculpture by Patrick Roger

The bar room. Marble floor, ceiling, AND columns.

The menu is just two pages of either chef's menu or a la carte. There was a heavy Japanese influence and found out that the chef lived in Asia for some time. The only michelin starred French restaurant to offer Japanese curry rice, typically eaten as a $5 fast food dish. We chose different items on from the menu to try each others' dishes.

Amuse Bouche, my favorite was the warm-from-the-oven brioche with caviar on top.

Salmon appetizer with smoked eggplant wrapped in pickled radish

Asparagus appetizer with Japanese yuzu vinegar sauce. Fresh and tasty

Egg with morel mushrooms, absolutely delicious! The big part is actually the fluffy egg whites made like a souffle and yolk is on the side.

Mid meal seafood surprise. Clams, oysters, mussels, and caviar. It's an intense seafood explosion, difficult to appreciate unless you really like that type of taste. Not our favorite dish.

Curry rice, a rarity in this high level cuisine and a treat. A fleshy cod with yuzu flavored rice and delicious mild curry. Loved it!

Pigeon with chocolate sauce. Everyone's favorite

Vanilla-pear sorbet

Apple souffle-puree-cream delight with caramel sorbet. Yum!

Patrick Roger chocolate praline. You can never go with his creations <3

Birthday gift, chocolates and cakes.

Us with our friend and his mom

Kunitoraya 2
Reviews

This is the sister restaurant to the no reservation, casual Kunitoraya 1 which only serves quick and fantastic udon. Here they serve not only udon but other authentic kaiseki inspired Japanese course meals. Where the other restaurant is cramped and eaten bar-and-stool style, here you get more room and a more high end cuisine with caviar and wagyu beef. You choose between a la carte or the 7 course menu, with each course having 3 options to choose from. They offer very fresh, authentic dishes that I highly recommend if you crave Japanese in Paris.