Equateur, or (formerly?) L'equateur is a restaurant in a residential neighborhood in Motoazabu. It is located on an apartment building of sorts, just upstairs of Sushi Shunji.
They won Tabelog Gold for most years since 2017, before closing down on 2022. Currently (since some time last year) they have been open temporarily until April 2025 and reservations are easy to get on Omakase. They just won Tabelog Bronze for 2025 which is a bit of a downgrade compared to yesteryears.
The course price is 31460 yen, excluding service charge. There is a counter seating in the bar, and a couple of tables. Either way you can't see the chefs cook.
Before the start of the meal, everyone was asked a choice of Wagyu tongue, Ezo deer, or Australian lamb. I went with the tongue.
There are bread to accompany the courses, and if you run out of it, you will be given a different type of bread. At first I thought the different breads pair well with different courses, but if you haven't finished the existing bread in your plate they won't give you any of the next bread.
Hamaguri and shijimi flan (chawanmushi) with ikura and ginnan: all nice flavorful and comforting
Ebiimo fritter, uni, crab, dashi and yuzu: smooth and comforting, I just wish the uni flavors were brought out more
Homard lobster, beef tripe, roasted romaine lettuce, renkon, bearnaice sauce: The sauce is sweet and tart, the ingredients are fresh but idk if there's a reason for the combo. It feels like the chef just slapped an unseasoned tripe there
Aburi tarako brandade, homemade karasumi: Average
Kuro awabi abalone and the liver sauce, sushi shari made from sherry vinegar, caviar: Creamy, floral, zesty and sour in one. The liver sauce is not fishy at all
Foie gras poêlé with shark fin and truffle: Despite seemingly random luxurious ingredients put in one plate, this was pretty nice.
Wagyu tongue, topped with Kyoninjin carrot and mushrooms, balsamic and red wine sauce: Super bouncy, outside a bit crispy and had strong charcoal aroma. Portion size was very small
Handa somen, kazunoko, parsley: This is a kind of fat somen and chewier than normal somen. Refreshing, citrusy, and a bit of umami
Strawberry ice cream, sliced strawberries, blancemange, truffle: The gold flakes and truffles doesn't hide the fact that the ice cream tastes very mediocre.
Most of the dishes are pretty nice but I'm a bit confused about what the dishes are trying to be. There's no clear direction or coherence of concept of the dishes. I guess the restaurant looks and feels French, but it's definitely not French, but it's not kaiseki or kappo either. Or maybe I just didn't get the chef's philosophy.
One thing I can see here though, is that they are trying to fit in as many luxurious ingredients as possible for ~30k yen.
by magiquonnu