[Tokyo] 1* Il Ristorante Luca Fantin

Rating: ❤❤❤❤1/4 (4.25/5)

The first time I tried Chef Luca Fantin's food was at a collaboration dinner in Macau and I was instantly in love with his signature Sea Urchin Spaghetti, so I knew that I'd have to pay him a visit at his restaurant when I was in Tokyo! Located in the posh Bulgari Hotel in Ginza, the Il Ristorante - Luca Fantin serves contemporary Italian cuisine with a Japanese influence (Chef Luca goes around Japan to source the best local ingredients). The restaurant has 1 Michelin Star and is awarded #28 on 2018 Asia's 50 Best, but after my meal I believe (along with many others) that it deserves at least 2 stars with the quality of food exhibited by Chef Luca Fantin and Pastry Chef Fabrizio Fiorani.

We started our meal with a few amuse bouche at the chef's table in the kitchen and my favorite set was the Textures of Fish which represented the variety of ingredients you can find at the fish market in Tokyo. What a nice way to pay homage to Japanese ingredients with an Italian spin, and it was exquisitely paired with a glass of 2000 Dom Perignon champagne.

I also got to see Chef Luca do his white truffle shopping as his supplier happened to have arrived during our meal, and his eyes were lighting up like a kid in a candy shop!

After the amuse bouche, we headed back to the beautiful main dining room with its tall ceiling and views of Ginza for the rest of our meal. The bread course came first with 4 different kinds of bread by Pastry Chef Fabrizio which was paired with 2 different types of Japanese olive oil and sea salt.

The first wine pairing was 1997 Gaja Alteni di Brassica.

King Crab with Celeriac

Squid Ink Ravioli with Caviar

After seeing Chef Luca do his white truffle shopping, I finally got my very own white truffle (dish)! Before the risotto arrived, the aroma of the white truffle was already strong but once it was shaved, the smell was simply alluring.

Risotto with White Truffle

Tuna with Tomato

Venison with Fig and Black Truffle

I was so happy to have Sauternes as our dessert wine pairing!

And of course when you are here, the desserts by Pastry Chef Fabrizio are not to be missed! The Hokkaido Milk with White Truffle was simply amazing as the pillowy bites of latte were light and airy, and the flavors delightfully accentuated by the Alba white truffle.

The Chestnut Monaka was another brilliant dessert with chestnut, meringue and caramel which is a Japanese spin on the classic Mont Blanc dessert.

Each of the Petit Fours was so intricately made and the taste was also delicious.

As I was here right before the holidays, I was given a panettone by Chef Fabrizio!

Thank you very much to Chef Luca, Chef Fabrizio and the team at Il Ristorante - Luca Fantin for the fantastic hospitality and experience - I'll definitely be back!

*By Invitation

Il Ristorante Luca Fantin
Ginza Tower 2-7-12 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo
Tel: +81-3-6362-0555
https://www.bulgarihotels.com/en_US/tokyo-osaka-restaurants/tokyo/il-ristorante

Follow me on Facebook! www.facebook.com/supertastermel

Follow me on Instagram! www.instagram.com/supertastermel