A note on the words: canapés are small bite-sized appetizers, amaebi is sweet shrimp, hirame is Japanese olive flounder, kuroge wagyu refers to Japanese Black beef, and an île flottante (floating island) is a French dessert of poached meringue drifting over a coulis or custard sauce.
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Philippe Mille Tokyo on Tabelog (English) — opening hours, payment details and the Japanese address are kept up to date there, not here.
Hello, this is Hangover Meshi. This time, believe it or not, I went to Philippe Mille Tokyo! I had always wanted to visit someday, and that time finally arrived! I had never been to the 4th-floor restaurant level of Tokyo Midtown in Roppongi, but as it turns out, Philippe Mille is the only restaurant there, and the venue itself is huge, ha.
Yes, here is Philippe Mille!
I arrived a little early, but when I spoke to the staff, they let me wait in the waiting lounge. Wonderful.
[Lunch] Philippe Mille — Philippe Mille Signature Course — 14,520 yen
[Lunch] Menu Koyo — Flavors of Autumn — October Limited — 10,890 yen
[Lunch] Découverte — Seasonal Lunch Course — 6,050 yen
Since it was my first time! I went with the signature course! 14,520 yen, ha, quite high-end!
Once everyone was assembled, we headed inside. Moving from the lounge toward the wall—an automatic door!
With large windows and a bright dining room, we took our places at beautifully set seats.
This definitely lifts your spirits!
Unfortunately, since this was lunch once again, no alcohol!
So the drink I chose was Perrier. At 750 ml it was quite a generous amount, but it turned out to be just about right.
Right away, things began with, “This isn’t on the menu, but…”!
For the canapés, on the left was cucumber and apple, and on the right was potato, perhaps. Taking a bite of the one on the left, behind the flavor of the apple came the refreshing aroma of cucumber. The potato had ikura (salmon roe) on top, and the sweetness paired wonderfully with a slight saltiness. Delicious. I was genuinely impressed by something not even listed on the menu.
French cuisine really has long dish names! The dedication to explaining everything thoroughly is great.
A soup of butternut squash from a farm in Ishikawa, with pumpkin seeds and bacon. Truly an elegant flavor. Delicious. The black pieces were croutons; not only does it look gorgeous, but being this delicious, there is nothing more to say.
This is Chef Philippe Mille’s specialty!
The amaebi (sweet shrimp) tartare—you can really feel the homage to Reims Cathedral! I was told the sauce represents the stained glass. On top of the roundly shaped amaebi was caviar…! And perched on top of that, a delicate biscuit-like piece with an intricate pattern. “It’s almost a shame to break this apart!” I thought, but taking a bite—insanely good. Well, perhaps that was an indelicate way to put it. Truly delicious. The umami of the amaebi and the saltiness of the caviar paired wonderfully. They explained many things about this sauce, such as how it was made using the shells; it was delicious mixed together, delicious dipped directly—what can I say? I have never eaten anything like this, so I can’t really explain it, but it was just flat-out delicious!
From the dish name alone, all you can tell is that it is some kind of flatfish.
Following the previous dish, this was another truly artistic plate to look at. It was exceedingly delicious, yet I cannot describe what it tasted like at all. A brand new sensation. Around it was caviar, which was also delicious, but alongside the caviar was a black oil like mayu (black garlic oil)—though it definitely wasn’t that, ha—and the sauce was incredibly good too. Beneath the hirame (olive flounder) was something like pasta stuffed with mushrooms, which was also delicious; incredible. Looking at it, someone with trypophobia might find it a bit unsettling, ha, but it was intensely delicious.
And here was the main, I think: roast kuroge wagyu (Japanese Black beef).
The meat was wonderfully tender and delicious. On top of that, the vegetables—boiled, fried, and grilled—were delicious too. French cuisine plates food as if painting a picture, but even a single swirl of sauce like this was delicious in its own right. It is artistic, yet I came to understand that there is not a single wasted element! The sauce was truffle, which paired excellently with the meat, and ah, wine, bring on the wine…!!!
And now, cheese as a follow-up! Is having cheese served after the main a regular thing in French cuisine? I was a little puzzled by this sequence for the first time, ha. Still, if only there were wine, I suppose this would be where you linger and drink for a while!!! Eating the Gorgonzola dipped in honey was probably the best part. Thoroughly satisfied.
Apparently, this signature course comes with two desserts, and the first was an île flottante. It seems to be a confection where meringue floats, but I wonder if French cooking simply turns all the constituent elements into the dish name. The light, airy meringue was easy to eat, and the peach was so very delicious.
At the very end, another impressive dish appeared!
The chocolate was rich and delicious!! It paired wonderfully with the surrounding nuts. It also looked very sharp visually. This dessert was insanely good. I would love to have it again.
And then, coffee and a finishing round of sweets!
Even the things laid out underneath that looked like coffee beans could actually be eaten!
Truly impressive. Part of it was that this was my first time having the signature course of high-end French dining, but I was constantly surprised from start to finish! I had the impression that French cooking seemed focused on appearances, but there is not a single wasted element among its components.
everything was outstandingly delicious, so my perspective on French cuisine may have shifted a bit.
I might get hooked on French food. My thanks to Philippe Mille for opening a new door for me!
Philippe Mille Tokyo (French / Nogizaka Station, Roppongi Station, Roppongi Itchome Station)
Tabelog lunch rating ★★★★★ 5.0
I ate here and paid for it myself. Nothing on this site is a comped meal.
One more for the road?
