Sincere

シンシア

Harajuku Tokyu Apartment B1, Setagaya 3-7-13, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo

東京都渋谷区千駄ヶ谷3-7-13 原宿東急アパートメントＢ１

One-michelin star Sincere is as eccentric as it is delicious, presenting its Japanese-French fusion fare to customers in playful and interactive ways.

Their staple dish is the poisson en croûte feuilletée (fish in puff pastry), which is served in the form of a classic taiyaki. In fact, biting into it and finding meaty Japanese sea bass and buttery puff pastry instead of sweet anko and spongey cake is a bit of an off-putting surprise at first, but quickly becomes one of the most memorable dishes of the meal.

There is also the amuse bouche, with an array of different dishes, including a round, green muscat-shaped truffle hidden within a bunch of actual muscat grapes. These grapes were, unfortunately, not part of the course, but muscats found themselves later on in the course as one of the desserts, accompanied by a muscat foam.

Other dishes of note include smoked masu trout from Hakkodate served with caviar and celery root mousse, along with the staub-cooked rice dish with a number of different toppings to choose from, from which we had one with iwashi and foie gras and one with shiroebi.

The end of the course has one last surprise, coming in the form of a nature-themed platter with edible goodies hidden in plain sight, in which the server asks diners to try and identify what is edible and what is not.

Diners are then sent home with the restaurant’s signature breads, a buttery brioche with the restaurant’s name stamped on, a heartier boule (both of which are also served during the meal), and then a dessert madeline.

Given the offerings of the menu and their charming presentation, it’s clear that Chef Ishii likes to have a bit of fun in his open-air kitchen that flows seamlessly into the dining room for guests to enjoy as well.