Endo Will Blow You Away

I recently had the absolute pleasure of dining at Endo, an omakase/Kaiseki style restaurant by the same group that owns Raku. I didn’t have high expectations as I feel Raku has gone downhill since I first started going there, but I was totally blown away by the experience.

We reserved the 8:45PM time and you are invited to Casa Raku at 8:15 where they will serve you some wine or beer at the bar. When the restaurant is ready for your, someone will come and walk you about 3 storefronts over. The dining room was a pleasant surprise. Totally luxurious. Even the seats were big comfy leather that swivel. I recently wrote about Sanga, and how amazing that experience was; Endo is NEXT LEVEL!

What I like about Endo too is the intimate nature of the counter; it only has room for 6 diners. The meal starts off with a showcase of the ingredients. While many places will just show you what they will be using that night, Endo takes it to another level. It starts with an explanation and presentation of the ingredients that will go into the dashi broth they begin the meal with. Everything down to the water is proudly described.

Next, the presented the fresh tofu that would go into yet another dish.

…and the wagyu:

Then the chef, who I believe was also the owner, presented more ingredients and we noticed the lobster STILL MOVING! You don’t get fresher than that:

Then, the first taste comes. The dashi broth:

This is followed by the tofu:

The amount of prep that goes on in front of you, and the technical skill on display is just next level. Here is chef making the noodles for our next dish fresh before us AND it was made with fish (sea bream). This is the first time I have seen noodles made of fish.

Everywhere I looked, something amazing and beautiful was going on. While chef was making noodles, someone was plating some sashimi. Also, every seat had a great view.

The third item served were some amuse including fuku (pufferfish which is poisonous if not prepare properly and by a licensed chef). This shows the passion, and skill of the team on full display. I didn’t even know you get this in the U.S.!

After that, noodles that the chef was making:

Then an assortment of sashimi:

Followed by some of the most beautiful and colorful dinnerware I have ever seen (they told me it was called Kutani Yaki). I don’t recall exactly what this dish was, but it had crab inside and reminded me of a matzo ball.

Afterwards, a mind-blowing uni chawanmushi with caviar on top:

Some fish and mushroom tempura:

Lobster with more beautiful dinnerware. Super colorful spoons.

After that, we had the pleasure of watching chef cut the wagyu with beautiful Japanese knives:

The wagyu was served in generous portions with a side of quail egg to dip the beef into:

…and the meal still wasn’t done. At this point, I was getting really full but there was still a rice course:

In traditional style, the savory portion of the meal ended with miso soup:

When the dessert portion came, we were asked to choose a “ball” which was enveloped in a skin which you pop with a needle to reveal what I think was mochi, then they finished it with a matcha sauce.

Also in traditional fashion, at this point they served green tea with a gorgeous bright green hue:

…and the show and hits kept coming. The chef ended the meal by finishing the main dessert, a Mont Blanc (chestnut) pastry, in front of you.

To top everything off, they gave us a gift upon departure. More of the fish and mushroom rice, and some branded chopsticks, all in cool wooden boxes. I had this for breakfast the next day, with a fried egg on top.

When I first got serious about finding the best spots to eat around the world, I loved long tasting menus. My first was the French Laundry and then all throughout Spain. As the years passed, I got tired of long 3+ hour meals. However, this one was so entertaining, the environment was so warm and luxurious, the seats so comfy, the staff so interactive, the food so amazing and beautiful, and the room so intimate, that time flew by. It was a totally memorable dining experience. Zero flaws. As near perfect a dinner as you can have. I would highly encourage you to book it. Surprise your guests or significant other and thank me later. I’m already planning to bring some guests coming later this month there.