The elegant and refined Restaurant Okuda, brainchild of Chef Toru Okuda, offers a taste of superlative Japanese cuisine in Paris’ ritzy 8th Arrondissement. Chef Okuda, the recipient of a generous handful of Michelin stars in Tokyo, offers a daily changing menu at his Parisian outpost, which incorporates the freshest, seasonal ingredients and showcases his exemplary technique and culinary imagination. Here, you might find a dashi broth peppered with shrimp and yuzu, followed by perfectly sliced slivers of salmon sashimi one day, only to find a savoury mushroom flan and mackerel with toasted sichuan pepper the next. It’s a culinary journey dining here, and one that provides constant surprises.

On a typical day at Restaurant Okuda, diners will be greeted and waited on by kimono-bedecked servers and will most likely dine in light, effervescent quiet, with the only sounds the appreciative murmurs as each new dish is brought out and placed reverently down. The space itself (think: blond wood and bamboo), meanwhile, is reminiscent of a Japanese tea house, simple and unadorned. And, much like the food, the decor is authentic; in this case, being crafted by Japanese plasterers and carpenters who flew over to bring Okuda’s vision to life.

To round off the Restaurant Okuda experience, be sure to acquaint yourself with the selection of sake and Japanese whiskey. But for those without a taste for it, don’t fret, Restaurant Okuda also offers a well-stocked wine and beer list.