Lunch at Florilege (Tokyo)

Ambiance: Beautiful space with the open kitchen and the communal tables, though there were only 6 people on our end. We got a nice view of the chefs prepping and plating, including Head Chef Kawate carving the duck. We were sat at the end of the table next to the entrance and doors into the kitchen, so to be honest I wouldn't describe it as a relaxed space with the waiting staff in constant movement around us. The music was also kind of electronic beats in what I'd best describe as "driving." All in all, it might work for a lunch vibe, but not my preferred style of relaxed dining.

Service/Wine: very accommodating to non-English speakers. Very professional, and even with the challenge of having an open plating station, they remained mostly quiet and very organized. Sommelier was also really thoughtful in terms of description and recommendations — we ordered by the glass. The Weißburgunder and Bourgogne were really exceptional wines.

Food:

• Raviolo of spinach skin, Japanese onion and butter beurre miso filling, Japanese onion soup: The filling was very vegetal, the onion tasted almost like celery, not much miso taste imo. The soup was delicious, a little sweet too.
• Tomato from Wakayama, bell pepper puree with apricot ume, shiso, Hokkaido cheese cream: The "wall" of the bottom is chocolate, and the sweetness worked well with the fruit, the meaty (not sour) tomato and the cheese cream. Lovely flavor combinations, though it was a bit difficult to eat.
• Japanese sweet fish, sticky rice, cucumber with ponzu, chrysanthemum, saffron, green tea butter: This was part of the menu even if you choose "veggie." The dish was maybe a bit too bitter for me, with the bitterness from the grilled fish and the green tea in the butter.
• White and rye buns with non-dairy soybean butter: The buns are super soft, and the non-dairy butter is certainly unique, its taste profile clearly from soy (with the consistency of a soft butter).
• Eggplant pie with spiced eggplant puree and white miso gnocchi, zucchini flower with karasumi (mullet roe): Very delicious, the browned pie is well done, the eggplant is hearty, the gnocchi adds a creamy cheesiness, and it has a bit of a Thai curry spice taste to it. It was served with a bouqyet of watercress and chervil in bergmot vinaigrette; the herbs were fine but the vinaigrette was really delicious, bright and crisp palate-cleanser almost.
• Duck breast and leg with consommé, spinach paper roll with bean paste, kombu concentrate: This was only for the meat menu. Excellently cooked duck! I saw other diners get pork belly instead.
• Endives with plum sauce, cookie, tarragon, egg cream: This was only for the veggie menu. The cookie is genius as it adds a salty, buttery, and umami dimension to the nutty bitter endive.
  • The two mains were served with some mousse: the duck with a slightly salty mousse, and the endive with a slightly milky mousse. They were meh tbh.
• Hyuganatsu ice cream, mugwort: very lime citrus taste with shiso-y mint. Very refreshing!
• Mango from Miyazaki, mango puree, condensed milk, sesame: My favorite course of the meal! Sesame was very smoky and integrated into the puree/milk. The mango was very light and elegant, very different from the bold, sour mangos you get at the supermarket. It's like an elevated form of mango sticky rice, absolutely delicious.
• Financier, strawberry jelly, white bean confit and apricot jam and ginger powder: Pretty good mix of different sweets: financier like a vanilla sweet, the jelly a tart sweet, and the bean like a red bean kind of sweet.