Yamazato Restaurant: Amsterdam

Yamazato is a traditional Japanese restaurant tucked on the ground floor of Amsterdam’s Hotel Okura. Zagat readers gave their nod to the restaurant as being one of the best Japanese restaurants in the whole of Europe– and being the Asian food snob that I am, I figured I had to find out for myself. It was Yamazato that introduced Kaiseki style cooking to Europe 30 years ago– and not far into our appetizers it was clear they knew exactly what they were doing. We enjoyed extremely fresh salmon sashimi, beautiful tofu dishes, exquisite sushi and some of the best rice I’ve had in months– it reminded me of the quality of food I experienced in my travel across Japan. The atmosphere was simple, the staff attentive and very knowledgeable. It’s no wonder Yamazato received a Michelin Star— and the property still remains the one and only traditional Japanese restaurant to receive this accolade across Europe. This place is not to be missed, delicious!