It was one of the major restaurant openings of last year — a renowned, award-winning European chef at the top of his game, launching his second self-named overseas offshoot. And yet, when you arrive at Eneko Tokyo, hidden away on a quiet Nishiazabu side street, it can feel as though you have come across a secret known only to insiders.
Chef Eneko Atxa may not be a household name in Japan — in fairness, very few overseas chefs are — but to global gastronomes he is a star. Azurmendi, his state-of-the-art restaurant just outside Bilbao in Spain's Basque Country, has held the coveted three-Michelin-star status since 2012 and is a constant fixture on the World's 50 Best Restaurant list, drawing diners from far and near.
Atxa's inventive contemporary cuisine is rooted in the deep and distinctive culinary culture of his homeland. It is a terroir of lush green hills and rugged mountains dropping into the fertile waters of the Bay of Biscay, and a microclimate unlike any other part of Spain — and certainly nothing like the conditions found in eastern Japan.