Restaurants in Grande Maison Tokyo

What is Grande Maison Tokyo?

In 2019, before The Bear made headlines as the West's most forthcoming culinary drama, La Grande Maison Tokyo was lighting up small screens around Japan. The drama, special, and film Grande Maison Paris follows the thrilling story of disgraced chef Natsuki Obana and upstart Rinko Hayami. Both chefs, after disappointments at L'Ambrosie in Paris, decide to return home to Japan to create their own grande maison (the pinnacle of fine-dining restaurants) on home turf and earn three stars in the Michelin Guide. The characters and cuisine are inspired by real stories, with collaboration from the actual Michelin Guide.

Enter the world of Grande Maison Tokyo

Follow the Michelin-star studded stories that brought Grande Maison Tokyo to life with this blueprint by Michelin Guide partner Japan Eatinerary. Enjoy dishes by restaurants that became models for the show and taste the cuisine that inspired the roles of stars like Natsuki Obana.

4 Restaurants That Inspired “Grand Maison Tokyo”

1. Quintessence（カンテサンス）/ French

Tv-chef Obana's cuisine was overseen by the very real team of Quintessence, a French restaurant that has maintained 3 stars in the Michelin guide since its first Tokyo publication. In fact, the goat's milk bavarois that makes an appearance in Grande Maison Tokyo is a signature dish of Quintessence chef Shuzo Kishida. Chef Kishida prides himself on placing great focus on the three tenets of fine French food that he learned in Paris: the product, the cooking process, and the seasoning. He hopes that his involvement in Grande Maison Tokyo will inspire and educate viewers about French cuisine. And his restaurant, Quintessence is just that -- the quintessential grande maison of Tokyo worth the effort it requires to get a reservation.

View Details

2. Restaurant Hiramatsu Kodaiji（レストランひらまつ 高台寺）/ French

One Star

Michelin Guide, 2025

Restaurant Hiramatsu Kodaiji, an elegant space with vaulted ceilings and a stunning view of Kyoto's Yasaka Pagoda became the stage for in-show French restaurant Meilleure Kyoto. Hiramatsu Kodaiji is just one of the Hiramatsu group's many restaurants, but its Michelin star and use of Kyotanba ingredients in otherwise dedicated French dishes set it apart. The venue offers courses for lunch and dinner including a dedicated children's menu. Also used as a wedding venue, the menu is as approachable as the interior is understatedly gorgeous. Chef Taishi Kobayashi puts his artistry on the plate, with painterly dishes that reflect his training in Hiramatsu group restaurants from Paris to Osaka and beyond.

3. Florilège（フロリレージュ）/ French

This Michelin 2 Star and Green Starred restaurant's story is the inspiration behind young chef Shohei's future after the series finale of Grande Maison Tokyo. Chef Shohei started as sous chef at Natsuki Obana's restaurant, then broke out on his own, much like Chef Kawata's experience in the Quintessence kitchen. Chef Kawata of Florilege is known for creating beautiful French dishes with a nod to plant based eating and sustainability. The restaurant has relocated to Azabudai Hills from the Aoyama shooting location, but diners can still enjoy the dark interior design and exciting live cooking. Steamed bread and upcycled butter come with every meal, alongside a selection of seasonal cuisine rooted in French gastronomy.

View Details

4. Maison Paul Bocuse（メゾンポール・ボキューズ）/ French

Maison Paul Bocuse became the stage for competitor restaurant Gaku in the Grande Maison series. In real life, the restaurant holds a Michelin star and has been named one of the top 100 French restaurants in Tokyo twice. After the smashing success of the original in Lyon, Paul Bocuse established restaurants, culinary schools and competitions around the world to further French gastronomy. At the Tokyo location in Daikanyama, diners will sup on classics like truffle soup and seasonal cuisine rooted in French palattes and techniques. *Maison Paul Bocuse will be temporarily closed from July 1-September 2025 for renovations.

View Details

5. Héritage by Kei Kobayashi（エリタージュ バイ ケイ コバヤシ）/ French

Kei Kobayashi, the first Japanese chef to earn three Michelin stars in France, contributed to Grand Maison Tokyo and served as an inspiration for Takuya Kimura during filming. Kei Kobayashi has opened a wide range of restaurants in France and Tokyo, including Heritage, a one Michelin starred kitchen in Roppongi. Multisensory tasting menus infuse the artistry of French gastronomy with Chef Kobayashi's formative memories of growing up in verdant Nagano. Each meal honors French tradition and global innovation framed against the Tokyo skyline.

View Details

Restaurants with Chefs Trained at Quintessence

Of course, the above restaurants and chefs featured in Grande Maison Tokyo for a reason -- they represent some of the most desirable seats in Tokyo. While securing reservations at restaurants like Quintessance can prove challenging, chefs who have graduated from their time in that career-defining kitchen are active throughout the city. Consider immersing yourself in the ambiance of the series at these up and coming restaurants, headed by the real Shohei's of Japan.

5. NéMo（ネモ）/ French

One Star

Michelin Guide, 2025

Chef Nemoto of Nemo in Minami Aoyama has a passion for seafood that began in kindergarten. Following the footsteps of his grandfather, Kenichi Nemoto privately mastered angling, going on the flex his skills in France and Quintessance before establishing Nemo in 2021. Even the name is reminiscent of the literary Captain Nemo, just another testament to the importance of the sea to this One Michelin Starred restaurant. Of the ten course menu, at least half contains ingredients from Japan's bright seas. He takes care to minimize waste and honor the producers and people of his home in Shimane, pushing each ingredient to its flavorful limit.

6. l'algorithme（アルゴリズム）/ French

In a stark reversal to the effervescent, nostalgic and dreamy cuisines many former Quintessance chefs adopt, L'algorithme revels in simplicity and practicality. Ingredients are classic and cuisine is approachable but surprising. Even while making the most of Japanese ingredients and French cuisine, diners are presented with well thought out plates at lunch and dinner which strike a careful balance and mathematical precision. Hiroki Fukaya uses his experience at great culinary maisons in Japan to forge a new path that has been delighting connoisseurs since 2017. The restaurant has been awarded One Star several years, and continues to refine its meticulous counter-side French dining.

7. Reminiscence（レミニセンス）/ French

Located in Nagoya, Aichi, Reminiscence has been awarded 2 Michelin stars, ranks among the highest rated French restaurants domestically and has been discovered by top voting bodies worldwide. The restaurant opened ten years ago, in 2015, on the chef's 30th birthday. Masaki Kuzuhara created an ethereal white space, where artistic plates take on the quality of art in a gallery, complete with cryptic titles. Chef Kuzuhara returned to his hometown after working in Quintessance to establish a space based on the power of memory. The signature dish, an unagi plate steeped in the history of 150-year old Nagoya culinary mastery, changes subtly each season, reflecting the ways our memory is never quite the same twice.

View Details