Bulgari Tokyo has an Italian restaurant, Bulgari II Ristorante Luca Fantin, where the elegance on the plate matches the jewellery – seriously.
I am so glad I wore my best ear-rings to lunch at Bulgari Il Ristorante Luca Fantin. This restaurant is as chic and elegant as it gets, and lets be honest, everyone looks at everyone else’s jewellery.
Tokyo is one of the biggest markets in the world for Bulgari jewellery, so it’s no wonder Bulgari have three floors of Italian dining there so guests can really savour the Bulgari experience and indulge in elegance on a plate.
Chef Luca Fantin was awarded a Michelin star for his astonishingly pretty but flavoursome dishes here in 2011. Fenton has a unique and modern way of interpreting the most well recognised Italian cooking traditions in a modern style to present food that is not only out of this world, but totally unique in Japan.
You enter via separate ( and very chic) entrance at the side of the jewellery store and are whizzed up to the highest floors of the Bulgari building in an elevator. Everything here is on pointe – the lift doors open, the immaculately dressed staff take your coat and you are led to a table in front of floor to ceiling windows overlooking the buzz of Tokyo’s trendy Ginza area.
This is how Friday lunches ( or any day of the week for that matter) are meant to be. Heavy elegant curtains drape the windows and are moved during lunch to ensure guests are not too hot or cold. The whole vibe is a mix of minimalist Japanese respect and utter Italian luxury.
Everything you would expect and hope for from the exclusive Italian jeweller brand is served in the restaurant, from exquisite home made pasta parcels which melt in the mouth, and squid ink pasta rich in favour. There is mushroom risotto creamy and decadent, fleshy white crustacean with cauliflower and green apple. The grilled pork with textures of celeriac was incredible, as was the best Champagne and wine the world has to offer which was matched with each small course.
Even my coffee arrived with a delicate red love heart biscuit – and an Australian flag. I was touched. This is luxury Italian dining with the acute attention to detail of the Japanese every step of the way.
Ingredients are mostly local, mostly organic, and every dish looks like an art piece with an emphasis on colour as well as flavour, and even the use of fresh, edible flowers. Tokyo has one of the largest and most famous fish markets in the world, and the chefs are all there in the early hours bidding for the finest tuna, crustaceans and seafood delicacies.
The setting above one of the largest Bulgari jewellery boutiques in the world, adds to the entire experience. The top floor has a Dom Perignon al fresco terrace, one of Tokyo’s most stunning and refined locations in warmer months.
There is an afternoon tea box if you don’t want a full lunch, which locals love, and the Bulgari Il Cioccolato’s new hazelnut cream is amazing on toast for breakfast and a gorgeous gift to take away, although I adored the chocolates and couldn’t resist.
I can’t wait to go back in summer.
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