Ryugin is expensive but was such a memorable treat. Every dish was a tasty surprise that made me absolutely gleeful!

It's one of the very few Michelin starred restaurants that you would look forward to visit again and again. Chef Seiji Yamamoto, impressed us more in our second visit. the food was great, service was excellent. the hospitality was stunning, Chef Seiji Yamamoto, greeted us once we were done and walked us to the door, typical Japanese spirit and hospitality.

Two of us went to Ryugin for dinner. The restaurant had just been promoted to 3 stars by the Guide Rouge for Tokyo and claimed spot no. 28 on San Pellegrino's list of top 50 restaurants in the world. Naturally, expectations were high.

They were disappointed. The key problem was quite plainly that the food was not tasty (with the exception of the chargrilled kinki fish). Ingredient quality was very good, and technical execution was flawless. But in general, the dishes had very little taste, far less than what one would expect even for Kyoto kaiseki, which is usually considered "bland" even by Japanese. What use is fancy cooking if there is no taste?

Service was polite but extremely slow; expect to take 3 hours for the set menu. Forty-five minutes after we had arrived, we finally got the second course (out of about 10). Best not to be hungry.

Slow progress through the courses would have been be OK if the chairs had been comfortable, which they were not because they have very thin cushions. Ryugin is also not a great place for a leisurely chat, as diners sit so close together as to be able to overhear their neighbors (and there are lots of foreigners in the place, so speaking English offers no protection).

Strange was that the restauranton its web page correctly warns against wearing perfume but put to use a heavily perfumed liquid soap in the bathroom. Peculiar, given that most dishes are fish-based, was further the presence of a fairly extensive selection of red wines (which usually do not pair well with fish). A few other lapses of service occurred, including a staff member who was standing right next to my wife not moving a finger to help her put on her coat (I was coming to the reception area after her and was not close enough yet to help).

Overall, a disappointment. We would not recommend this place to our friends, not even if the price were halved.

We went to RyuGin on the second night of our honeymoon in Japan. After eating here we had a number of other memorable meals which echoed RyuGin in terms of the ingredients used due to the seasonal focus of much of Japanese cuisine. However, nowhere quite reached the levels of perfection attained by RyuGin in terms of preparation, presentation and service.

The highlight of the meal (for me) were our two desserts: the first including a sparkling grape and another grape containing grape powder over which was poured the most delicious warm jam I've ever tasted, the second a souffle made from sake lees and a soft, egg ice-cream. We ended up being served glasses of warm sake lees across Japan as we made our way through the countryside and this flavour became a firm and distinctive favourite.

The Chef waved us off into the night: a nice touch at the end of a wonderful meal.

A night to remember.