Sushi Gotoroppo

One of Ebisu’s most hotly-discussed sushi restaurants, Sushi Gotoroppo describes itself as a traditional Japanese wagashi sweet shop and premium omakase sushi restaurant rolled into one, secreted away in a mountain pass. The “mountain pass” part gives one pause, as the restaurant is right in the middle of one of Tokyo’s most trendy and cosmopolitan districts, Ebisu; there are no mountains to be found. But the comparison is more apt than guests might initially think: located on the fifth floor of a building with no elevator, getting to Gotoroppo can be an onerous task for the unprepared. Still, the rewards are most assuredly worth the effort. Gotoroppo’s Aomori-born chef has worked in sushi restaurants across Japan for over 26 years, and is one of the nation’s foremost experts in the culinary form. He trusts no-one but himself to procure his fish: rather than rely on a network of suppliers, he personally visits Toyosu Market every morning to handpick the day’s best catch. Japanese tiger prawn from Kagawa, blackthroat seaperch from Ishikawa, amberjack from Kagoshima; only the finest is served at Gotoroppo. The signature Nigiri Omakase Course has him craft 20 individual pieces of nigiri, using said seasonal fish gently placed atop the restaurant’s red vinegar-dressed rice, warm and fluffy. This is then served atop luxurious tableware, each decorated with an image of the moon. This motif is echoed throughout the restaurant’s stylish interior; even the 10-seat, U-shaped counter in the restaurant’s all-black interior calls to mind a crescent moon in the night sky. But as mentioned earlier, Gotoroppo isn’t just a sushi restaurant. What sets it even further apart from other exclusive sushi restaurants is its spread of all-you-can-eat traditional Japanese wagashi desserts to round the meal out. Just like the sushi offerings, the wagashi menu changes every day, ensuring that guests can snack on a variety of yokan one day, skewers of multicolored dango the next, and maybe even mizugashi the day after.