EAT > J U L I A Omakase, Tokyo (18/20)

Tokyo is has the most Michelin starred restaurants in the world, it is no wonder that in this incredible city fine food is expressed in so many ways and so there are so many choices. The Michelin guide lists 461 fine dining restaurants in Tokyo of those listed 199 have either 1, 2 or 3 stars and restaurant JULIA is not one of them (but perhaps it should be).

You have to put choice in the hands of the chef and sommelier so don’t arrive expecting à la carte, to modify the menu or to peruse the wine list – it is not that kind of place.

JULIA is an Omakase restaurant which roughly translates to a chef’s selection, set or degustation menu which changes regularly with seasonal produce, designed by the chef to create an experience that delights the senses and challenges you a little with new flavours.

At JULIA that Omakase is a ten course meal that can be paired with alcoholic or non alcoholic drinks at ¥25,000. It is a tiny operation with only 12 seats and two staff chef Nao and her husband the sommelier Kenichiro Motohashi.

There is so much charm in visiting JULIA the pride that Nao and Kenichiro have in the produce from their home region (including the wines and sake’s) is delightful, these are warm and generous people and that sense of purpose is connected to the restaurants name.

Julia was a nickname adopted by Nao’s mother who was a great cook but worked for most of her career in a factory. She tells the story.

My mother, who was a hard-worker, was fond of taking care of other people. And she was always gleefully laughing. After my father died, my mother started to work at a small factory, where many foreign laborers worked. My mother found the foreign workers eating only one rice ball for lunch. They saved money to send money back to their family in their country. The next day, she began to pack many lunches for them. That is how she got to be regarded as “Mom in Japan” by them. One day, my mother said to the workers, “Call me Julia. It’s easier, isn’t it?” On that day, they started to call her  “Julia”.  Funnily enough, however, I have no idea why my mother chose “Julia” as her own nickname. She made people around her happy with the dishes she cooked. She herself felt happy when she saw people eating the dishes she cooked. We named our restaurant 【J U L I A】in order to make our restaurant as loving and benevolent as my mother…

Nao

The food served when we dined (mostly sourced from the Ibaraki region) was all stunning, starting with a small smoked burger, referred to as ‘the usual’ it is a delicious mouthful perfecting the flavours and sauces of a very stylish wagu patty in a milk bun. The clam (with foam) was a treat of salty sweet, Yellowtail was served with the most remarkable beetroot and the Conger Eel was made into a super delicious foie gras with a port wine jus (I can still remember the flavours of this clearly – so good with a sweet caramelised crackle on top). Monkfish, Shichiku Duck, and deserts.

Every dish is playful, everything has a connection to region and each was matched by a deliciously paired alcoholic (or non alcoholic) drink.

A tiny restaurant that creates food made with warm and love pure hospitality and a wonderful Tokyo experience.