Tacubo

When sitting at the counter of Tacubo, the senses are treated to a feast: the smell of roasting meat, sight of handmade pasta being rolled out, the sound of crackling flames in the large wood-fired oven — and it only gets better from there once the chef starts serving up some of the finest Italian food in the country. Daisuke Takubo trained for years in Ginza’s Aroma Fresca before deciding to launch his own restaurant through the novel method of crowdfunding. Now he is the proud owner of one of Japan’s best Italian restaurants, set among the boutique cafes and stores of Daikanyama. The restaurant offers seasonal Italian food delivered in a series of small dishes, often with a Japanese twist. The chef is friendly and flexible, accommodating requests to edit the dishes on his menus for those with dietary restrictions.