The Journal · Pillar
The chef's tasting menu: flow, etiquette, and everything you need to know before your first time.
Ten simple gestures: arrive on time, communicate restrictions at booking, eat each piece right away, taste before seasoning, keep fragrance minimal, manage your phone, engage the chef, hold your pace, tip appropriately, and say thank you.
Kaiseki is a formal multi-course meal rooted in Kyoto's tea ceremony tradition, with a fixed sequence and elegant tableware. Omakase is a counter experience where the chef composes the meal in real time, piece by piece. Both honour seasonality and ingredients; the setting and spirit differ significantly.
Your first omakase is simpler than it sounds: book early, mention your restrictions, arrive on time, eat each piece immediately, and let the chef lead.
Omakase is a chef-led tasting experience where you hand over all decisions and trust the chef to compose the meal, piece by piece, based on the season and the day's best ingredients.
