Gastrolust

Update: Le Pergolèsé is now a Michelin-starred restaurant.

My other fine dining experience in Tokyo, in addition to the kaiseki lunch at Kakou, was a fantastic dinner at Le Pergolèsé in the Tokyo Hilton. Akiko and I were enjoying what’s become an annual stay at the hotel and were offered a table for New Year’s Eve. Keep in mind that in Japan, most people celebrate the holiday at home with their families. Soba is the traditional meal, as the long, thin noodles symbolize longevity. But we were game for a fancy French meal—and in the back of my mind, I figured that small portions might mean midnight munchies and a chance for some of that soba.

Not to be. By the time we worked our way through the two special menus (Chouette and Distinguè) for the evening, we were ready to have the servers roll us back to the elevator to be transported up to our room on the top floor. I’m sure they would have satisfied that request. One thing I love about Japan, especially at a fine hotel like the Tokyo Hilton, is that the service is exquisite—with no expectation of a tip. Everyone at Le Pergolèsé was wonderful, and I appreciated the ease with which they communicated with us in both English and Japanese. While we enjoyed the relative isolation of a large table in a secluded, semi-private part of the dining room, the servers anticipated our every need, attentive without being obtrusive.

Le Pergolèsé had just opened the month before my visit, and it was clear that the staff was excited about MOF (Meilleur Ouvrier de France—award for best craftsman in France) Chef Stéphane Gaborieau’s cuisine. Gaborieau was now back in Paris at his 1-star restaurant by the same name, but I welcomed the chance to chat with Chef Hervé Garnier after the meal. Garnier had just moved to Tokyo and, like me, was spending all his free time eating every possible new food he could find. Piecing together a conversation in three languages, we shared some laughs about our dining discoveries before he asked for some impressions of the meal.

“Fantastique,” I replied, heaping high praise on the superb soups (I loved the “floating vanilla island” description) and the seafood preparations, especially the two delicate and delicious appetizers. My only beef, if you will, was a slight one: Both the loin of venison and the grilled beef filet were a little lost amidst the other flavors of their plates. Then again, they might have been a bit underappreciated as they came late in the meal—and we were starting to feel stuffed. Even more so as we sipped coffee and sampled our desserts before taking our bonus dish of sweets back to our room.

Overall, dinner at Le Pergolèsé was a fine meal and a fabulous way to wave goodbye to 2008. Those long-life noodles would have to wait until the calendar flipped to 2009.

The menus:

(All dishes in the gallery below; click to enlarge.)

Chouette

• Roasted scallops, risotto with black truffle, mushroom emulsion
• Cream of green asparagus, fried quail egg
• Seared kinmedai (golden eye snapper), sea urchin in veal juice, and leek cannelloni with cream cheese
• Rhubarb wine granité
• Grilled beef filet, fondant potato, chanterelles, Périgueux sauce
• Iced praline bar, chocolate crisp with mascarpone and walnut caramel

Distinguè

• Lobster salad and vegetables infused with black truffle
• Cream of leek served with floating vanilla island
• Turbot meunière style, simmered beans, butter-pequillo sauce
• Lemon-basil granité
• Loin of venison, black currant nappage, seasonal vegetables and Bordelaise sauce
• Almond rock with orange Grand Marnier heart