An Extraordinary Experience: Kudawari Tsukiji

Here is a restaurant that you absolutely must know if you like Japanese cuisine and especially ramen. The Kudawari Tsukiji Restaurant, located 900 meters from the Relais du Louvre, offers an experience that pampers both the eye and the taste buds. Follow us.

First and foremost, come early. The restaurant is well known to ramen fans and also because the Japanesegenerally dine between 6:30 pm and 7:30 pm. Plan for 10 to 15-minute wait if you come at 7:30 pm and a 3 to 5-minute if you come at 6:30 pm. Don’t be fooled by the long queues in front of the restaurant, their wait management is very good. You will be placed faster if you come alone or in pairs rather than if you come in a group.

When you are shown to your table and you enter the restaurant, you are immediately immersed in a very “local” fish market setting. The items completing this setting are not just for decoration. It is hugely effective for acoustics. You can hear your conversation, no one has to yell, and yet there are a lot of people and the space is confined.

I was sat in front of the open kitchen and was able to watch the cook’s performance. Curiously, they are all French, except the chef who is Japanese. Same thing service side. The business was founded by a passionate Frenchman from Japan who wanted to share his experience. He does so in a respectful way of both Japanese culture as well as the products and their preparation.

The menu is short, proof of seriousness and quality: 8 entries between €2.50 and €9 and 7 types of ramen between €12 and €14. If you want to discover the variety of the menu, you can choose two to three entries because the portions are small.

Abri de sardine: A sardine marinated in rice and soy vinegar, half-cooked on a grill, and served with its ridge cracker. There is absolutely no bitter flavor, which is usually characteristic of sardines. It’s extremely sweet. My score: 9/10

Namero Don: A tartare of horse mackerel with white miso, ginger, and Shiso (Asian basilica) on vinegar rice. Very fine and subtle: 8/10

Ramen Homard Mazmen: Served without broth, strong lobster jus, lobster dumplings, Basque farmer pork from Peio, braised for 12h. Thepasta has an irreproachable texture and flavor, the dumplings are very expressive, the pork is excellent although still a bit firm despite its low temperature cooking: 7/10

Nuta de Daurade Royale: Sea bream carpaccio with smoked white miso, salicornia, and spicy cracker. Excellent preparation for this fish whose subtle seasoning goes well with my sake: 9/10

To accompany this meal, I chose the only sake on the menu: Saké Kameizumi Nmazake. It is unpasteurized and heads 16°. Pretty good quality. The capacity is supposedly 8cl, but I am kindly served at least double.

Finally, for dessert, I enjoyed an excellent waffle stuffed with buckwheat praline. It is to die for, although I would have liked for the stuffing to have been better distributed in the waffle.

In summary, it is an excellent address: The prices are very affordable and the cuisine is refined. The service is friendly and fast, the decor and the acoustics are highly satisfactory. We would have liked less monolithic dishes and more aesthetic dressings adapted to the food. The choice of drinks is too limited and the design of the glasses is not suitable for tasting a good wine.

KODAWARI TSUKIJI
12 rue de Richelieu – 75001 Paris
Open every day from 12:00 pm to 3:00 pm and from 6:30 pm to 10:30 pm
https://www.kodawari-ramen.com/kodawari-tsukiji-la-carte/