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Chef plating flower-garnished courses on glass trays

Japanese · Nishi-Azabu, Tokyo

Ise Sueyoshi

with Chef Yuki Tanaka

The counter

Ten seats in Nishi-Azabu

Chef Yuki Tanaka at the counter
Chef Yuki plating at the pass

Kaiseki with Chef Yuki Tanaka

Ise Sueyoshi is Chef Yuki Tanaka's ten-seat kaiseki counter in Nishi-Azabu, Tokyo, built entirely on the produce of his home prefecture, Mie. He visits the growers and fishermen himself and works by a phrase he calls the circulation of the heart: carrying the producers' intent to the guest, and the guest's thanks back to the producers. Chef Yuki has also developed a vegan and gluten-free course so every guest at the counter shares the same meal, which is where Chef Elliot's plant-based kaiseki begins.

Visit Ise Sueyoshi →

Ise Sueyoshi is a ten-seat kappo counter in Nishi-Azabu, Tokyo, reservation only. Guests sit at the hinoki counter and watch each course made in front of them while Chef Yuki Tanaka explains it, in English when the table needs it.

The card on the counter

The courses at Ise Sueyoshi

  1. 01Ikkon (first sake)

    Ikkon

    Ikkon means the first cup of sake. Today, kon is used to mean "to drink sake together", as we say "Let's have 1 kon (ikkon)." Please lift the cup, and say "Kan-pai!" (it means Cheers!)

  2. Tomato course in a blue kiriko glass on a silver petal plate

    02Saki-zuke (appetizer)

    Tomato in dashi jelly, under a lotus leaf

    Arrives hidden under a lotus leaf with a bead of water on top: tomato in clear dashi jelly, in cut cobalt glass.

  3. Glass tray hassun: shiso rice ball, beef, sudachi, kohlrabi under maple leaves

    03Hassun (seasonal small foods)

    The seasonal tray

    Small seasonal plates on a glass tray under maple leaves.

  4. Seared tuna slices with wasabi on a star-shaped Kutani plate

    04Mukou-zuke (sashimi)

    Ise maguro

    Today's sashimi from Ise: tuna from Kamisaki-ura with fresh wasabi, on a star-shaped Kutani plate.

  5. Sea bream and winter melon in clear dashi in a black lacquer bowl

    05Wan (simmered food)

    Sea bream and winter melon

    Clear dashi with sea bream and winter melon, kinome on top, in black lacquer.

  6. Torched wagyu over turnip puree in an amber glazed bowl

    06Shi-zakana (side dish for sake)

    Iga wagyu, raw and torched

    Shown raw on a Mount Fuji plate, then torched over Yokkaichi turnip purée with black pepper pearls.

  7. Kuwana hamaguri clams over udon with seaweed in a red lacquer bowl

    07Meshi (rice)

    Kuwana hamaguri with udon

    Kuwana hard clams cooked shabu-shabu at the counter, then the clam broth poured over udon in red lacquer.

  8. Matcha fondant chocolate in a glazed ramekin on a wood rest with a spoon

    08Kan-mi (dessert)

    Matcha fondant chocolate

    A warm matcha fondant in a glazed ramekin, eaten before the tea.

  9. 09Matcha

    Matcha

    Matcha is the top quality tea, using young leaves that are available in May. It is a special tea that is essential to a tea ceremony. The sweet taste in your mouth perfectly complements the matcha's delicious flavor.

“Kaiseki is a traditional Japanese multi-course cuisine that expresses the beauty of the seasons. Each dish highlights natural ingredients, delicate flavors, and Japanese aesthetics. Originating from the Japanese tea ceremony, Kaiseki reflects harmony between food, nature, and hospitality.”

From the card at Ise Sueyoshi

Omakase means "I leave it to you." There is no ordering at Ise Sueyoshi. Chef Yuki Tanaka writes the menu from what the Ise region gives him that week, and the guest trusts him with the whole evening. A folded card on the counter names each course and explains it; the notes under each course below are the card's own words.

What stayed with Chef Elliot: the same seasonal menu is composed three ways, a vegan version, a gluten-free version and the meat-and-seafood version, course for course, served side by side at the same counter. That is the discipline Roots Alchemy works by.

From the producers of Mie

  • Kuwana hamaguri clams, Maruyoshi-Suisan
  • Abalone and sazae from the ama divers of Shima
  • Katsuobushi from Shima
  • Ise tuna from Kamisaki-ura
  • Iga rice
  • Kabuse tea from Yokkaichi
  • Iga beef
  • Winter turnip from Yokkaichi

Ise

One region, told in food

Scallop and carrot purée on an abalone shell, the producers' book open behind it

Every ingredient comes from Chef Tanaka's home region of Ise, in Mie Prefecture: Ise tuna, Kuwana hard clams, abalone from the ama divers of Shima, Iga rice, kabuse tea. A book on the counter introduces each producer by name, and the card asks guests to send their impressions back to them: the circulation of hearts.

In the kitchen

Working with the team

Chef Elliot with Chef Yuki Tanaka
The kitchen team

Chef Elliot worked in this kitchen with Chef Tanaka and the Ise Sueyoshi team, cooking the same seasonal menu three ways, course for course: vegan, gluten-free, and meat and seafood, side by side at one counter.

About Ise Sueyoshi

Ten seats

A reservation-only kappo counter in Nishi-Azabu, open since 2015; the chef explains every course in English at the counter.

Mie Prefecture

Born in Mie in 1988 to a chef father whose restaurant Sueyoshi opened in Yokkaichi in 1983, Chef Tanaka trained at Kikunoi and worked in kitchens around the world; everything on the menu comes from Mie and he visits the producers himself.

No. 1 in Japan

Tripadvisor Travelers' Choice Best of the Best: No. 1 restaurant in Japan 2024, No. 2 in the world 2023. The omakase changes monthly.

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