Kadowaki at Azabu Juban-any review

[FourSeasons]

I am interested to try Kadowaki at Azabu Juban on my next trip to Tokyo. I was told the restaurant has regular clientele that includes celebrities and politicians, and the owner chef Toshiya Kadowaki turned down a Michelin listing on the first edition because he thought foreigners are not qualified to judge Japanese food. But he seemed to change his mind later as it was awarded with a 2 stars on the 2nd edition. On Tabelog, the food was rated very highly but the service and ambiance were both rated quite poorly (same situation as Sukiyabashi Jiro at Ginza branch). Would anyone who has tried this place kindly provide a brief review? Is the atmosphere hostile to non-Japanese speaking customers since even the Japanese customers rated the service poorly? How many days/weeks/months in advanced is needed to make the reservation? Advanced thanks and appreciation for any reply.

[prasantrin]

A friend ate there last year. It's rather long, but you can find his review here http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?s.... If you don't want to read it all, the food was very well-prepared, and he and his teen-aged son enjoyed it, but they preferred Ryugin, though not necessarily because of the food. They felt more relaxed at Ryugin than at Kadowaki. In no way was the atmosphere hostile (they are non-Japanese speaking), but they found it a bit "suffocating" at times.

IIRC, they made their reservation after arriving in Japan, which means only a week or two before they actually ate there. I can e-mail him to double check if you'd like, though.

[FourSeasons]

Hi prasantrin:

Thanks for referring the site of the review. It is a pity the owner chef refused to let your friend take photo of the food. It would have been nice to view the pictures on his blog.

[FourSeasons]

So how do you compare your experience in Kadowaki to Ishikawa, Hirosaku, Ryugin and La Bombance? If you just have to return to one, which one would you choose?

[BaronDestructo]

I loved Ishikawa as much for the man as the food. An all-around wonderful meal. I also loved Hirosaku - but be warned, it's a tough place to find.

I enjoyed my meals at the other three but do admit I preferred Ryugin on my last trip.

[FourSeasons]

Wonder why the moderators deleted your threads.

I am familiar with Hirosaku; went there both for lunch and dinner. Actually I think I am the first person to recommend Hirosaku on this board. Just wonder if I should include Ishikawa and Kadowaki on my next trip considering there are still so many on my list that I want to try.

[E Eto]

Here's the reason why those posts were deleted:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/3676...