L’Effervescence - Tokyo, Japan
L’Effervescence is a Japanese-French Three Star Michelin Star restaurant located in between Omotesando and Roppongi Hills in Tokyo, run by chef Shinobu Namae, having previously worked at Fat Duck in 2008. It was ranked 49 in Asia’s 50 best in 2020, but have since dropped out of the top 100. L’Effervescence also has a Michelin green star, which they proudly display in their award cabinet, over their three Michelin stars. Chef Shinobu Namae and his team at L’Effervescence is extremely talented on paper, with their three Michelin stars wholly deserved. Having earned his three stars in 2020 and two stars in 2015, as well as being an academic that recently wrote his masters thesis in agricultural science on “The value provided by eating out”, as a Chef Namae no doubt approaches the experience he provides in a philosophical level.
So what is L’Effervescence all about? What is Chef Namae’s vision? What is Chef Namae trying to communicate with his food?
As you sit down there is a menu placed in front of you with a title of the course on the left, and the description of the dish on the right.
We start with ‘Welcome’, with a cocktail made right in front of us called an Omotenashi cocktail, served with vegetable crisps and a tofu sour cream. The cocktail and the crisps were a great way to boot up ones appetite, and the tofu sour cream was simply sensational, I almost ate two servings of it in total.
Next came the first dish was the ‘Underwater forest’. This was a risotto served with sea urchin and lobster in a turban shell, tasting like you are eating the sea. One of my favourite dishes of the meal.
Then came the bread, titled ‘Genesis of Civilization’ with a potato focaccia and a sourdough made with ancient wheat served with the tofu sour cream from earlier. Both bread are extremely chewy, which was not to my personal preference, but tasted good.
The second main dish is titled ‘Ars longa, Vita brevis’. This is an excerpt from Greek Physician Hippocrates.
“Vīta brevis,
ars longa,
occāsiō praeceps,
experīmentum perīculōsum,
iūdicium difficile
Life is short,
and art long,
opportunity fleeting,
experimentations perilous,
and judgment difficult”
While this may appear to be just a salad, it is far from ordinary. Made with over 40 different types of vegetables sourced from farms all over Japan, a beautiful bouquet of vegetables is presented showing the diversity of vegetables you are about to eat. The salad itself looks more like a garden than a dish. The flavors of the various vegetables and fruits are combined to create a divine taste, which paired wonderfully with the Melsheimer Vade Retro 2020, bringing out a different level of freshness from the vegetables. It's one of the best pairings I've ever had.
This dish displays the craftsmanship culture of Japan and the many farmers who have put in a lot of effort to grow their vegetables, as well as the skill and craft required by the chef and his team to create a beautiful symphony of flavors in this dish. A menu listing the different farmers and artisans who supply the restaurant with their ingredients is also provided, showcasing the talent and dedication of these individuals. The title of this dish fits perfectly with what was served, and one can truly appreciate the hard work that both the farmers and the kitchen put into creating the best salad I've ever had.
Next came the Chef Namae’s signature dish, titled ‘fixed point’. The dish was a butter sousvided turnip served with a green sauce with croutons. The turnip was meaty yet soft and the butter brought out the sweetness of the turnip without any of the typical freshness flavours of the turnip. While I can appreciate the delicateness and skill required to make this dish, I did not feel that I am of the right target to fully appreciate this dish. This dish however does embody the vision that Chef Namae has for his restaurant. A dish that is clearly Japanese, using french style and techniques to cook, while staying true to the flavours of the ingredients.
Then came the fish dish of the meal titled ‘Ocean’. There is a similar theme with this dish and the following one, where I believe that the dish is a combination of two separate dishes, but lets not get ahead of ourselves and break this dish down first. This dish came with green asparagus and bamboo shoots with a Longtooth grouper poached in whey and served with a sakura leaves beurre blanc sauce. The sakura leaves sauce went amazingly well with both the bamboo shoots and the green asparagus, but when you eat all three together with the fish, it just didn’t feel right. The Longtooth grouper was beautifully cooked with the whey cutting the seafoody tones while making the fish taste so creamy. Beautifully cooked all around but overall a combination that made my head scratch.
The next two dishes are titled under ‘Forest’ with the focus on duck. Part 1 of the dish was a duck with port sauce served with white asparagus and morel mushrooms. This dish encountered the same problem where it felt like it was two different dishes served in one, with the white asparagus and morel mushrooms tasting amazing, as well as the duck, but the combination felt a bit odd.
Part 2 of the dish was a duck thigh and lemon-marigold ravioli served in a duck consommé which served as a great closer to the savoury part of the menu, with additional raviolis offered if you were still hungry.
With the savoury part of the meal done, we move on to desserts which start with ‘Migration’ which is a cheese course. The cheese offered was unique but was extremely safe, but the sweet pairings they offered all worked well. There was a aged mozzarella, a sharp cheese, a camembert aged with bamboo, a blue cheese and a brown cheese. My personal favourite was the sharp cheese and the aged mozzarella.
The final dish of the meal was titled ‘esperance’ or translated from french to english, ‘hope’. The dish was a rhubarb and lime agar tart served with kaffir lime leaf ice cream. This dish served as a great closer that both tasted great and rejuvenated me after a long two hour meal.
Then came the petite fours (petite six?) from top left to bottom right is; pineapple and fig leaf choux, peanut financier, hazelnut mont blanc, rosemary cream sando, ginger and grapefruit crystal, chocoloate and cardamom. It was served with a beautifully made matcha and a side of world peace (as per the menu).
L’Effervescence is a model restaurant demonstrating how to show the best your community has to offer. Chef Namae shows through his restaurant and his meal what he believes a modern day three star restaurant should act and serve. All the suppliers are proudly displayed in a small menu card, not only from farmers but also with their bread supplier, cream supplier, etc.. Throughout the meal there was theatre, moments of surprise, familiarity, and I left the meal happily full. Chef Namae tries to communicate that despite the restrictions he places on himself by using local and sustainable ingredients, as long as your execution is on point, you can be on top of the game.
With the final bill coming at 36,300 yen per person, with a wine pairing at around 15,000 yen per person, there is good value to be found here for the experience. L’Effervescence serves as quite a functional place in terms of the situations. If you have never been to a three star Michelin restaurant this is one that is worth going. This is also a great date spot or place to conduct business, or even just a treat meal with friends and family. As a Japanese-French fusion restaurant it is a 8.9/10, as a three Michelin star restaurant a 7.5/10, as a fine dining restaurant a 8.5/10, in terms of value they get a 8.5/10, with the overall rating in my opinion a solid B+. The only thing holding it back from a higher score from me is because of a lack of overall creativity from the meal, the execution of the meal was simply that good.
