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Want to sample the world’s most expensive Michelin-starred tasting menu? First, take off your shoes —and sit down on the floor.
Guests hoping to dine at the one-star Ginza Kitafuku in Tokyo will have to adhere to house rules before paying $2,130 per head for the restaurant’s costliest meal — composed entirely of a kind of snow crab favored by Japan’s royal family and so revered it has its own museum.
And even if you fancy yourself a shellfish-ionado, you’d better not be the squeamish type.
At the elite seafoodery in the city’s tony shopping hub, patrons are treated to the sight of an expert-level chef butchering a best-in-class live animal right in front of them, just seconds before they eat.
While you’ll have to avert your eyes to avoid the sight of a flailing, disembodied crab, there is some good news — those that can’t handle the traditional seating style can request the six-top in a separate room, presumably for less-flexible foreigners to feel more comfortable while enjoying the spectacle.
One YouTuber called the dinner “by far one of the most incredible food experiences I have ever had,” despite struggling with the price point.
Budget diners can snap up a $258 red king crab meal.
That cheaper dinner still comes with a show.
The out-of-the-ordinary restaurant takes the top spot on a new list compiled by food publication Chef’s Pencil, which pored over Michelin tasting menus around the world to pick the ten priciest, period, in 2024.
The second most expensive is also in Asia — the three-starred Ultraviolet by Paul Pairet in Shanghai has a meal going for a whopping $1,230.
The outlet called the restaurant a “a captivating fusion of gastronomy and cutting-edge visual technology” that provides a “theatrical, multi-sensory dining experience featuring meticulously crafted dishes that blend French techniques with global influences.”
New York rings in at number three with the most expensive Michelin-tapped tasting menu in the United States, found at Caviar Russe on Madison Ave.
Here, diners hoping for the “Tour of Caviar Russe” will pay $950 for 11, caviar-focused courses, which Forbes called an “over-the-top odyssey.”
The Big Apple claimed the next slot on the list as well — Columbus Circle’s famously costly Masa was, according to Chef’s Pencil, the first in the United States to break $1,000 for a Michelin meal, including service charge and tip.
For $950, Chef Masa Takayama will oversee the counter meal of your dreams, featuring truffles, Ossetra caviar and much more.
At number five sits Tokyo’s tiny Azabu Kadowaki, a tiny counter joint with three Michelin stars.
Despite the city’s significant representation in the top 10, a visit can be more affordable than many Americans will assume, and now more than ever, thanks to favorable exchange rates.
San Francisco’s Quince was the only US restaurant besides the two in New York to make the list of fifteen, which also included the likes of Guy Savoy in Paris and Alchemist in Copenhagen.
