日本料理 龍吟

Just a terrible scam.

My mother had made a booking very much in advance to dine in this restaurant. They insisted on full payment at the point of booking which is already way more onerous than all the other 3 star establishments that I have dined in. That in addition to the price which is at least 30% more than those restaurants. Despite that my mother went ahead to make the booking in good faith and paid fully.

On the day of the meal, she had freshened up before and as is her routine, she sprayed a few puffs of her usual travel fragrance. Upon arrival at the restaurant the staff proceeded to sniff her and promptly refused her entry due to "being able to smell her fragrance".

In order to be accommodating (since when is it the role of the customer to be accommodating?), she sent my brother back to the hotel room and to get a new dress, washed behind her ears and her neck with soap, and basically did all physically possible to remove any fragrance on her.

However, despite going through all the trouble and wasting close to an hour of their time, the counter staff again came up to sniff her and said they could still detect some residual smell (maybe the soap?) and so once again denied her entry. By this time, given how late it was already it was not possible to dine on the same day.

On top of not being able to have her dinner that she had paid for and made full arrangements for, and on top of the rude disgusting manner she was treated, she was also told that her payment would be forfeited in full. She was told categorically that there will be no replacement dinner date also, and that if she wanted to still try dinner there she would have to rebook and pay in full again.

I am appalled at the treatment my mother received at this so called 3 star establishment. Furthermore they still had the audacity to keep the full payment despite not rendering any service whatsoever. This is as good as a scam, when customers can be turned away after having paid in full. What is to stop the restaurant from say refusing all customers on one night for random reasons and still keeping a full night of earnings?

I can understand if restaurants want to have strict rules as it is their prerogative as business owners. However, if they should want to deny service to a customer, they should forfeit any right to keep any earnings and the customer should at the minimum be refunded fully. After all, the decision to break the implicit contract of service was taken by them.

I appeal to everyone with any sense to boycott this restaurant until they learn to act honorably. I also appeal to the Michelin committee to review the ratings for the restaurant as it is clear customer service and experience is not at all a priority for RyuGin. By allowing them to continue as they are doing, we only empower them to perpetuate a scam.

Extremely high expectations were in all honesty not really met. Amazing attention to detail, but I found the dishes to be quite dull. A bit too kaisuke for my liking, I guest. Would much rather revisit some of the many other amazing restaurants Tokyo has to offer.

ミシュラン三ツ星を取り続けながらも、格式張らずエンターテインメント感ある楽しい日本料理店。
外国人のお客さんばかりでした。
よく言われているように和食という枠に収まらないのはうなずけます。
デザートのケーキがいちばん驚きでした。
2019年1月訪問。

My son was so upset after I relayed the most horrendous experience I ever encountered in Japan that he posted the review in advance of me - thought I wanted to wait till I got back from my trip. Ryugin ought to close in order not to mar Japan’s excellent service culture as I do not wish anyone else to be inflicted such a treatment esp after having paid over $1000 to secure reservations for 2. Since it was prepaid, nothing much else I can do when Restaurant Mgr (Hidei) insisted that I still smell of perfume. It is my habit to apply perfume every time I step out so I forgot about the restaurant policy of not using perfume. Anyway, when they found out I had perfume on, they asked that I return to the hotel to shower - I only sprayed a bit of perfume behind my ears & on my dress so I offered to wipe away from both these areas. After doing so, they still insist I smelt of perfume so I thought maybe I couldn’t get it off my dress. Since hotel is about 20 mins walk for me, I decided that my son will help me get a change of clothes. While my son was getting a change of dress for me, I decided to do another round of wash behind my ears, this time with soap to Ensure there is no more perfume on me - that is the only part of perfume on my body - that’s why I refused to trot all the way back to hotel to shower (my elder son who gave the review thought I went back to hotel but I didn’t as I asked my other younger son to help get another dress for me) To & fro, my younger son took about 40mins. I changed into the dress which my younger son had painstakingly brought for me. To my horror, the Mgr advised that I still had perfume smell on me & that I cannot be served. I checked that since I paid for the meal already, then maybe I can come back another day since it was too late already. He insisted that it cannot be done. Bottom line, I paid for a very expensive meal I never got to eat cos Mgr insisted that I still smell of perfume after wiping off twice the only part of my body which I sprayed perfume on & change out into a new dress! Michelin should strip off any stars this restaurant received! Such arrogance & inflexibility despite the efforts I made to remove the perfume smell! & to add insult to injury, to forfeit the monies I paid too when I actually turned up & was denied entrance even though I can no longer smell any perfume on me but they still insist I do! Been round the world including Japan trying Michelin starred restaurants & service has always been excellent! Such restaurant like Ryugin does not deserve to be around as it is antithesis to Japan’s culture of service excellence & stepping out to seek solutions for its guests. Let this cancerous attitude of take it or leave it die its natural death with Ryugin & do not let it perpetuate or contaminate beautiful Japan whose people are the nicest & most courteous ever. Michelin should investigate such appalling incidents & ensure no restaurants listed on their listing should ever be allowed to gain at customers’ expense! Saw 3 reviews on POOR ATTITUDE of Staff! & also a lot of negative reviews of late so how come the stars are not coming off! Customers unite! Boycott Ryugin as they want us to play by their rigid rules but do not care to listen to customers! So many fantastic eateries in Japan without having to suffer the insolence & arrogance of Ryugin staff whose Mission is to destroy customers experience. Such a torturous experience at the hands of a most inept Mgr Hidei.

