Located in the tallest hotel skyscraper in the whole of Tokyo on top of Toranomon Hills, The Tavern – Grill & Lounge at Andaz Tokyo specialises in grilled dishes utilising their hardy and very expensive in-house lava stone broiler grill. The restaurant focuses on bringing in high-quality “Snow-Aged” meats from all over Japan and making use of the best local ingredients to bring gourmets on an epicurean food journey that only Andaz Tokyo can.

Opened in 2014, the 108-seater restaurant creates a modern contemporary look and is designed predominantly with warm wood and red leather tones paired with white patterned walls. Intricately designed wood ceiling fixtures are purposefully strewn across the magnificent dining area. To accentuate the gorgeous Tokyo skyline, the restaurant has large expanses of windows that give guests a stunning view of the Minato district. Ichimatsu Moyo is a traditional Japanese woven checkered pattern that has been used since ancient times in Japan. At Andaz Tokyo, the patterns can be seen at The Tavern – Grill & Lounge.

Appetising starters include, Baby Beetroot, Australian Goat Cheese, topped with a refreshing apple and watercress salad drizzled with tangy raspberry vinaigrette. The freshness of the vegetables are outstanding, shone through the evenly toasted cheese with it’s lovely burnt char adding a nice smokiness to the overall taste. The raspberry vinaigrette’s slight acidity is a great complement to the heavy cheese. Classic Nicoise Salad, brilliantly served with seared akami tuna, green beans, confit potato, black olives, quail eggs, white anchovy, hazelnut dressing and sesame tuile. The locally sourced tuna is seared to perfection, leaving a perfect ring of pink meat in the centre. The dressing is well seasoned and the sesame tuile added a nice crunch to the dish.

Perfect for both lunch and dinner is the Signature Lobster Bisque, The Tavern’s bisque is creamy, smooth with good consistency. Done in the traditional French method where by a broth is made from boiling a mix of crustaceans such as lobster, langoustine or crab, after a period of the time the liquid is then reduced and strained to produce that flavourful soup that is simply magical. Generous chunks of lobster is first placed in the serving bowl and the serving staff will then expertly pour the bisque table side. Soup fanatics will finish every single drop in no time.

Main course is indeed the pinnacle of one’s meal and the “Snow-Aged” Hokkaido Sirloin F1 never fails to impress, served with maple syrup glazed carrots with a red wine and shallot butter. The sirloin is very well marbled and seared to a perfect medium rare. The carrots are glazed carefully with maple syrup, giving it a beautiful sheen and sweet aromatic flavour. Despite being perfectly fine on its own, this dish also goes well with a side of French fries and seasonal mix greens. The restaurant’s unique offering is “Snow Aged” beef, aged for about 1 month in a natural “Yukimuro” snow cellar at different snow areas of Japan (The Hokkaido Sirloin F1 was aged in Niigata). The stable temperature of 1-2 degrees Celsius and high humidity of over 95% renders the meat tender and juicy with a slight sweetness. The meat is then prepared on the lava stone broiler grill giving it a smoky charred flavor. The mashed potatoes are also made from snow aged potatoes.

Finally, the pièce de résistance Bombe Alaska, served with mango and strawberry coulis for dessert. Being one of the most elegantly plated dish of the evening, the baked Alaska has just the right amount of sweetness and the strawberries and mangos throws in a splash of colours to the dish.

The Tavern – Grill & Lounge at Andaz Tokyo has a variety of options in its wine and beverage list with a small but thoughtful selection of champagnes, white wines and red wines including the local Koshu, Toriivilla Imamura Cuvee Yuka Blanc from Yamanashi Japan. The restaurant stocks an all-Japanese selection of beers on tap as well as 3 Japanese craft beers such as Suntory Premium Malt and Wabi-Sabi Pale Ale. The restaurant also has a number of original cocktails with many utilising Japanese liquors and ingredients such as Dekopon Martini, using Roku Gin as well as Dekopon, a local mandarin orange variety.

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ADDRESS:
Japan, 〒105-0001 Tokyo, Minato, Toranomon, 1 Chome−23−4 アンダーズ 東京 51F
PHONE: +81 3-6830-7739
WEBSITE: https://www.andaztokyo.jp/restaurants/en/thetavern-grill-lounge/