Candlelight flickers behind pale sheets of hand-dyed linen, framing a sunken wood table that sits 12. You’re invited to take a seat, leave your day behind and allow chef Makoto Ishii and Head of Service, Shuai Wang, to guide you through an elegant culinary and sensory experience inspired by the spirit of a Japanese tea ceremony. Opened in March 2018, Arai is the second restaurant from Shiori Arai and Flora Choi of Shiori. Like its forbearer, Arai offers an omakase (Japanese for “entrust”) set menu. At Arai, however, the cuisine is Chūka Ryōri: Chinese fare, reinterpreted through a Japanese lens, and distinguished in its flavours, plating, and menu composition. Of the 10-course crescendo, it’s the seafood that shines: Jellyfish in yuzu sauce. Surf clam marinated in sake. Potato with caviar. Fresh rose fish with vinegar. Chilled shrimp. Fried oyster. A communal hotpot of mapo tofu was presented at the table before the finale of dessert: a silken blood orange and mango pudding. To accompany the courses, a sake pairing is offered, which comes highly recommended — Arai works with Born, a traditional sake producer founded in 1860, and based in Shiori’s hometown of Fukui. Should you take it up, you’ll be presented with a wooden tray of individual sake cups to choose your favourite for the evening. They’re sourced from traditional Japanese and Korean ceramists, as are the dishes; while the chopsticks are made in Kyoto from bamboo cane. Every detail is chosen with great care and impeccable taste. Make a reservation the next time an occasion to impress presents itself — here, your evening is in the best of hands; the only thing you have to worry about is emerging again when the time comes. (Text: Anna Dorothea Ker / Photos: Sasha Kharchenko)
Arai, Straßburger Str.60, 10405 Berlin-Prenzlauer Berg; map
Tue-Sun, meal begins at 19.30. Reservations here.
Please note the omakase menu does not cater for vegetarians.
