Tokyo

Amandier

アマンディエ

Amandier presents a distinctly relaxed style of French dining by a talented team with an unmistakable passion for their work. The wonderfully modulated course feels like two delicious dinners in one, and the intensely private space allows you to forget everything and immerse yourself in the artistic presentations and delectable flavors of the season.

Amandier is French for almond tree. Because the trees become so heavy with almonds, they symbolize prosperity, great happiness, and many offspring in France. However, a single tree does not flourish and requires the presence of others to bear fruit sufficient for harvest. The name was chosen with the sentiment that the coexistence and co-prosperity between the chef, staff, guests, and all involved allows the restaurant to thrive.

Opened in May 2022 by French cuisine restaurateur Minoru Hasegawa, at the helm in the Amandier kitchen is Chef Kashiwagi, and in service is Director/ Sommelier Yoshida, who together charm guests with quality cuisine and wine based on their wealth of experience in renowned restaurants and hotels. Bursting with originality even among the creative Hasegawa restaurant group, whereas others pride themselves on all-counter front-row seats, Amandier adopts a more traditional table seating style. It has a distinctly relaxed feel, unlike many Tokyo French restaurants, and children are even welcome in a first-floor private room popular for its fantastic view of the kitchen through a glass window.

An elegant, classic interior is the simple base for the highly original cuisine and brilliant wine pairings. Set in a quiet residential street in the upmarket Tokyo neighborhood of Shirokane, be guided among the private homes to a storefront sign surrounded by seasonal flowers and trees – azaleas, cherry blossoms, and a Christmas tree in winter. Look carefully at the sign and find hidden characters for magokoro, translated as sincerity or devotion. They are the work of famous calligrapher Soun Takeda, who felt a strong sense of sincerity from Chef Kashiwagi when they first met and wanted to etch that sentiment into the restaurant’s signboard.

The restaurant is inside a renovated private home whose female landlord is the artist behind the floral works adorning the walls. Antique furniture and accoutrements create an elegant setting elevated further by abundant fresh flowers. Generous space separates the tables affording great privacy, and lighting is dimmed except to spotlight the cuisine. The elegant touches extend into the kimono worn by the female service staff, who create a warm atmosphere, allowing guests to settle in and relax for an enjoyable dining experience. Tableware by Jean-Louis Coquet is complemented by a small selection of Japanese-style pieces suited to Kashiwagi’s cuisine. The show plates are custom-made by Arita ceramics specialist Kamachi Toho — black with an accent of platinum, inspired by the meaning of the neighborhood name, Shirokane.

Distinctly relaxed style of French dining

The Amandier thirteen-dish course carries on French cuisine methods inherited from Chef Hasegawa, but the order of service is truly unique. Where else is a meat-based main dish and dessert served mid-course, only to return to savory dishes? For guests, it is a wonderful bonus, like enjoying two complete courses with varying flavors, temperatures, and textures. The modulation is excellent and careful planning ensures that the same umami source is not repeated immediately.

Unlike Japanese, which is a cuisine of subtraction, French cuisine demands creative combinations and layering. Kashiwagi’s ingredient combinations show incredible sense and flair. Unique pairings from the mountains and the seas produce wonders like venison with sardines, and chorizo with monkfish. Sumptuous Akaza ebi prawns punctuate a plate decorated with graceful lines of squid ink sauce. In a dish celebrating Easter, beneath a pile of caviar proudly sits an egg in a bird’s nest coated in horseradish and poppy seeds. Tonic water has been infused with herbs like juniper and cilantro for a refreshing non-alcoholic palate cleanser reminiscent of a gin and tonic. Wakayama Prefecture longtooth grouper cured in kombu and smoked over whisky chips is served with jellied consommé in a refreshing, cold dish conversely inspired by a Japanese hotpot. And in a dish showing the seasonal shift from winter to spring, Hokkaido Ezo deer loin is accompanied by vegetables.

Young pâtissier Mei Yokoishi oversees desserts, where her focus is on aromas. She pursues curiosity and the unexpected in her ingredient selections and combinations, and she takes special care to keep added sugar to a minimum, resulting in flavors suited to the adult palate.

INGREDIENTS
According to Chef Kashiwagi, the beauty of running a restaurant in Tokyo is access to the best ingredients from around Japan and the world. Ezo deer is supplied by renowned Hokkaido hunter Matsuno, pedigree shamrock chicken from Aomori’s Masakazu Murakoshi, and the pigeon, duck, and veal are flown in from France. Seafood is fished in the seas of nearby Odawara and the remote Tokyo island of Kozushima, as well as in Imabari, Hakata, and Kyoto. The beautiful vegetable produce includes Miyazaki mini tomatoes from Ogawa Farm, root vegetables from Sasaki Farm in Hokkaido, Tanba bamboo shoots and eggplant, and herbs from Takagake Farm in Mihara, Hiroshima. The eggs are of the Tosa Jiro variety from Kochi Prefecture, organically farmed and so high in quality that you can enjoy them raw.

CHEF

Yosuke Kashiwagi

Yosuke Kashiwagi was born in Tokyo in 1983. He graduated from technical college, then spent the next 20 years dedicated to French cuisine in Hokkaido, France, and Tokyo. He learned exquisite presentation skills during his years at Michel Bras Toya Japan, located within The Windsor Hotel Toya Resort and Spa, the venue for the G8 Summit in 2008. Other experiences include Sapporo’s Le Gentilhomme and MiYa-Vie, and he spent four years further polishing his skills at the Michelin-starred Maison Decoret in Vichy, France. Kashiwagi returned to Tokyo and worked at Liberte a Table de Takeda and Asakusa’s Hommage under Noboru Arai. At the latter, his eyes were opened anew to the complementarity of unlikely ingredients, and his time there continues to influence his cuisine significantly. A chance encounter led Kashiwagi to join the Minoru Hasegawa group. He began cooking up his interpretations of Hasegawa’s motto that cuisine begins where the ingredients’ lives end, first at broc Hasegawa Minoru Lab, until he began wielding his skills at Amandier. His beautiful plates are like paintings, simultaneously conveying a sense of calm and excitement in discoveries. He incorporates Japanese tastes that inspire him from his readings and personal dining experiences.

VISION
Kashiwagi does not think too far ahead, preferring to focus on each day and how to move the hearts of that day’s guests. He is constantly faced with thoughts of whether guests have enjoyed the evening’s meal and how he can best entertain them on their next visit. He also wants to make Amandier a fun, motivating workplace for all his staff.

WINE

As much as the cuisine, the joy that awaits at Amandier is found in the wines and pairings and the talented sommelier who ties it all together. More than 300 bottles fill the cellar with labels from Bourgogne, Bordeaux, other parts of France, and vineyards worldwide. Guest preferences are flexibly incorporated into alcoholic and non-alcoholic pairings, and the sommelier sometimes even offers two alternatives for one dish. His only concern is that guests thoroughly enjoy themselves. Director/ Sommelier Yuta Yoshida’s shining resume includes top Tokyo restaurants and hotels L’Osier, the Palace Hotel Tokyo, Beige Alain Ducasse Tokyo, and the Four Seasons Tokyo Otemachi. A sommelier contest winner, Yoshida not only serves outstanding wines; he is renowned for a brilliant sense of the perfect timing to drink them.