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When it comes to the art of kaiseki, the traditional multi-course Japanese dinner, chef Isao Yamada is truly a master. Studying Japanese tea and honing his craft among various restaurants in Japan, including the three-Michelin starred Kitcho, chef Yamada went on to open his own in his hometown of Fukuoka—Kaiseki Hanaei. The chef moved stateside in the early 2010s, invited to work alongside a trailblazer of the New York scene, David Bouley. As executive chef of Tribeca’s Brushstroke, chef Yamada served one of the earliest kaiseki meals in the city, earning two stars from the Michelin Guide and two stars from The New York Times. After it shuttered in 2018, chef Yamada went on to man a 600-square-foot counter in midtown, Kaiseki Room by Yamada, before it too closed. Earlier this month, the chef returned to the scene with a new concept two years in the making.
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Simply known as Yamada (16 Elizabeth Street), the kaiseki tasting counter opened its doors on April 2. Channeling the Japanese philosophy of wabi-sabi, or beauty in simplicity, the interior keeps it minimalistic with a chef counter made of hinoki wood, elements of black and gold marble to model kintsugi, or the Japanese art of fixing broken items with gold, and a sunken kitchen where guests can watch the chef at work.
Chef Yamada centers his 10-course meal around three principles: seasonality (shun), harmony (chōwa) and mindfulness (ikigai). Fish is a main feature of the multi-course meal, with Hokkaido monkfish liver simmered in sweet soy, paired with Mediterranean red shrimp in the Sakizuke, prized tuna belly, Otoro, and Tsukuri, a selection of sashimi that has been aged, lightly smoked and marinated. Several of chef Yamada’s long-treasured signatures have returned, including his silky and custardy Chawanmushi topped with Taraba king crab and Hokkaido uni and his rice Donabe dish, prepared in a clay pot and cooked with firefly squid and ikura.
As for libations, chef Yamada has curated a collection of Japanese spirits straight from the source. Only found at Yamada, you can find a select number of sake and shochu from Fukuda Sake Brewery, an operation that dates back all the way to the Edo period. But beyond alcohol, the chef brings his knowledge of tea to his tasting room, offering a cup at the beginning of the meal and ending it with a finely whisked “Isuzu” Kyoto Uji matcha to pair with the desserts.
Yamada hosts two nightly seatings, priced at $300 per person. So if you can swing it, reserve a spot and come watch the master at work.