Ubuka

The chef opened Ubuka because he liked the idea of a restaurant that specialises in shellfish. The name means ‘first fragrance’, in recognition of the importance of the aroma of foodstuffs. The menu is all about shrimp and crab. Cooking the shellfish alive, Kato displays the prowess he honed at traditional Japanese restaurants in Kyoto. Crab meat has been picked, so is easy for diners to enjoy. The secret ingredient in his famous fried shrimp is his soy-sauce-infused sauce américaine.

A rare Tokyo restaurant devoted almost entirely to crab and prawns, with a course that shifts between kaiseki rhythm and Western-influenced preparations. Ends with crab-and-vegetable rice cooked in an earthenware pot, and runs as a set-menu-only experience with online reservations.

Shellfish is the spine of the meal, crab and prawns appear across the course. Signature touches include a hair-crab terrine borrowed from French cooking, fried prawns immersed in sauce americaine, and a closing earthenware-pot rice with crab and vegetables.

Crustacean-focused Japanese dining built around an omakase-style course of about 10 dishes. The set course is listed at 27,500 yen, plus a 10% service charge, and the kitchen blends kaiseki structure with occasional Western technique.