Booked this place because I was craving pigeon and foie gras. It's a branch of the legendary Alsatian restaurant L'Auberge de l'ill, operated by the Hiramatsu Group, a Japanese restaurant and hotel conglomerate.
This is the exterior. It's an old private social club converted into a restaurant. The 'hardware' (architecture) is so European, something you rarely see even in Japan, let alone Korea.
Solo dining. I was literally the only one there alone. Tears... I could feel the couple in front of me giving me weird looks. I felt absolutely miserable...
The Menu
Table Setting
They brought the champagne trolley over and suggested an aperitif.
Ordered a glass of Delamotte.
Amuse-bouche. From the center tart counter-clockwise: Whitebait tart, duck rillettes + cheese choux, chestnut + potato mousse, and vegetable consommรฉ. The whitebait tart didn't do much for me, but the duck rillettes had cheese mixed in so it felt like a gougรจre. The mousse had a lovely chestnut sweetness that put me in a good mood.
The bread is delicious. The salted butter is a legit flavor bomb.
Abalone + gue-woo (liver) sauce, cauliflower mousse, topped with Alsace Crรฉmant (sparkling wine made outside Champagne) jelly and Oscietra caviar. The chip is made from fish sauce. The abalone was perfectly cooked with great texture, the cauliflower mousse provided a creamy base, and the jelly added acidity and a hint of sweetness. The chip added crunch and savoriness, but I'm not sure if the liver sauce at the bottom was even necessary. Still, it was tasty.
Rice balls and salad served with the abalone dish... meh, nothing special.
Blue lobster soufflรฉ, barley + pig trotter ragout, with a lobster and red wine sauce. The aroma was great. The chopped barley and carrots provided nice texture, and the pig + lobster combo wasn't bad. However, the sauce was a bit salty.
White: Jean-Claude Ramonet Bourgogne Aligotรฉ 2023. Nose: Lime, white flowers, oak touch. Taste: Serious acidity and minerality, oily texture, good viscosity when swirled.
The French flagship's signature salmon soufflรฉ with Riesling sauce and tomato purรฉe. The texture was incredibly fluffy, the salmon flavor really shone through, and the sauce had great acidity and umami. The tomato purรฉe was the 'kick.' This is the kind of dish no one would ever call bad.
Red: Chรขteau Palmer Alter Ego 2015. Since it's a Merlot-heavy Margaux, blackberry notes were dominant. Tannins were almost non-existent and it was so smooth it just went down effortlessly. It felt like a combo that wrapped around the main dish perfectly.
Pigeon breast + foie gras wrapped in cabbage and then in pastry dough and baked. Inside the cabbage is pigeon leg meat and foie gras. Sauce is Pรฉrigueux, and I added extra truffles (+2500 yen). The pigeon breast was cooked soft and tender, the foie gras had that fatty umami, the cabbage was crunchy, and the truffle scent was insane. Since it was so rich, it felt a bit greasy midway through, but the wine helped clear it out.
They asked if I wanted to pay extra for the cheese course, but I declined.
Pre-dessert: Grapefruit jelly + pulp with mint granita. It was super refreshing with great acidity, felt like it washed away all the grease from the main dish.
Main dessert: Jonathan apple compote, Brittany cream cheese ice cream, mille-feuille dough, and lavender + honey ice cream. The portion size was insanely huge so I was a bit intimidated, but it was delicious. Honestly, the desserts here are better than most Michelin-starred restaurants.
Petits fours
Black tea. Overall, it's a classic French spot. I don't think many places in Tokyo do it better than this, except for maybe a few high-starred joints. The appetizers were a bit weird, but even considering that, the satisfaction from the main and dessert was so high that it was worth it. Most of all, the 'hardware' is just god-tier, so it's perfect for a romantic meal. Come with a partner... don't eat alone like me.
"The OP enjoyed a world-class pigeon and foie gras feast alone in a romantic Tokyo setting, leading to a mix of culinary bliss and 'solo-dining' sorrow. Commenters are debating the merits of pigeon and the 'tackiness' of extra charges, while some are just mourning the state of Korean desserts."
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