Le Pristine by Sergio Herman (Tokyo, JAPAN) ★★★☆☆

Chef Sergio Herman is one of my favorite chefs from Europe, and one of my biggest dreams has been to dine at one of his establishments. The closest I got was in 2011 during a tour of the Netherlands and Belgium but we were unable to secure a table at his three-Michelin-star restaurant, Oud Sluis, which later closed in 2013. So, when I heard he was opening the first international outpost of Le Pristine in Tokyo back in December 2023, I immediately marked it down on my calendar. It ultimately took me more than a year to bring this plan to fruition.

The casual fine dining restaurant is located just off the lobby of the Hotel Toranomon Hills.

Lunch is a simple two or three-course affair where guests can choose from a selection of starters, mains and desserts. We all decided to go with just the starter and main this afternoon.

Salad Le Pristine – Kicking things off was the house salad with green asparagus, burrata cheese, sweet potato, basil, tomato, potato, Taggiasca olives, broad beans and toasted pumpkin seeds all hidden underneath a simple garnish of baby gem lettuce and red endive. The ingredients were tied up neatly by a savory-sweet quince vinaigrette. There was some nice smokiness coming from the toasted seeds adding another dimension to the dish.

The salad was followed by a small basket of homemade bread including some baguettes and sourdough.

These were working well with the French butter.

Hokkaido scallop, green apple, gherkin, buttermilk, basil – Everyone went with the scallop starter. 

Small pieces of lightly seared scallops were matched with slices of green apple, crispy croutons, lettuce and green peas. The sauce made with the same green apple and buttermilk brought some nice acidity to the mix.

Le Pristine seafood orecchiette – Some of us had the restaurant's signature seafood orecchiette featuring roasted langoustine, clams, squid, Nduja, fennel flower and parsley. 

I thought the sauce was a little too intense and salty for the seafood and pasta to handle but we all loved the generous portion. This was an extra plate full of langoustine, seafood and pasta waiting on the wing for us.

Grilled Japanese Akaushi beef "Rossini", Jerusalem artichoke, Italian black truffle – With hindsight, I should have gone for the grilled Akaushi beef since I love the breed of cattle so much.

The beautifully cooked Akaushi beef fillet was elegantly topped with Italian black truffle and served with a purée of Jerusalem artichoke. The madeira wine sauce provided the dish with a well-rounded finish.

This toasted brioche with shaved foie gras reminded me a little of the famous "French Toast" from the now-defunct Frantzén's Kitchen.

We didn't opt for dessert so just two small mignardises to wrap things up. The yuzu pistachio macaron was packed with lovely acidity.

And there was the mini lemon tart which was bursting with zesty flavors.

I finally got the chance to enjoy a cup of tea. 

Despite there being only three tables of guests this afternoon, I thought that the young and seemingly inexperienced service team struggled to deliver the level of hospitality expected from a restaurant of its caliber. There was even a few lengthy stretches when the entire team seemed to be missing from the dining floor leaving us totally unattended.

While the dining experience itself was decent, the service fell short of creating a memorable impression. I'll definitely think twice about coming back for another visit.

Food Rating: 6.9/10

Price: ￥￥￥

Address: G/F Hotel Toranmon Hills, 2-6-4 Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-0001, Japan

Closest Metro Station: Toranomon

Tel: +81 3-6830-1077

Opening Hours: 12:00 pm - 3:00 pm (Mon - Sun), 6:00pm - 10:00pm (Mon - Sat)