This was the meal I looked forward to the most in all of 2023. Cuisine régionale L’évo is located 3 hours from Tokyo, deep in the mountains of Toyama prefecture. A Tabelog gold restaurant, L’evo has won a number of accolades locally and internationally. With only 3 bookings a night, reservation was difficult. The restaurant is also an Auberge (Inn), so to eat here for dinner, you have to stay the night.
We were picked up from Etchu-Yatsuo JR Station and began an hour trip up the mountain. The restaurant/hotel has 3 cabins and a swedish sauna. The restaurant is located in the main building. Other than that, there wasn’t much to do. For dinner, they serve only one seating and only had one tasting menu. The cuisine by Chef Eiji Taniguchi highlights local game meats, such as wild boar, bear, and venison. For dinner, we went with the beverage pairing, which was a mixed of sake, wines, and beer. Here’s the menu for dinner:
Prologue
Thread sail Filefish
White bait (Shirasu)
Octopus
Black Bear
Oval Squid
Somen noodles
L’evo Chicken
Tile fish
Wild boar
Pear
Japanese persimmon
Bonus pictures from breakfast and the restaurant.
Overall, it was an enjoyable meal. Everything was delicious, with highlights being the first bites, the dish, boar, and dessert courses. The only thing I could pass on was the Somen noodles. It was well cooked, but I struggled with the blue cheese sauce. Just not for me.
Was it the best meal ever? No. However, I greatly appreciated the sense of place this restaurant offers. No where else would you be able to have a meal like this. Also, trying bear was also a first. As with anywhere in Japan, service was excellent. Chef Taniguchi came out at the end and was the nicest guy.
Knowing the difficulty booking and getting to the restaurant, I may not return for a while. However, this is the restaurant that should be on everyone’s bucket list.
Driesmetnootjes
Awesome post, ty OP. I’ve had this one on my radar for a while, but was unsure due to how remote it was. Appreciate the notes!!
BowTiePenguin007
Did they lose their stars? They don’t show up on the Michelin Guide anymore.
3 Comments
This was the meal I looked forward to the most in all of 2023. Cuisine régionale L’évo is located 3 hours from Tokyo, deep in the mountains of Toyama prefecture. A Tabelog gold restaurant, L’evo has won a number of accolades locally and internationally. With only 3 bookings a night, reservation was difficult. The restaurant is also an Auberge (Inn), so to eat here for dinner, you have to stay the night.
We were picked up from Etchu-Yatsuo JR Station and began an hour trip up the mountain. The restaurant/hotel has 3 cabins and a swedish sauna. The restaurant is located in the main building. Other than that, there wasn’t much to do. For dinner, they serve only one seating and only had one tasting menu. The cuisine by Chef Eiji Taniguchi highlights local game meats, such as wild boar, bear, and venison. For dinner, we went with the beverage pairing, which was a mixed of sake, wines, and beer. Here’s the menu for dinner:
Prologue
Thread sail Filefish
White bait (Shirasu)
Octopus
Black Bear
Oval Squid
Somen noodles
L’evo Chicken
Tile fish
Wild boar
Pear
Japanese persimmon
Bonus pictures from breakfast and the restaurant.
Overall, it was an enjoyable meal. Everything was delicious, with highlights being the first bites, the dish, boar, and dessert courses. The only thing I could pass on was the Somen noodles. It was well cooked, but I struggled with the blue cheese sauce. Just not for me.
Was it the best meal ever? No. However, I greatly appreciated the sense of place this restaurant offers. No where else would you be able to have a meal like this. Also, trying bear was also a first. As with anywhere in Japan, service was excellent. Chef Taniguchi came out at the end and was the nicest guy.
Knowing the difficulty booking and getting to the restaurant, I may not return for a while. However, this is the restaurant that should be on everyone’s bucket list.
Awesome post, ty OP. I’ve had this one on my radar for a while, but was unsure due to how remote it was. Appreciate the notes!!
Did they lose their stars? They don’t show up on the Michelin Guide anymore.