Ryokou, the new Japanese tasting-menu restaurant from chef Leonard Yu of Omakase Table, is one of the best restaurants in Atlanta.
After opening in December, Ryokou has nailed down most of the essentials: The food is nearly impeccable, the beverage program is excellent and the ambiance feels special and luxurious.
The service may still be finding its feet, with a style that can sometimes verge on overbearing. But when a restaurant serves an eight-course, $205 tasting menu, you’d rather the staff err on the side of too much service rather than not enough.
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
Ryokou means “journey” in Japanese, and the menu — each stamped with the date like a passport visa — offers dishes from a variety of the country’s regions. Your server at Ryokou will be your tour guide, explaining each course in depth as chef Paul Gutting prepares the dishes with a precision that’s captivating to watch.
Nearly all of the ingredients on the seafood-centric menu have a story. The nori (roasted seaweed) used for sushi hand rolls is bought from a Japanese man who has such high standards that he hardly can produce it as fast as the 10-seat restaurant can use it. Firefly squid are not just fished from Japanese waters, but a specific area near their breeding ground where they reach a new level of tenderness. And the marbling on the A5 wagyu is rated an 11 on a 12-level scale — so chosen because the chefs feel that the 12/12 marbling is overwhelmingly fatty.
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
The restaurant’s explanations can border on the academic, occasionally drying out an otherwise delightful experience. At other times, though, the education is a pure pleasure.
The lone nigiri course, a serving of three slices of bluefin tuna all taken from the same fish, proved that learning can be delicious, too. The pieces were served on a simple, black lacquer tray that gave the unique color of each slice a jewel-like glow.
Moving right to left, in the style of traditional Japanese writing, you try the medium-fatty, lean and fatty tuna in quick succession. The tuna’s quality was exceptional, sourced not just from Japan, but specifically from deep, cold waters where the fish are thought to eat a sweeter diet and maintain firmer flesh.
In three transcendent bites, the course truly showed how to appreciate the differences in flavor and texture from one piece to another.
Ryokou’s menu shifts slightly with ingredient availability and seasonality, so repeat diners likely will find the experience pleasantly familiar but not repetitive.
The food is supported by a stellar beverage program led by General Manager Kasey Cheng. The sake pairings, which cost $95, or $130 for a more premium option, were particularly lovely.
The clean, subtle flavors of the sake were paired beautifully with the often-delicate dishes. Of course, the servers elucidated each pairing, providing helpful tasting notes, but sometimes adding to the information overload.
On that note, it’s good for diners to know what they’re getting themselves into at Ryokou. Even if the staff tries to give you some space, there are no private moments at the chef’s counter; it’s not a place for an intimate conversation. Nearly every time you take a sip of water, an assistant waiter swoops in to top off your glass. If you drop something, someone immediately dives down to pick it up for you.
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
There are positives to this level of attentiveness. Ryokou is located in a newly redeveloped industrial building, and it can be difficult to find. Staff members will meet you in the parking lot to guide you to the largely unmarked entrance. Servers also pull out the large, comfortable, bar-height chairs and push you in.
Many diners will be interested in the minutiae of the cuisine and find the exposition on each course fascinating. Others might not care to learn that much about the food.
Ryokou has what it would need to sit atop Atlanta’s fine-dining Mount Olympus, and it very well might do so. Still, in its first few months, the restaurant’s staff has an overenthusiasm that can wear on the diner. Each time I left, I wanted to tell them to relax — Ryokou is good enough to speak for itself.
RYOKOU | 3 out of 4 stars (excellent)
Food: Japanese tasting menu
Service: fabulous, if sometimes a touch overbearing
Noise level: low enough to converse easily, but not so quiet that the room lacks energy
Recommended dishes: not applicable, because of tasting-menu format, but any optional courses, such as uni or truffle, are recommended
Vegetarian dishes: not recommended for vegetarians
Alcohol: full bar with exceptional sake pairings
Price range: more than $200 per person, not including drinks
Hours: 5-10 p.m. Wednesdays-Sundays
Accessibility: ground-level entrance, two seats at table height; calling ahead to secure accommodations is recommended
Parking: free lot
Nearest MARTA station: half-mile from West End station
Reservations: required through Resy
Outdoor dining: no
Takeout: no
Address, phone: 565 Northside Drive SW, Atlanta. 470-403-9018
Website: ryokouatl.com
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s dining critics conduct reviews anonymously. Reservations are not made in their name, nor do they provide restaurants with advance notice about their visits. Our critics always make multiple visits, sample the full range of the menu and pay for all of their meals. AJC dining critics wait at least one month after a new restaurant has opened before visiting.
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