What a roller coaster the past year has been for Tokyo’s long-suffering restaurants. In early July, chefs and customers alike toasted what seemed like the return of better times. But within a fortnight those hopes were dashed yet again, with pared-back opening hours and the reimposition of requests (read “heavy pressure from the powers that be”) for all establishments to stop serving alcohol.
The state of emergency — currently the city is under its fourth to date — will be in effect at least until the end of August, leaving us in a limbo of uncertainty, without even the glimmer of an Olympic windfall. And yet, despite the gloom, there have been bright rays of positivity, with a steady trickle of excellent new openings.
Without a doubt, the star of the first half of 2021 has been Sezanne, at the Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Marunouchi, with British chef Daniel Calvert worthy of every glowing article and social media superlative. But it hasn’t been the only new arrival of note.