With just eight seats at its counter (and a private dining room with a small table for four), Kappou Ryu is an intimate restaurant in the basement den on a quiet road in Aoyama. Its muted grey walls highlight an exotic ikebana flower arrangement behind the open kitchen, giving the space the air of a sophisticated, members-only club. Head chef Takahiro Otsuka, however, is a genial host to both loyal patrons and first-time diners, whipping out the Google Translate app between courses for his international guests to explain each ingredient in his seafood-focused omakase menu.
Kappo dining emphasises the chef-diner relationship, a core value at Kappou Ryu. Upon arrival for dinner, staff greet guests outside, guide them to the discreet entrance, and assist with coat check. For dinner, you can pick between a ¥22,000 yen course with seven to eight dishes, or a ¥29,000 course for an array of nine to ten dishes, including grilled wagyu. Each course is dainty, colourful and artfully plated, with pink shiso flowers delicately sprinkled over meaty kurumaebi prawns and creamy uni in a gold-rimmed glass. Thin slices of shishito peppers add a zesty bite and pop of colour to morsels of anago (freshwater eel) over a spoonful of rice, while a handful of leafy spring greens adorn cut of crispy tilefish in a rich dashi broth.
Despite appearances, both tasting menus are deceptively filling, and by the time you’re halfway through you might wonder if you’ll be able to make it to the end of the meal. Thankfully, you can adjust the portion of the final savoury dish: Kappou Ryu’s signature taizuke. Taizukuke, is a dish of seabream sliced thinly like sashimi and marinated in a mixture of mirin and soy sauce. At Kappou Ryu, Otsuka slices the seabream in front of you and serves it with your preferred portion of freshly simmered claypot rice and two sauces: a creamy, subtle sweet sesame sauce and a darker, more savoury version with a higher concentration of soy sauce.
When you are halfway finished with your rice and taizuke, you can add dashi from the pot of broth served alongside your rice and enjoy the rest of the dish as an ochazuke (rice steeped in a light dashi or tea-based broth). This signature dish is also available as a teishoku set for lunch on Saturdays for ¥4,000 per head.
For dessert, you can choose from four housemade pudding flavours: matcha, milk, coffee, and sesame. If you find yourself feeling too full, Chef Otsuka will package the pudding of your choice in a bag to take home, along with onigiri rice balls made from the remaining rice.