Kagurazaka Ishikawa

Every three-star Michelin restaurant is a great success story. But few are as inspiring as that of Kagurazaka Ishikawa. The head chef and owner, Ishikawa Hideki, never dreamed he would be at the helm of such a prestigious restaurant, let alone in such an upscale district of Tokyo, where many of the nation's finest kaiseki restaurants reside. In his mid-twenties he found himself down and out, living on a shoestring budget and sleeping on a friend’s couch. Finding himself at a crisis point, he decided to pour all of his energy into learning the culinary arts from scratch, working his way up through the ranks after managing to convince a popular kaiseki restaurant to give him a chance. His years of hard study paid off, and he now finds himself the owner of several of the best kaiseki restaurants in Tokyo — not just Kagurazaka Ishikawa, but other regular fixtures on the Michelin Guide, like the one-Michelin-starred Ren Mishina, and the three-Michelin-starred Kohaku, both of which are now run by his apprentices. The exterior of the store is unassuming, but the inside is stylishly lit and decorated. Chef Ishikawa cooks up his own takes on traditional dishes while maintaining a healthy respect for tradition. Star seasonal dishes include snow crab in winter, served with vinegar jelly, and a stewed wagyu hotpot in spring. While the Michelin Guide adamantly insists that only the quality of food is taken into account when assessing a restaurant, it's clear that Chef Ishikawa won his stars as much for his dedication to service as his food. He has the warmheartedness and humility of a man who is content with where he ended up in life; and this positive energy floods across the room when he greets each and every one of his guests. Michelin Guide: 2008 - 3 Michelin Stars