Hotel Okura on Ferdinand Bolstraat houses a restaurant that has a world first. In 2002, Yamazato was the first traditional kaiseki restaurant outside Japan to receive a Michelin star. More than twenty years later, that star still hangs there. Not obvious, but also not surprising when you know what goes on in that kitchen.
Executive Chef Masanori Tomikawa has been at the helm for more than 40 years. Four decades in the same kitchen, with the same goal: to put kaiseki ryori on the table as pure and authentic as possible. Kaiseki is Japanese haute cuisine, a multi-course menu where each dish is tailored to the season. Tomikawa works with traditional Japanese ingredients and methods, and the menu changes completely four times a year. What you eat in the spring no longer exists in the fall.
The dining room is decorated in minimalist Japanese design, natural wood, no frills. The large windows look out on an authentic Japanese garden, which doesn't feel like décor but a conscious choice for tranquility. The serving staff wear yukata kimonos, which gives the whole place an atmosphere you won't find anywhere else in the Netherlands. Reservations are required, entry is between 18:30 and 20:00, and the restaurant is open Thursday through Monday.
In 2002, Yamazato was the first traditional kaiseki restaurant outside Japan to receive a Michelin star.
Yamazato won the TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice Best of the Best in 2024, which for a restaurant at this level is confirmation rather than surprise. The restaurant has been running since 1971, more than 50 years, and has not changed its course in all that time. Tomikawa and his kitchen team are doing what they have always done: seasonal cooking at the highest level, without concessions. That is exactly what has kept a Michelin star in place for more than two decades.