Jin (CLOSED)

If you do experience authentic Japanese cooking abroad, the experience can be radical – and it's what you can expect at Jin, 2014's new star of the scene, which just won its first Michelin star. The sushi-bar feel has a sober decor of imported Japanese wood, with nothing to distract the diner from her dinner. There are only twelve seats, set around the chef's workstation, and it's here you eat and watch the work of chef Takuya Watanabe (Taku) – aloof and imposing, he already heads up four other restaurants in Sapporo.

To be clear, you don't come to Jin for a boozy catch-up with your mates – all attention here is focused on the food. Taku and his chef's ritualised preparation is mesmeric, as they repeat their cutting and slicing motions with the precision of a couple of metronomes, working on fresh fish pulled from Japanese cypress-wood boxes or modelling sashimi by hand with translucent rice. Service is thoughtful and discreet. It's an almost pointillist meal, all the dishes served separately – a piece of raw lobster with a spinach leaf here, a lightly acidic monkfish liver there, or perhaps sea urchin sushi. Everything is done with extreme finesse, the flavours strong and distinct, the light-handed seasoning measured out by the millimetre, like freshly-grated wasabi root without a hint of sweetness (desserts don't feature).

Without a doubt Jin, along with Okuda, is one of the great Japanese tables in Paris, and an experience in and of itself. it costs, of course – between €55 and €125 a head – but save up and will be worth it from the very first sip of sparkling sake.