On a recent Saturday night, the line of eager diners outside L'Atelier De Joel Robuchonwas already long, but we couldn't resist queuing up ourselves. Admiring the restaurant's sleek red- and black-lacquered finish, dimly lit and accented with a colorful array of fresh vegetables and mosaic-like installations of raw grains, we could have easily felt intimidated. But the obvious lack of a dress code-the range of attire ran from sneakers and jeans to Sunday-best-reassured us that this was a casual homage to cuisine.
After a short 30 minutes we were led to a cozy six-seat bar set between the main dining area and the boutique-which sells everything from books and shopping sacks to baked goods-and enjoyed a round of Yebisu draft (¥800) while waiting for slots at the main dining bar. In the meantime, we unwound to a mellow soundtrack of jazz, and watched a true cross-section of society fill the room-young and mature, Japanese and European alike.
We wasted no time once we were seated, starting off with a glass of Paillard Brut champagne (¥1,000). The dining bar wraps around an open kitchen a la sushi bar, which was Robuchon's inspiration for his L'Ateliers. The brigade of cooks performed a flawless ballet in the center as we picked at baskets of miniature sourdough bread and crusty baguette.
Service was quick and efficient-our appetizers seemed to arrive within seconds. Veal sweetbreads (¥1,600) were perfectly done-crisply sautéed and meltingly tender inside with an accompaniment of romaine lettuce, stuffed with a julienne of ham and onion and then braised in cream. A signature pumpkin soup with cauliflower (¥1,000), served in its hollowed shell, was velvety and rich, offset by smoky bacon and a briny scallop carpaccio hidden at the bottom of the bowl.
Our waiter was informative but not intrusive, suggesting a cold starter of chicken liver paté (¥800) that had a coarse texture reminiscent of a country-style terrine. It played nicely against the delicate flavor of a light dill-and-tarragon salad simply dressed with vinaigrette.
Robuchon's philosophy is that food should taste like what it is (i.e. a carrot tastes like a carrot), and the main courses illustrated his straightforward approach to cooking. Caramelized quail (¥4,000) was cooked to medium and glazed with a sauce accented by shoyu and shallots. The dish came with a small mound of potato puree topped with four generous slices of truffle. The puree alone justified the price. A dish of langoustines (¥2,900), not to be outdone, was buttery and tender, the langoustine tails wrapped like firecrackers in pate-a-bric (pastry wrapper) and lightly fried. A bright green basil puree enhanced the sweetness of the shellfish, and two glasses of Bourgogne Aligote (¥800) complimented the delicate flavors.
Noting the smiles on the faces of two Eastern European diners to our left, we couldn't resist dessert. We chose the chocolate tart (¥1,200) served with pistachio and vanilla ice creams-a sinfully rich ending to a heavenly meal.