French cuisine restaurant Simplicité opened in December 2017 in Daikanyama, where many popular restaurants are located. The name means "a straightforward faithfulness" in ancient French and it is named in order to remember to always be faithful to the people, to the ingredients and to the food.
Owner chef Kaoru Aihara was trained at a restaurant in Hayama, Kanagawa prefecture, before he traveled to France and trained further at one-star restaurant Alexandre (Nîmes), Le Jardin des Remparts (Beaune), Le Temps de Vivre (Roscoff), and two-star restaurant Domain de Chateauvieux (Genève). Chef Aihara fulfilled his dream of becoming independent after returning to Japan and worked as a sous chef at Ginza L'ecrin (Ginza), and as a chef at Reverence (Hiroo) and Valinor (Ogikubo).
At Simplicité, the dishes are mainly fishes - the chef's specialty. Chef Aihara travels to different regions to purchase fishes and others are sourced mainly from Akashi, the Goto Islands and Hakodate, and they are aged at the restaurant. "It’s true that the blood-draining technique is indispensable for fish ripening, however tightening the bleeding nerve technique, especially on the Goto Islands, and Akashi has wonderful technology for fish port artisans," he said.
The true flavor of the food are drawn out through skillful techniques and aging for different periods, such as 3~5 days for sardine, 1 week for mackerel, and 3~4 weeks for kelp bass. The course begins with a fish amuse bouche, and the first appetizer is the specialty "crevette et rose". It is a dish which combines sweet shrimp from Hakodate and fragrant edible roses from Okuizumo Rose Garden, with pickled cauliflower, salted shrimp, jellied shrimp consommé, rose essence, and to complete it, frozen candied rose petals with liquid nitrogen are added. In addition, Aihara's true skills can be seen in dishes such as "Akashi black scraper fish with blue cheese and liver", and homemade bread made from letting French bread dough rest for 3 days, then baked lightly when it becomes slightly acidic.
Inside the restaurant with wood grain design, there are 8 counter-seat and 3 private rooms. The private rooms are available from 2 customers, and can seat up to 8. It is ideal not only for business entertainment, anniversaries and dates, for guests from overseas because menu is also available in English and French. Come and experience chef Aihara's dishes in a warm atmosphere surrounded by wood.
※ Awarded 1 star on world-renowned gourmet guide Tokyo 2023
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* The availability of an English version of this page does not guarantee that the restaurant can provide services in English unless otherwise stated. Please be aware that, even if stated, there may still be days when English speaking staff are unavailable.
【Access】
■6-minute walk from Tokyu Toyoko Line Daikanyama Station
