La Table de Joel Robuchon

Some of the dishes were excellent and prepared perfectly.
However, our main course, spaghetti in Uni, was a disaster. The pasta tasted like the boxed ones bought from a supermarket. The Uni mostly melted and became watery. The dish looks like a pile of soggy noodles drowning in a pool of yellowish sewer water. And I can barely taste any of the uni flavor.
Mr. Robuchon needs to have much better quality control in his establishments. I first went to Jamin in 1983 when it was a one star restaurant, and it is still the best meal in my life. I have since been to many of his newer creations globally and they were all worthy of the Robuchon name. This one is Tokyo is definitely not one of them.

Our itinerary in Tokyo included a visit to this Michelin starred (**) restaurant which we were looking forward to with much expectation. Nestled in a french château in the Yebisu Garden, it was the perfect location for a french fine dining experience.
The staff greeted us warmly at the door. They were all impeccably dressed. Entering the dining room the lilac interior stood out remarkably. The front of house staff was attired to match with lilac collars. Each table was adorned with a purple orchard which added a nice pop of colour. Ceiling has a grand chandelier giving it a very lavish feel.
We were offered water after being seated. Menus were presented. There were different lunch ‘packages’ where you can either opt for a simple lunch or go all out and treat yourself to the 8 course meals (menu du jour) Lunch packages starts from ¥3,300 to ¥9000, which is between $ 50.00 to $ 128.00 AUD (depending on exchange rates).
We both went for the menu a prix fixe (available on weekdays only) choosing the mid-​range option. Being more of a savoury person, I chose three entrees for starters (I know, what a pig!). My friend opt for three desserts instead being more partial to sweets. Both options attracted an extra cost of ¥2,600.
My entrees consisted of chopped salmon in a creamy sauce, pork & duck liver terrine with a seasonal salad and sea urchin in a crystal jelly was all superb! My friend’s entrees included white asparagus in a cream dressing and the roasted eggplant served with seasonal vegetables. Both was delicious.
Our mains on the other hand was reasonably average. My fish in a green tapanade was nice, but no wow factor. It was light, but beige.
My friend had the pork and natural jus which when tried by moi was stringy and off putting.
All our meals was well presented, albeit a tad old fashioned in style. Different bread from their own bakery was served throughout our meals.
Desserts was lovely, both of us had the ganache, but my friend’s two additional desserts included strawberries served on an almond biscuit and the candied kumquat with the honey mousse.
All in all, we thoroughly enjoyed our experience. Whether this establishment deserved two Michelin stars, I’m unconvinced. Personally, I think we are rather spoilt for choice in Australia, so, naturally, I would compare my fine dining experience in Australia to that of Joel’s and I must say that they are on par if not better in some instances.
I will let you be the judge as I highly recommend this place to anyone who enjoys decadent dining for a very affordable price.

5 stars. The best meal of my life so far, with impeccable service and no language barrier concerns at all. My Japanese is OK but not fluent, so I fell back to using English with no problems.
You walk up to the building… it’s like someone air-​dropped a château in the middle of Tokyo. Inside, the décor is a bit dark, focusing your gaze on your companion and the food. As usual in Tokyo, people watching here is interesting as well. Observing the other guests around us, we noticed: a well-​off family enjoying a meal together (I doubt I would take my kids to a place as expensive), business acquaintances meeting after work, a solo business man with a woman more than a few years younger… and then a random couple, us, from out of town. Everyone fairly well dressed in suits and dresses. The atmosphere is really quiet, so you end up trying not to talk too loud.
We tried one of the more modestly priced tasting options, and everything was excellent. I have to say I experienced new tastes and in ways that were creative and beautiful presentation-​wise. I had mentioned we were celebrating my wife’s birthday, so they brought out a dessert with Happy Birthday written in French which was a nice touch. Definitely check out this 2 Michelin star restaurant if you have time in Tokyo.

I love Paris. I’m in love with Paris. I wanted to visit one of the Robuchon restaurants while I was in Tokyo as there’s no Robuchon restaurants in Los Angeles. I was going to visit the main dining room, but the same one exists in Paris. I wanted something different, something I could only experience in Tokyo. So, I decided to visit La Table which is only one in the world. Not in Paris, but in Tokyo. La Table also has two Michelin stars.
The building looked like a French château. When you walked into the entrance, there was a large coat check area separated from the restaurant. The staff asked us very politely if they could take our coats. The reception/​coat check area was beautiful. One of the staff escorted us to the dining area and brought us to our reserved table.
Our server came and greeted us. After a small conversation, the menu was explained. He asked if there were any diet restrictions, and I politely stated my request (no meat), and was told that the chef would gladly accommodate it.
It was a six course meal including a dessert. The first dish was sea urchin jelly and fennel cream laying on the top. From the first scoop, I became speechless. This was one of the very few dishes I would never forget. Very fresh Uni flavor and very creamy fennel cream was complimenting each other. The server told me that the chef used a tiny drop of soy sauce for the dish, and he only uses the ingredient for dishes he serves in Tokyo. I usually can tell most of ingredients used, but I could not tell there was even a drop of soy sauce used for this dish. The texture was perfect, especially when the jelly and fennel cream were enjoyed at the same time; I could only say that this was true divine.
The second dish was Capellini pasta on shrimp carpaccio, and caviar and a little piece of 24K gold were placed on the top. Delicious and delicate. The third one was duck foie gras, so they substituted with a pie with shrimp paste for me (you can still see a photo of the foie gras). The next dish was scallop and its mousse with citrus sauce. This was well crafted; the sauce had a subtle citric flavor and it was perfectly matched with the scallop mousse. Delicious. The main was roasted wagyu, so they changed it to salmon for me. The salmon was very fresh and had a sashimi quality. I really enjoyed the salmon with my glass of Sauvignon blanc.
There were two different palate cleansers. One was muscat grape jelly with grape sorbet, and the other one was caramel cream but not heavy at all. They served Mont Blanc for a dessert. I usually do not like Mont Blanc except Angelina’s in Paris, but this was the second best mont blanc, and the texture, sweetness, portion, and presentation, everything was just impeccable.
The food, ambience, and presentation were superb. The service was exceptional and very professional. Absolutely 5 stars.

I came here last week with my wife and had the menu dégustation. Including wine and a pre-​dinner apéritif, we paid just over 60,000yen, so basically $ 300 each. For that price you expect spectacular, and some of the courses indeed were just that. My second course (of nine) was one of the most impressive things I’ve ever eaten. Unfortunately the remaining 7 courses didn’t quite make it to those heights. While every course was delicious and beautifully presented, there was a little something lacking, and we didn’t find ourselves saying ‘wow’ as much as we had hoped. Maybe that 2^nd course was just too good, and things could only go downhill from there. I would say this place deserves 1 Michelin star rather than the 2 that it currently possesses. It is an excellent restaurant, with exemplary service. but not necessarily great value (though I was impressed that the mark-​up on the wines was not as vast as at some similar restaurants). Overall, I would recommend, but don’t go in anticipation of having the best meal of your life, because you probably won’t. I am yet to try the 3 star restaurant upstairs.

Just for the English speaking, Le Table would be 5 Stars in most cities in the world. To have discovered it in Tokyo was a totally unexpected surprise. Bring your credit card and enjoy a beautifully prepared meal, professionally served in an magnificent château.