Japan trip #3/7 Haruka Murooka Tokyo

Haruka Murooka is a new dessert dining spot in Tokyo. When I first heard about a female led dessert dining place that I could book as a solo diner I was very excited.

I have a sweet tooth and ive always wanted to try dessert dining but most places dont accept solo diners so I booked the restaurant with tablecheck as soon as possible.
The restaurant is located in Tokyo near the national museum and has a very feminine look with light pinkish interior and youre greeted by one of the sous chefs when you come in.

Sadly Haruka doesnt speak any english even though she understands it. Shell give long explanations to her japanese clients and just google translates the name of the dish and possible instructions to eat it for me. While I love talking to a chef and learning more about the food and i spiration behind their dishes I dont deduct any points for this. I cant expect her to speak english while im dining in Japan.

But then the food starts…
Let me start off by congratulating all the food producers that she uses. Theyre the star of the show. You can taste the quality of the ingredients she uses and this is the main thing that separates Haruka Murooka from other dessert shops ive been to in Japan. The quality of the fruit is just that step or two higher than an average dessert shop.

But the dishes.. well here are my notes:

-Green mandarin, glass too small, last bit was unpleasant

• Milk, salt and olive oil: Moliere dessert 2.0, better milk and olive oil but no pepper which left me wanting more

-Cardamon pear, apple and yoghurt: nice

-Pumpkin soup and Foccacia filled with rice, walnuts and aged ham: best so far, lovely pumpkin and great walnuts

-Chocolate water: why the jelly + the Coffee granita was too crystallized. Just a bad texture experience, wasted potential

-Lemon balm tea: okay

• Grape parfait: sweetness on sweetness, too much. Also a pain to eat with the massive meringue in the middle of a tall unstable glass.

• Fig tiramisu with cold brew: Why extra coffee if theres already coffee on the bottom, why waste the figs on this. Sad.

• Churros: nice

-Darjeeling vanilla tea: meh
-Mont blanc with chestnut and cinnamon and grape sando: okay

Overall the experience felt a bit like a film shot by a great cameraman with top of the line equipment without actors or a director. The dishes were lacking in creativity and many were just not that well thought through. The total composition of the meal wasnt there and the drink pairing was just boring and honestly kindof bad. You saw she had the right techniques and presentation but the composition of the dishes and the whole meal was seriously lacking.

On top of that there were many small things that were frustrating like glasses that are hard to drink from like the one for the coffee, last tea and the soda, the big meringue in the parfait that was impossible to get through with a tiny tall glass and a small spoon and by the time the small dishes were served she already had the card machine on her table in front of her and I had to pay before I finished my tea or small bites.

Overall id give it a 4/10. If the ingredients wouldnt have been that good itd have been a 2.

It saddens me to say this but dont go. A normal dessert shop will leave you more satisfied than this restaurant.

Leave any questions in the comments