Before catching my flight home, I popped by Fujiya 1935 for lunch.
You’ll need to reserve your seat in advance. I’ve done my booking two weeks before I left for Japan and thankfully I managed to secure a table.
This restaurant had its beginnings in the early Showa period (1935) and its reins handed down the family, now in its fourth generation – chef Tetsuya Fujiwara. It’s quite amazing how a restaurant with a humble beginnings as a udon place could turn into what it is now.
Situated right in central Osaka, this three-michelin star establishment features contemporary European-styled cuisine. Fujiwara trained at the Osteria Francescana in Italy, and a Spanish restaurant in Barcelona.
Despite the restaurant’s three storied appearance, the restaurant has only enough seats for 18. The first floor is used for its reception area and its kitchen. Guests will walk past the kitchen as they walk up to the stairs leading to the dining area. The third floor are used for restrooms.
The atmosphere and tableware is a highlight – simplicity is the theme with its cream coloured walls, wooden tables and plates, yet at the same time subtly revealing the inspiration from nature.
My lunch experience left me with a question mark over its three-star rating. Some dishes from the lunch menu can be found from their dinner menu – no doubt they were very well cooked, but somehow it lacks the x-factor I would expect from food prepared in a three-star restaurant. The duck was good, but the one at Hajime – a similarly ranked restaurant – was superior. Sponge bread, which is one of their signature dishes, does offer a slight justification for their rating. Soft and puffy in texture, plus the sweetness of the corn it makes an amazing dish.
In any case, Fujiya 1935 surpasses the standards of many European restaurants in Hong Kong, both in terms of innovation and the environment.
Fujiya 1935
Address: 2-4-14, Yariyamachi Chuo-ku, Osaka
Tel: +81 6-6941-2483
Website: fujiya1935.com
Visited on: 17 June, 2014
Price: 7,200 – 15,000 yen
Hours: 12:00 – 1:00pm 6:00-8:00pm
K's Luxe Dining Table 