“Seamless Dining Integration”
Hilton Tokyo is located in Tokyo’s vibrant Shinjuku city center, just minutes from the heart of the business and entertainerment areas. The unique S-curved hotel has 811 spacious guest rooms comfortably decorated in warm tones with Japanese lacquer and wood details.
In Octorber 2014, after a grand revamp of the 2nd floor, Hilton Tokyo presents TSUNOHAZU – a new dining high seamlessly integrated into a single space featuring a Japanese restaurant, Western grill, Chinese restaurant as well as a bar/lounge and pastry shop.
TSUNOHAZU derives its name from the rea in Nishi-Shinjuku where the hotel itself stands. All restaurants and bar options share an open space with no walls between them, encouraging dynamic movement across the dining floor with elegance and a relaxing atmosphere for guests.
The new dining floor has elements of the neighboring heritage weaving in features of old and new, as well as vibrant and tranquil into the ambience and decor of TSUNOHAZU.
Let’s check out the 4 unique concepts that blend together in one dimension:
Junisoh
Junisoh encompasses the approach of the designer and the chefs — that is, to infuse new life into traditional dining inspired by the Edo period.
Junisoh’s 577-square-meter space encompasses several distinct yet interconnected venues: an open seating area where guests can enjoy exquisite multi-course Kaiseki meals; a classic Sushi counter; a trio of sleek Teppanyaki grills; and tastefully appointed private and semi-private rooms.
Embodying an unmistakably Japanese design sensibility, each section is separated from the others by non-physical barriers — angled entries, lattice screens, ceremonial columns — that help guide guests through the multifaceted space. Antique joinery and traditional building materials lend a classic feel to an otherwise modern tableau.
Junisoh‘s chefs season their sushi rice with red vinegar, a traditional sushi making method which is rarely used today, to give Edo-style sushi its distinctive flavor.
The chefs at Junisoh are dedicated to crafting cuisine that pays homage to the delicacy of the Japanese seasons. The respect for terroir (characteristics of the land) leads them to seek out the choicest domestic ingredients — including seasonings such as salt and soy sauce — as well as hand-chosen sake, shochu and domestic wines.
Visitors who take a seat at any of the three Teppanyaki counters are greeted by a display of prime domestic ingredients sitting atop the mirror-bright teppan grills: wagyu beef, abalone, lobster and a bounty of fresh vegetables. Separated by antique screens and walls coated with black plaster or green-tinted Oribe glaze, the Teppanyaki area also includes a chef’s table and a semi-private room where as many as 12 guests can enjoy a personalized meal.
Dynasty
Dynasty is the only eatery to keep its name from the hotel’s former lineup of restaurants. This continuity signals a rededication to the idea that all dishes are intended for royalty — at Dynasty, the customer is, indeed, treated like an emperor. Gathering together the choicest cuisine from throughout China, Dynasty features a custom-built oven used solely for preparing Peking duck, and a dim sum chef who originally hails from Guangzhou.
At 668 square meters and with a capacity of 224 seats, Dynasty is the largest venue in TSUNOHAZU. Visitors enter from bar/lounge Zatta through an arched corridor that opens into a space shimmering with latticed glass and sprawling views — the airy, invigorating ambience calls to mind the terrace of an elegant colonial setting.
The design is also notable for its range of building materials, ranging from the floors (light-toned wood, carpeting, stone tiles) to the walls and ceilings (brick, iron, tin). At the center of it all, chefs rattle their hot woks inside a glass-walled kitchen.
Guests at DYNASTY can savor the cuisine as part of a course meal or a la carte. The dedicated Peking duck oven roasts eight birds at a time, and the peal of a gong resounding across the room announces when each is ready for serving.
DYNASTY has employed the talents of a dim sum master from China to refine the popular, traditional recipes of the restaurant
The signature dim sum offerings have been created by the head chef who hails from southern China whose experience includes stints at leading international hotels. His delicacies are available on the daily menu and during weekend brunch.
Metropolitan Grill
Metropolitan Grill encourages guests to enjoy the primeval pleasures of meat and seafood cooked over a hardwood flame.
The cooking method here in this restaurant uses the simplest form of culinary yet this simplicity enables to remind guests of excitement through the primary act of dining.
Chefs grill the ingredients over charcoal fire and smoking cherry blossom hardwood and the dishes will be delivered to tables. Unlike gas or electric heat, the temperature of hardwood fire is unstable and requires more attention and skill in cooking, which results in exceptional aromatic flavor of the dish. This firewood flavor adds char and is a seasoning by itself.
Grill dishes challenge the importance of the quality of ingredients as well as chef’s attention to details. In order to pull out the true natural flavor of selected ingredients, the finest spices from all over the world are used.
Metropolitan also has spice expert staff known as the ‘Spice Concierge’, who will suggest the best choice to pair with dishes while pushing the trolley around the restaurant with various spices including Himalayan rose salt and Mongolian rock salt freshly grinded tableside to enhance crystallized bounty. Such aromatic scents will accelerate guests’ appetite even more.
Zatta Bar Lounge
As guests step off the elevator immediately they enter the bar/lounge Zatta, luring them into a moodily enticing space. The sleek, dramatic bar — inspired by the chic mini-city of Shinjuku — offers top-notch cocktails and quality live music, making it an ideal venue for both daytime visits and nighttime escapes.
Zatta’s dazzling bar counter, layered with strips of wood, metal and lights, casts the scene in an inviting glow. A row of suspended overhead lamps spotlights the dynamic work of the bartenders, whose sure-handed moves serve as entertainment in their own right. The counter is backed by dusky red-and-black walls that symbolize Zatta’s multifaceted personality and abundant pleasures.
The lounge area, located up two short flights of stairs, exudes a relaxing, tantalizing ambience, with exposed brick walls and hardwood floors that call to mind a classic New York supper club.
The classic cocktails at Zatta have been given inventive makeovers.
An extensive lineup of cocktails adds yet more personality to the scene. Top bartenders with experience at some of Tokyo’s best nightlife venues have created a menu of unpredictable concoctions. The drinks list — presented to guests on iPads — includes original Signature Cocktails, Standard “Twisted” Cocktails and even Sharing Cocktails for groups. The mixed drinks are complemented by a full menu of liquor, wine and beer, plus a wide selection of Virgin Cocktails.
The drinks list is unlike anything at other hotel bars. One of the Signature Cocktails, TSUNOHAZU Julep, combines Yamazaki whiskey, shiso liqueur, shiso juice, bitters and a pinch of chili pepper. Served in a bamboo-wrapped glass and garnished with a shiso leaf, it even comes with a chopstick that substitutes as a muddler — a playful touch. The Sunday BBQ, meanwhile, offers a twisted take on the classic Bloody Mary.
Hilton Tokyo Room
Comfortably decorated in warm tones with Japanese lacquer and wood details, each room has a writing desk, sofa and easy chair and feature Hilton Tokyo’s famous traditional shoji screen window covers. A simple, functional room every guest will find enjoyable.
Executive rooms are located on the top seven floors in a ‘hotel-within-a-hotel’ dedicated to providing exclusive service. The latter includes personalized private check-in and check-out, a full range of business and leisure services and complimentary breakfast, afternoon tea and evening cocktails are all provided within an elegant setting with unbeatable views.
A big thanks to Hilton Tokyo for having me at their wonderful hotel!0
