Crescent
I made a same-day reservation by phone. Luckily, there was a cancellation and I was able to book a table for Monday at 7:30 PM. It was a last-minute reservation, so only the 10,000 yen course was available. I arrived at 7:10 PM at a building in the northwest of Sanjo Kiya-machi, on the 4th floor. There were four foreign guests at the counter, later joined by another two. In the end, there were seven people at the counter. I was seated at the left end of the counter, near the kitchen, which was a great spot to watch the chef at work. I ordered a draft beer, which I quickly finished and ordered another one. The chef seemed to be running the restaurant alone but was attentive to the guests and engaging in conversations. He had spent his childhood in New York, so he was fluent in English and was chatting with the foreign guests in English. The first dish was Satsuma Wagyu beef dip with kombu red wine and freshly grated wasabi. It was a unique combination and very delicious. I let the chef choose my drink, and he served me white wine. The second dish included duck with miso, Toyama firefly squid, eel with blue cheese, and pork belly with mustard on tortilla. Everything was delicious, but my favorite was the pork belly. The third dish was a soup with bonito flavor, smoked pork, grilled tomato, and asparagus. Mixing the tomato changed the flavor from Japanese to Western. I had barley shochu on the rocks. The fourth dish included various items like simmered eggs, Gifu edamame, sea bream shirako, sea bass nanban, marinated octopus, stir-fried bell peppers and dried shrimp, boiled komatsuna with fried tofu, grilled ayu from Lake Biwa, fried chicken, yuba, and sakura sushi with marinated sea bream. The fifth dish was lemon meringue, plum syrup from Wakayama, local strawberries in champagne syrup, and a chocolate dessert. The menu may vary depending on the guests. I spent about 2 hours enjoying the meal. It was not only delicious but also a fun and interesting experience. The bill came to about 16,000 yen including two beers, two glasses of wine, and one shochu. Thank you for the wonderful meal.