I think next time mum should learn READ the dining policy before attending.
It was clearly stated that no perfume was allowed when dinning in

We had a great time many years back (5?) in our dating years and have been unable to obtain a reservation since then.

The difficulty in obtaining a reservation was undoubtedly not helped by the “concierge services” out there. Will be happy to return and repost a review.

I was a expecting a bit more in terms of presentation and taste from a 3 star restaurant that used to be in top 50 restaurant list. It wasn't bad. It just didn't wow me. They have a cool waiting area with an owl if you get there early or have to wait for a taxi.

RyuGin is an embarrassment to Japan and the world class service it prides itself on. I am not a Resturant critique or a Michelin star officiate. I am simply a Canadian patron who experienced 20 days of Japanese food and service including Narisawa (in Tokyo). I was frankly angry and disrespected by the way I was treated at RyuGin. My wife took me here for my 30th birthday after Pre paying and booking well in advance. She cried on the street as we vacated the restaurant after paying well over $1300 Canadian for our meals. The Sake tasting was an absolute joke. We had to request an explanation of each Sake and they barely poured. 5 ounce of each. The sommelier gave us attitude when we complained about our perpetual empty glasses which we have not experienced even at the Yakitori joints on “Piss Alley”. The food quality was good but not exceptional. We came from Moku-no-sho in Niseko where the food was comparable but without Michelin designation or price tag. I feel betrayed by the 3 Michelin stars appointed to this Resturant. I have a feeling of being duped or ripped offed. My next letter will be to Michelin to reappoint this establishment to the level it deserves. Save your money and support true Japanese service and quality like that of Narisawa or any of the fine dining establishments around Tokyo. RyuGin categorically was a complete let down. Best Regards, Brock

日本料理の世界観が広がりました。
お腹があまりすいていなくて少し不安だったところ、コースを難なくぜんぶ美味しく食べれてしまった。
おもてなしもとても良く、いい余韻が続きました。
料理長も席に出てくれて、献立を考える時の話など、興味深かったです。

先輩に連れていっていただきました。器が素晴らしくとても綺麗です。ただ、お酒が単品だとかなり高いのが驚きです。全体的に外国の方が多く、観光客仕様でコストパフォーマンスはいまひとつ。でも、ワインペアリングは18000円で、なかなか楽しめました。お酒は単品よりこちらのほうがいい気がします。

Ryugin overall was a stellar experience. It is a bit classical Kaiseki with modern vibes of gourmet meal at a high end Michelin star restaurant. Every dish either met or exceeded expectations and was a surprise to be had.

日本料理界最高峰だけあって文句なし。
食事は細部まで気を使っていて丁寧な作り。
それだけでなく、場の雰囲気、間のとり方、全てが完全に調和されている。
一生に一度は必ず行きたいお店。

For sure very solid food as it's one of the top kaiseki shops. But somehow it's not my favourite kind of taste so I would give it 4 stars.

日本らしさに満ち溢れた
心驚かされるお料理の数々
お皿 調度品 設え サービス
フィロソフィが全てに行き届いている
繊細な日本の美しさ
シーズン毎にお伺いしたい

Fresh and clean, 2 most important features in a try Japanese restaurant! Great experience! BYOB makes it very affordable.

With three Micheline stars it is hard to beat you expectations, but RyuGin really is good enough to justify a trip to Japan. What an experience!

Amazing dinner! Food was cooked beautifully, without too much sauces or other ingredients overpowering the original taste of the food.wonderful experience at ryugin!

The environment is bad, too noisy. The service is bad! The waiter is very rude and hardly smile. They were all in a rush making me feel I am eating in a street ramen store! The food is normal, nothing surprising except the deserts. I've tried many 3 star restaurants all over the world and this is the worst I can ever have. Actually I am very surprised that how can this kind of restaurant be rated Michelin 3 stars?