At first glance, Beige Tokyo looks like a serious case of self-promotion. Its tenth-floor perch in the new Chanel Ginza building is decked in shimmering tweed and quilted leather while its staff dart around in boucle suits and skinny black ties a la Karl Lagerfeld. Lest you forget that you are at Beige-the fashion house's signature color-the embroidered oshibori, engraved napkin rings and even molded chocolates serve as conspicuous reminders.

But the biggest-and in our opinion, only-reason to visit Beige is curiously inconspicuous. There is no mention of its co-creator Alain Ducasse, his nine Michelin stars, his status as the world's most revered chef or his soon-to-open cooking school in downtown Tokyo (see Feature, Dec 17). Nevertheless, Beige's menu and most of its kitchen staff are products of Ducasse and his acclaimed restaurants in Monaco, Paris and New York. And that's why we were among the thousands of Tokyoites-mostly well-dressed Japanese couples on the night we visited-who flocked there within days of its December 4 opening. 

Our visit began with a glass of Besserat de Bellefon Blanc de Blancs champagne (¥2,630), handpicked by Ducasse himself, in the casual lounge space that separates the elevator from the main dining room and its sparkling views of Ginza and beyond. It's possible to order off the a la carte menu in the lounge, but we soon moved to a proper table to get down to business with the tasting menu (¥17,000 for three choices, ¥22,000 for four). The menu offers two each of foie gras, vegetal (vegetables), mer (seafood), terre (meat) and chocolat, plus an amuse bouche and cheese plate. From the some 600 wine varieties spanning the Old and New worlds and several thousands dollars, the sommelier helped us settle on a medium-bodied and very reasonable Chateau de Landure 2001 Minervois (¥6,300).

Beginning with the first bite of the foie gras terrine, described by our companion as "the most un-rich foie gras I ever tasted-and I mean that in a good way," the meal was all we had hoped for and more. Ducasse's contemporary French fare was delicate, flavorful and exquisitely prepared. The vegetable tart was a buttery and flaky disc of pastry topped with baby asparagus, broccoli spears, carrot, beans and shaved black truffle. Scallops, perfectly cooked and meaty, were served with a sweet-and-spicy pumpkin chutney or encrusted with spicy salt and drizzled with crab cream and asparagus sauce. Lamb, sliced into bite-size pieces atop miniature discs of zucchini, carrot and potato, was flavored with a simple "spice" dressing of curry and other exotic tastes. 

While the desserts were on the heavier side with bitter chocolate, milk-chocolate cream and coffee ice cream featuring most prominently, we were impressed by the delicacy and quality of our entire meal. Our only complaint was that the service, besides still being a bit inconsistent, was so fawning that it bordered on overkill. Then again, this was Chanel-as we were reminded by the parting chocolates-and anyone who goes there to spend would presumably expect nothing less.