With female chefs unfortunately still a rarity in Tokyo’s culinary circles, the woman behind the counter at contemporary American restaurant Julia stands out. But chef Nao, who goes by a mononymous name, isn’t interested in being labelled by gender.
A former PR professional, Nao switched careers around a decade ago, honing her skills at several French restaurants in Japan before opening her own restaurant with husband and sommelier Kenichiro Motohashi. Now based in Jingumae, where her counter-dining restaurant only seats ten people at a time, Nao pours her passion into her 10-course meal.
With the menu, which changes seasonally, Nao always incorporates Japanese elements into her dishes using classic ingredients like soy sauce, wasabi, shiso leaf and housemade dashi made from kombu (kelp) and bonito flakes. You’ll see that many of its ingredients are sourced from areas the wife-and-husband team have close ties with, including Ibaraki and Okinawa prefectures.
The ¥25,000 omakase dinner comes with alcoholic or non-alcoholic drink pairing. For an additional ¥3,000, you’ll get a double drink pairing, meaning you get both the alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. Reservations are required via the website.