Multiple friends have told me with full confidence that Restaurant Yuu was hands down the best meal they’ve had in 2024 and that they would go back in a heartbeat.

Restaurant Yuu offers the best of Japanese and French cuisine by providing a traditional Japanese omotenashi experience—a concept that encapsulates a high level of hospitality without expecting anything in return—alongside high-quality French cuisine. It recently retained its Michelin Star in 2024 and was named Best New Restaurant in America by Robb Report.

Despite its many high-profile accolades, I found Restaurant Yuu to be the definition of quiet luxury. The storefront is very unassuming and quiet (I actually walked past it—granted, it was snowing quite a bit), but upon entering, the atmosphere completely changes, and the service is top-notch. The interior of Restaurant Yuu feels almost like an upscale apartment, with beautiful lamps and comfy couches and chairs throughout the space. At first, I was a bit confused by the layout, since half of the space features an industrial open kitchen concept with bar seating, while the other half has a cozy living room vibe. However, after spending an evening there, everything made sense.

Amuse Bouche

Consommé Mushroom

Broccoli, Duck Gizzard

Tuna, Avocado

We started the evening with a mushroom-based consommé, served in a beautiful pearl-like bowl. It was a simple dish, but the mushroom broth was the ideal way to warm up the palate on a snowy evening. The two accompanying small bites were quite delicious, though not particularly memorable. I found the combination of broccoli and duck gizzard to be the more interesting of the two, while the tuna and avocado bite had the most delicate pastry that fell apart with a satisfying crack.

Green Bean

The first bite of this course had me questioning everything I thought I knew about green beans. This dish was a textbook lesson on why texture is everything. It had a translucent, gelatinous element that provided a cooling contrast, a strong crunch from the green beans, textural additions from the bread sablé, and the meaty richness of langoustine. For me, this dish set the tone for the entire evening. It was essentially a sign saying, “We know flavors. We know texture. We know what we’re doing, and you’re in for a wild ride.”

Abalone Pot-Au-Feu

This dish took me back home to my mom’s kitchen. It truly felt like an homage to homey Japanese cuisine, with an undertone of kaiseki cooking. The careful selection of seasonal vegetables and the simplicity of a clear broth showed a deep respect for highlighting pure ingredients. It reminded me of a sukiyaki or nabe dish, but elevated with luxurious ingredients like abalone and black truffle (an add-on which I gladly accepted). The brilliant simplicity of this dish perfectly set up the next one:

Risotto d’Oro

What a highlight! This “golden risotto,” as they introduced it, makes me salivate every time I think about it. This dish had me nodding my head the entire time, and it was probably the dish I devoured the quickest. With these ingredients and flavors, it’s hard to go wrong, but it was clearly prepared with the highest level of skill. Fresh uni and perfectly cooked risotto? A match made in heaven.

White Sesame Pain Rustique

The bread course was by far the simplest, but between the heavier courses, it was a welcome moment of respite. The bread itself wasn’t anything special, though nicely toasted. However, the butter! I’d never had crown daisy butter before, but it had an intriguing bitter grassiness—a flavor that made me curious to take another bite. And another. “What is that flavo—?” “Oh, the entire bread is gone.”

Sawara

*Spanish Mackerel, Yogurt, Ponzu, Watercress, Bergamot*

The Sawara was the first in a set of three proteins that felt like a culinary journey. Never had I ever tasted a yogurt-ponzu-bergamot sauce with fish, but I will gladly order it again in the future. This dish left the strongest impression on me—perhaps because its presentation appeared quite ordinary, yet the flavor was like nothing I’d ever experienced before. Beyond the perfect sear on the fish, the pairing of sauces truly blew my mind. The bright creaminess of the yogurt, the citrusy tang of the ponzu, and the subtle floral notes of the bergamot created an incredibly delicate balance. If any one element had outshone the others, the dish wouldn’t have worked at all.

Venison

Venison, Beets, Cassis, Ume

If the Sawara was a lesson in refined, understated balance, the venison was its bold, raucous twin, delivering punchy and powerful flavors. Aside from the venison itself looking like a work of art, Chef Yuu also came around and ladled on a splash of jus, adding to the richness of the dish. The meatiness of the venison paired beautifully with the earthiness of the beet sauce, while the jus helped bind everything together.

Canard (No.00644)

Dry-Aged Duck Breast, Minced Duck Leg, Mushroom, Black Pepper Cognac, and Foie Gras Reduction Sauce

At this point in the evening, the music had been pretty calm—mostly lofi-esque background music. Suddenly, Vivaldi’s Winter from The Four Seasons (a.k.a. Chef’s Table’s theme song) burst onto the scene. **Chef Yuu** began cutting into a gorgeous pastry, revealing a multi-layered Canard that **would have had Gordon Ramsay shooketh.**

He then paraded it around the restaurant so we could all marvel at the sheer technical skill required to create such a dish. Each of the six layers was delicious, but the real showstopper was the impeccable execution. The pastry remained buttery and flaky while every layer inside was cooked to perfection.

Grapefruit

After the richest dish on the menu, this light and refreshing transition to the dessert portion was perfect. The grapefruit provided bright acidity, while the IPA added a nice bitterness. If I could keep a mental cabinet of perfectly balanced flavors I’d like to recreate, this would be one of them. This dish proved that desserts don’t have to be overshadowed by pure sugar—they can be layered, nuanced, and sophisticated.

Strawberry

Amaou Strawberry, Champagne, Lime, Vanilla

The final course evoked pure nostalgia. If the entire evening was a true experimental journey of flavors, we ended on one of the most universally beloved combinations: strawberry and vanilla—only this time, elevated for adults with champagne and a touch of sophistication.

Tea Time

Lemon Verbena Tea and Bites

Just when I thought the meal was over, I was offered a cup of tea alongside some mignardises, which I gladly accepted. Suddenly, everything made sense! The large seating area behind the bar was designed as a casual hangout spot for post-meal conversations and tea time.

A Birthday Surprise

Leave it to a Michelin-starred restaurant to go above and beyond! After tea, they brought out a small chocolate cake with a personalized note. They also gifted each guest a Polaroid photo of their party and a small take-home cake, which I enjoyed with my coffee the next morning—leaving me dreaming of the next time I’ll be back.

Restaurant Yuu: Masters of Intricate Balance