The World's 50 Best Restaurants List 2025 Features Four From Japan
Eateries in Tokyo regularly feature on the World's 50 Best Restaurants list. One of the most respected and influential scales in the culinary world, the list is produced by the UK media company William Reed. With a panel of over 1,000 experts made up of food writers, critics, chefs and well-travelled gourmets, the organization releases it every year to celebrate historic and unique culinary experiences.
This year, four restaurants in Japan — three from Tokyo and one from Osaka — made the World's 50 Best Restaurants list. Read on to learn about each establishment's specialty.
List of Contents:
Sézanne (No. 7)
Narisawa (No. 21)
Florilège (No. 36)
La Cime (No. 44)
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courtesy of four seasons hotel tokyo at marunouchi
courtesy of four seasons hotel tokyo at marunouchi
courtesy of four seasons hotel tokyo at marunouchi
Sézanne (No. 7)
Two-Michelin-starred
Sézanne
opened in July 2021, on the seventh floor of the Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Marunouchi. With British chef Daniel Calvert at the helm, the modern French restaurant quickly generated buzz for its incredible 12-course tasting menu that pays tribute to Asia's deep culinary cultures.
Calvert previously led the acclaimed neo-Parisian bistro Belon in Hong Kong, after honing his skills at New York's Per Se and Epicure in Paris. At Sézanne, he curates each dining experience to reflect Japan's finest seasonal ingredients, highlighting elements such as bouillabaisse with saffron from Saga Prefecture and fugu (puffer fish) from Yamanashi Prefecture.
Narisawa Dish "Satoyama Scenery and Essence of the Forest"
Narisawa Dessert dish "Camellia and Koji"
Narisawa (No. 21)
Most gastronomes around the world would have heard of satoyama cuisine, and chef Yoshihiro Narisawa's vanguard cooking style. Traditionally, satoyama refers to rural landscapes where humans live in harmony with nature; in recent years, it has come to symbolize sustainability, a deep respect for the earth and the integration of humans and the natural world.
Established in 2003 in Tokyo's elegant neighborhood of Aoyama,
Narisawa
has an omakase-style menu that fuses a variety of culinary techniques with the concept of satoyama. The two-Michelin-starred restaurant has earned international recognition for its quality, innovation and commitment to environmentally conscious gourmet dining — securing a Michelin Green Star, 14 consecutive years on the World's Best Restaurants list and numerous other accolades.
You can learn more about Narisawa from
our conversation with Chef Narisawa
.
courtesy of florilège
courtesy of florilège
Florilège (No. 36)
Situated in the stylish Azabudai Hills, the two-Michelin-starred
Florilège
is a creative French-Japanese restaurant led by chef Hiroyasu Kawate, who comes from a family of chefs. He trained at Le Jardin des Sens in Montpellier, France, before working as a sous-chef at Quintessence in Tokyo.
Kawate has a strong focus on sustainability when it comes to curating his menu, highlighting locally sourced ingredients and experimenting with plant-forward tasting menus. The restaurant promises to portray 'a new side of vegetables that everyone knows,' reducing the amount of meat, fish and dairy products used.
courtesy of la cime
courtesy of la cime
La Cime (No. 44)
Modern French restaurant
La Cime
is located in the business district of Honmachi, which is considered the heart of Osaka. Established in 2010, the restaurant is headed by chef Yusuke Takada, who trained in Lyon and worked at renowned Parisian establishments such as Le Taillevent and Le Meurice. Takada gained global recognition after receiving the Inedit Damm Chefs' Choice Award in 2020.
La Cime's menu spotlights seafood and produce from the Kansai region, as well as citrus and other ingredients from the subtropical island of Amami Oshima. The menu's signature dish is the Boudin Dog, a batter-fried boudin noir (blood sausage) colored with edible bamboo and charcoal.
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