Beige Chanel
Beige Alain Ducasse, a collaboration restaurant located in the Chanel building, holds two Michelin stars. The ambiance and the facilities are nice, but don't expect much from the food; it's a casual spot for a leisurely lunch.
The restaurant puts on quite a show, with its own dedicated elevator. A greeter, styled similar to a store SA, registers and directs guests, ensuring one party per lift. There's also a small waiting sofa by the elevator, both the elevator door and the sofa bear Chanel's classic gold interwoven style. The elevator area is also a popular photo spot, with a floor button panel styled like a Barbie doll's dressing room.
With ten double tables by the window offering views of the Ginza skyline and luxury brand logos scattered about, and eight inner four-person tables, the dining experience is opulent. The tableware at Beige is distinctly Chanel, featuring gold shimmer or mother-of-pearl textures. The powder room continues the theme, complete with a large bottle of Chanel perfume available for guests to freshen up with.
The welcome snack is a two-way radish dish, presented in a rather awkward manner that feels rather perfunctory. After this, I decided to order the cheapest set menu, which costs just under 20,000 yen per person.
The opening snack is herb ice cream with tomato paste and breadcrumbs. It looks refreshing and summery, but starting with ice cream seems a bit dismissive, almost like a vanilla-flavored foam would have been more sincere.
Service is slow here; it took 45 minutes from seating to receiving the bread, which was naturally cold by then.
The first dish is a vegetable soup with shrimp dumplings, quite salty.
The second dish, lobster with white asparagus, is fairly generous considering the set menu is under a thousand RMB. It would be better if it weren't so salty.
Next begins the lengthy dessert sequence, which is beautifully executed:
- A palate cleanser dessert of slightly bitter grapefruit sorbet.
- The Camellia chocolate, a signature Chanel dessert, with a chocolate mousse base, chocolate biscuit crunch, and a ball of chocolate cereal ice cream on the side. It's slightly bitter and rich, but certainly photogenic.
- Rum baba, a signature dessert of Ducasse, with cake soaked in rum syrup and filled with whipped cream. It's distinctive in style.
- Rose mousse cake paired with a rose-shaped sorbet, very pretty but extremely sweet.
- Post-meal sweets include a strawberry bouquet, chocolates, and small biscuits.
This restaurant is more akin to afternoon tea, and the dishes are like brunch. In summary, do not come with expectations of a "Michelin 2-star fine dining" experience.
