Amamoto (Aug 2026, Tokyo)

A bucket list restaurant for me and many others, the reputation of Amamoto is sky high so i was pinching myself when I had finalised my reservation. 

Course featured: 
Mozuku – delicious start with excellent quality mozuku. The strong acidity of the sauce is just the way i prefer it. 

Edamame – just tasted like good quality edamame. 

Sashimi of Tako and Tsubugai – the ingredients were of outstanding quality, really some of the best i’ve had in japan. The tsubgai was really perfect for me.

Maguro and leak soup – not the biggest fan of maguro in broth, still tasted nice but didn’t really land for me 

Nitari Kujira Onomi – easily best kujira i’ve had,

Sake Steamed Awabi – steamed for 30 hours, each bite was amazing. The sake flavour helped enhance what is already exquisite quality awabi. 

Shaoxing Marinated Botan Ebi with Uni Sauce – ebi and uni flavours really blew me away, but then the shaoxing flavour hit a bit too strong for me. I’ve never been a huge fan of strong shaoxing wine raw flavour coming on too strong, this is a personal nitpick. 

Smoked Katsuo with Garlic and Wasabi – never had garlic topped on katsuo like this before, i dont think i’ll forget the first bite it was just exceptional. 

Ikura don – Amamoto emphasised the freshness of the ikura, i cannot put into word how extraordinary this bowl of ikura was. Mindblowingly is an understatement in my opinion, amazing every bite. I tried to savour every pop. the  

Hokkaido Semposhi oyster – very rich and creamy, while oysters aren’t my favourite seafood to consume these particular oysters were so luxurious in taste.  

Fried Amadai – loved every bite of amadai, i’m a sucker for fried amadai particularly with its fried scales. Excellent texture and the sweetness was just perfect. 

Kasugodai – topped with a little zest, superb execution

Shin-ika – first time having shin ika as they’re often only available in late summer. The nigiri was so soft and delicate, melt in mouth almost. The legs were served separately and had an amazing texture. 

Kinmeidai – easily one of the best kinmeidai i’ve had, the fish was just so rich and almost melt in mouth. 

Shinko – another summer rarity for me, my favourite nigiri has always been kohada so this went down like a treat. Subtle sweetness and strong sourness but I would prefer it a touch more vinegar. The texture was so soft compared to other kohada

Chuutoro – excellent quality and delicious. A classic with great execution

Ootoro – this stood out to me more when I compare it with other Ootoro. Just a little bit more fatty than many of the others Ive had. 

Akami – great but nothing remarkable for me.

Aji – the savoury briny flavour was really delicious. 

Hokkigai – quality of the clam was remarkable, every piece of shelf fish served was top grade stuff and its rare to get something this good.  

Hirame – really good but just a touch mild for my preferences. Not peak season for Hirame 

Hadachi Mursaki uni – summer uni has been consistently amazing for me and this has been no exception. So very delicious but didn’t stand out as much to me as some of the other pieces when compared with other restaurants for me. 

Misojirou 

Kuruma ebi – super sweet, juicy and meaty, gold standard for me

Edo-style anago – really thick piece, easily my favourite Anago i’ve had in a sushi setting. So crisp and I love the togarashi spice. A few diners ordered additional pieces of this. 

Tamagoyaki with Cambodian honey – while it didn’t need the honey i found it very enjoyable and a unique twist. The honey meshed excellently well with the egg and a terrific way to end the meal. 

The sourcing was remarkable, with excellent technique applied throughout the course. The tsumami here were truly excellent. The neta were very excellent quality for me overall, but i prefer shari a bit stronger in acidity/sourness so its not my favourite. I noted his shari to have a bit of sweetness to it which while i’m always a fan of was still delicious for me. 

Service provided was of course excellent, the staff were attentive and really took care of everybody. The pacing was very relaxed, there was a bit of a gap between tsumami and nigiri being served. At the start there was a bit of a confusion with more people turning up than seats for some reason which was handled quietly and swiftly. One of the guests had brought expensive cognac and shared it with everyone while also opening a number bottles of wine and sake which I enjoyed extremely even though I rarely drink. The sake was probably the most remarkable for me, especially the Amamoto exclusives. My experience was definitely enhanced due to these factors but at times I was worried Amamoto san performance would be affected by the number of drinks we all shared that evening but I didn’t notice any decline in quality. Chatted here and there with Amamoto san but it was really when the course was winding down we had more opportunity to chat. The meal itself lasted under 3 hours but we stayed a bit longer to finish up all the drinks and chat a bit more. At same time there was another seating coming up soon so didn’t want to intrude. 

Truly an unforgettable meal even with copious amounts of alcohol consumed. I doubt i’ll be able to return anytime soon but just grateful for just coming once