← from the table the meal ↓
The chef at Satoki working in his small kitchen, a map of Japan on the wall behind him

a memory · 12 december 2024

An intimate kitchen counter in Ginza — we were the only ones there.

Lotte recommended this sweet dining experience, which we now refer to as the best we’ve ever had. Satoki hand-made every single dish served to us, down to the wasabi and daikon garnish. It felt like a labor of love, and it was. As the only two there for the evening, this couldn’t have felt more special and private. He has such a way with vegetables.

日本料理店 さとき · 銀座 · Ginza, Tokyo

“Come back tomorrow and the recipe will change.”

「明日、また来店されても、レシピは変わりますよ」

The meal, in order

Silken tofu topped with sea urchin in a gingered dashi sauce
Close-up of the tofu and sea urchin in broth with mushrooms

to begin

Tofu & sea urchin

kozuke — tōfu ni uni

The first taste: silken tofu under a tongue of sea urchin, warmed through with a gingered dashi ankake.

A small cup of clear broth with cod milt, mushrooms and burdock
Close-up of the cod milt and mushrooms in broth with grated ginger

the little pot

Shirako, in a small pot

konabe-jitate — shirako

Satoki's small hot pot — the dinner's signature: cod milt, winter's soft, custardy delicacy, in a clear gingered broth with mushrooms and slivered burdock.

A woven bamboo basket of small seasonal bites, beside a silver sake cup and a ginkgo leaf

the basket

The seasonal basket

zensai moriawase

A woven basket of small bites: tempura of winter greens with a fried maple leaf, a slice of vinegar-cured fish, candied ginkgo nuts, tofu with sansho, and a karasumi-dressed mouthful.

A lacquer bowl of clear soup with a white dumpling, grated daikon, wakame and shiso

the soup

Clear soup

ko-suimono-wan

A fish shinjo dumpling and a drift of grated daikon in clear dashi, with wakame and a scatter of shredded shiso.

A plate of sashimi — fatty tuna, white fish and a red-skinned fish — with wasabi and a checker-painted dish of soy

sashimi

The sashimi plate

sashimi moriawase

Fatty tuna, a lean white fish, and a sweet red-skinned one, with fresh wasabi and a checker-painted dish of soy.

Snow crab leg over picked crab meat, with a small bowl of crab vinegar

the crab

Snow crab, crab vinegar

kani — kanizu

A length of snow-crab leg laid over the picked body meat, with a little bowl of gingered crab vinegar to spoon over.

A glazed grilled fish fillet on a frog-and-rabbit painted plate
The glazed grilled fish with a sprig of cedar on a blue-rimmed plate

the grill

Grilled fish, glazed

yakimono

A sweet-soy lacquered fillet, blistered at the edges, on a Chōjū-giga frog-and-rabbit plate.

A simmered bowl with fried tofu, a yuba-wrapped roll, snap pea and kinome

煮物

A simmered bowl

nimono-wan

Fried tofu and a yuba-wrapped roll in a light broth, with a snap pea and a sprig of kinome.

A golden, blistered grilled morsel on a dragonfly-patterned plate

強肴

Grilled, golden

Something grilled until blistered and golden, soft within. Our best read is a grilled rice cake — but with no card to check it against, we're guessing.

One of the few we couldn't name with confidence.

Shrimp wontons in a clear golden broth with mitsuba, with a porcelain spoon

the meal

Shrimp wontons

shokuji — wonton

A Chinese turn near the end: plump shrimp wontons in a clear golden broth with mitsuba, eaten with a porcelain spoon.

A small wooden cup of a frozen, granular dessert with a wooden spoon

to cool

A cold spoonful

Something frozen and granular to open the sweets — lightly spiced, melting fast.

A mandarin set into jelly and served in its own skin, topped with mint
Close-up of the mandarin jelly with a sprig of mint

the sweet

Mandarin jelly

mikan zerī

A whole mandarin set into a soft jelly and served back inside its own skin, crowned with mint.

The four of us throwing peace signs at the end of the dinner
The two of us at the table
A bowl of whisked matcha to finish the meal

And a bowl of matcha to finish.

← back to the table