The story
At a 10-seat chef’s counter on Elizabeth Street, Chef Isao Yamada presents a kaiseki tasting menu that earned a Michelin star for its high-quality cooking. The experience is guided by three principles: seasonality (shun), harmony (chōwa), and mindfulness (ikigai). Each of the ten courses is a deliberate progression of flavor, texture, and technique, offering a narrative of heritage and respect.
Chef Yamada trained at Tsuji Cooking Academy and spent years at Kyoto Kitcho and Hanzuiryo in Nagasaki before opening Kaiseki Hanaei in his hometown of Fukuoka. Chef David Bouley noticed his precision and seasonality and invited him to New York to helm Brushstroke, where Yamada introduced one of the city’s earliest kaiseki experiences. That restaurant earned a Michelin star and a two-star New York Times review. Now, with his eponymous counter, Yamada returns to New York with a deeply personal expression of kaiseki—blending tradition with innovation.
The menu changes with the seasons, built on ingredients nurtured through Chef Yamada’s long-standing relationships with local fishermen, butchers, farmers, and artisans. The meal concludes with a customary tea ceremony, nodding to kaiseki’s origins in 16th-century Japan. The $330 tasting menu is served Tuesday through Saturday at 5:30 and 8:30 p.m., with a smart casual dress code. Allow about two hours to fully savor the journey.
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