Monolith

Named after the black monolith that appears in the famous film 2001: A Space Odyssey, Monolith seeks to push the boundaries of classic French cuisine while remaining true to its culinary tenets and history. Not that its head chef’s career has been anything less than similarly monolithic. After starting his career in French patisserie A Tes Souhaits, Chef Go Ishii moved to France in 1998, where he first encountered the fusion possibilities of French cuisine. Training for four years under storied chefs like Georges Blanc, Jean Bardet and Bernard Robin, he later returned to Japan to continue in Marunouchi’s Restaurant Monna Lisa, where he was awarded the Prix Culinaire Le Taittinger International — referred to as the Everest of gastronomic awards in culinary circles —not once, but twice consecutively in 2008 and 2009. Just as the film’s monolith kick-started the evolution of humanity, Chef Ishii bases his “Neo Classic” culinary methodology on evolving French dishes by incorporating culinary practices from all over the world. The restaurant’s Monolith Menu changes every month and features rare seasonal Japanese ingredients only available for a short time. The chef’s specialty is the “Monolith Egg”, a perfect combination of flavors and temperatures. Set between the fashionable districts of Omotesando and Shibuya, this Michelin-starred French restaurant is the perfect place for an anniversary meal or a girls’ night out. Michelin Guide: 2024 - 1 Michelin Star