Lunch at L'Effervescence Tokyo - French cuisine with Japanese finesse

We had lunch at French restaurant L’Effervescence Tokyo (レフェルヴェソンス), a two Michelin star restaurant that has received widespread good reviews. French cuisine prepared with the attention to detail that Japanese chefs are famous for, using high quality “made-in-Japan” produce. Our expectations were high.

L’Effervescence is housed on the ground floor of a simple house in the middle of a residential area. The restaurant name is carved into the wall and almost invisible. It is best to remember the look of the restaurant as there were no house numbers to make reference to. Fortunately, making a reservation at L’Effervescence was not as difficult as finding it. They are listed with the Opentable online reservation service.

The interior of the L’Effervescence restaurant was a complete contrast from the exterior. The dining space that looks out to a garden looked elegant and inviting. There were a few cozy niches (not captured in our photos) which would be ideal for a nice romantic meal for couples.

There were three fixed lunch courses when we were there. A long “Promenade” (10,000 yen) course and two shorter courses – “Through the pathway…” and “Where the ocean meets the land” course (7,000 yen each). The prices include mineral water and coffee but not wine, consumption tax (8%) and service charge (10%. We decided to go with the shorter courses.

Frankly, although the composition of each dish was explained to us, I cannot remember all the ingredients that went into making the various dishes. So many things go into creating the harmonious taste that we consume in minutes. It is best I list out the items in the two menus that we selected. They were essentially three course meals sandwiched between an amuse bouche at the beginning and a dessert/matcha/ petite fours at the end.

Menu 1 – Through the pathway…

Awakening~
Porcini, Kawahagi, Kujo-negi

Reminiscence~ Tribute to Olivier Roellinger
Barracuda, pumpkin, dried carrot, green yuzu vinaigrette, neptune spice

A fixed point~
4 hours cooked Tokyo turnip, parsley, Basque ham & brioche

From an idea of apple pie #20~
Salmon, salmon roe, amaebi-shrimp,mushroom sauce with seasonal salad

Simple and profound~
Pear and Bostock, pistachio, cardamon cream

Matcha & World peace

Menu 2 – Where the ocean meets the land~

Awakening~
Porcini, Kawahagi, Kujo-negi

Hide & seek~
Makogarei-flounder with kabosu sabayon, shottsuru brown butter, maitake, saltwort

A fixed point~
4 hours cooked Tokyo turnip, parsley, Basque ham & brioche

Scorching sun~
Akaushi beef leg roast and parsnip, smoked mussel, fig, wild fennel

just like a journey to that island~
Chocolate tart and acacia ice cream, lemon thyme, macadamia nut

Matcha & World peace

First a selection of white wine to start with. We selected a glass each of the Terres Blanc (Sancerre) and the Belliviere (Loire).

The amuse bouche was a fish liver and porcine mushroom emulsion (left) and a sorbet-like palate cleanser. The emulsion had a deep earthy, complex taste, a complete contrast with its light and fruity companion.

The first course from the ocean and land menu was called “hide and seek”. The dish was made with ingredients that were hard to find. Flounder that lives under the seabed and a type of mushroom that grows on the back of trees.

The first course of the Pathway menu was a Tribute to Olivier Roellinger, a famous French chef. A dish of barracuda and some vegetables.

For the next course we elected to have some Next Five sake which uses bottles decorated with the art of Takashi Murakami.

The second course name ” a fixed point” is a dish that is served with all meals at L’Effervescence Tokyo. A turnip is cooked for four hours and garnished with Basque ham and parsley.

For the meat course, we were given a choice of weapons. We decided on the ones with a girlie pearl handle and a serious black handle.

We tried this unusual wine from Utah that was recommended to us and another type of sake.

The Akaushi beef leg roast had a melt-in-the-mouth feel but the deliciously sweet fig almost stole the show.

Idea of apple pie #20 from the Pathway menu contained a lot of things other than apple – salmon, salmon roe, shrimp and mushroom. An unlikely but effective combination.

Time for desserts. This is the “simple and profound” dessert from the Pathway menu. The quality of the Japanese pear was exquisite.

The dessert from the Ocean menu was titled “just like a journey to that island”. A deconstructed type of mild chocolate tart with acacia ice-cream.

A cup of matcha tea was prepared for each of us at the table.

Our almost three hour lunch ended with some delightful petit fours. A truly enjoyable lunch which was good value at 7,000 yen ++. The wines by the glass were quite pricey (2,000 and 1,800 yen each). Both types of sake (800 yen each) served were superb. The wines were not bad but not as enjoyable as the sake.