The story
On a quiet backstreet of Nishiazabu, one of Tokyo’s great dining neighbourhoods, Jushu brings the precision of Kansai-style kappo cooking to the capital. The restaurant is the work of chef-owner Senzaki, whose path to Japanese cuisine began with a revelation at a kappo restaurant in Osaka’s Kitashinchi. After ten years of training there, he moved to Tokyo, honing his craft at Japanese and sushi restaurants before opening Jushu in 2010. By 2012, the restaurant had earned two Michelin stars; today it holds one star, a mark of its consistent, high-quality cooking.
The cuisine is rooted in the produce of Saga prefecture, the chef’s home region. Fresh vegetables, seafood, and Saga beef are flown in directly and prepared with Kansai techniques. The signature dish is charcoal-grilled Saga beef ichibo, cooked over binchotan until the meat’s natural umami is concentrated, then served with salt or dashi soy sauce. The menu changes with the seasons, but the omakase course typically runs to nine or ten dishes—perhaps hairy crab and sea urchin with tosa vinegar, or crab shinjo with turnip and mizore sauce.
The dining room centres on a counter, where the chef’s team keeps a close eye on each guest’s preferences. The atmosphere is calm and focused, the kind of place where conversation is measured and the cooking speaks for itself. A carefully chosen selection of Saga sake, including around ten varieties of the rare Nabeshima label, is available for tasting.
Jushu is open for dinner only, from 18:00 to midnight, and reservations are accepted online.
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