Perched on the 40th floor of Park Hyatt Tokyo, Kozue is the hotel’s fine dining Japanese restaurant led by Chef Kenichiro Ooe, who has helmed the role of Chef de cuisine at Kozue since 1994. The menu at the restaurant is designed to give guests a culinary experience ranging from hearty country style Japanese dishes to elevated and innovative Kaiseki cuisine.
Kozue is designed in a bold architectural space with floor-to-ceiling windows and large granite slabs which contrast interestingly with the waitresses dressed in kimonos holding traditional and handmade pottery. The restaurant otherwise has a fairly classic Japanese style with wooden flooring and furnishings with warm ambient lighting that accentuates the city skyline in the evening.
Superb appetiser of Steamed Snow Crab, served with crab innards and fig tempura. The locally sourced crab is prepared by steaming as opposed to the traditional water blanch, has a very clean and pleasant crab flavour only achievable by that method of preparation. It has a natural sweetness and savouriness that is very appealing and palatable. The crab innards is an interesting touch adding a robust, nutty flavour that contrasted well with the delicate crab meat.
Next up the Assorted Sashimi, which changes seasonally such as fresh yellowtail, squid and fatty tuna. The fish are served on a large bed of ice, keeping them cold and fresh while the diners slowly savour the contrasting flavours of each type of seafood. The ice bed worked particularly well with the chutoro which helped to almost solidify the fat, making the fish less oily to the taste served with hand molded seaweed.
Scrumptious main dish, is the Rockfish in Red Miso Sauce. Aside from the beautiful, modern presentation, the rockfish is mild and sweet in flavour with a slight nutty accent. The red miso sauce however was the star of the dish with a deep umami flavour that paired beautifully with the rockfish.
Ridiculously good Specialty Rice with Egg Yolk, Soy Sauce and Seaweed. The perfectly cooked rice is mixed into a raw, pasteurized egg yolk, seasoned with soy sauce and topped with seaweed. Despite the simplicity of this dish in an otherwise elaborately themed restaurant, the dish worked very well and highlights Chef Kenichiro Ooe’s pursuit of umami in his dishes. The creaminess of the egg yolk complements the savouriness of the soy sauce and seaweed to make a very flavourful dish.
For a decadent dessert try the Mochi with Gold Leaf. Stuffed with azuki (Japanese red beans) and covered with generous amounts of edible gold leaf. The texture is soft with a delightful chew at just the right amount of sweetness. Put on your sun glasses as this dish shines and glitters its way lovingly through your throats and into your satisfied stomachs.
Smoked Sustainable Atlantic Salmon
The wine list at Kozue focuses on the best of Japanese alcohol with a wide selection of Sake from all over the country. The restaurant also stocks a myriad of Japanese wines from the regions of Yamanashi, Nagano and Niigata. Other than the classic options, Kozue also has a variety of speciality beverages and alcohols such as plum wine and Shochu which is made from sweet potatoes.
ADDRESS:
〒160-0023 Tokyo, 新宿区Nishishinjuku, 3 Chome−7−1-2 パークハイアット東京
PHONE: +81 3-5323-3460
WEBSITE: https://restaurants.tokyo.park.hyatt.co.jp/koz.html