Ever since chef Yoshiaki Takazawa opened his bijou restaurant back in 2005, it has been one of Tokyo's most intriguing secrets, more talked about than actually visited. Lauded more loudly abroad than here in Japan, its mystique has been fueled by the setting, the scale and a palpable sense of exclusivity.
The legend has grown with the telling. Takazawa has only three tables and serves a maximum of 10 people each evening (initially it was just eight people at two tables). Working virtually solo, the chef prepares protracted banquets of complexity and flair. The experience is intimate and theatrical and, for some at least, transcendental.
After seven years, though, it was time for some changes, starting most notably with the name on the door. Since May, instead of being called Aronia de Takazawa — evoking a small, humble but highly nutritious native American berry — it is now simple and eponymous.