Florilège

The story

Crafted with passion, served with love

To Balance A with B

Florilège is chef Hiroyasu Kawate's statement on what a French restaurant in Tokyo can be. Born in 1978 into a family of chefs, Kawate grew up with cooking so central to his world that, as he puts it, becoming a chef was the only path he ever considered. He trained at Le Bourguignon in Nishi-Azabu, spent a formative year at Le Jardin des Sens in Montpellier, then returned to Tokyo to work as sous chef at Quintessence under chef Shuzo Kishida. In 2009, he opened Florilège in Minami-Aoyama. The restaurant moved twice — to Jingumae in 2015, then in autumn 2023 to its current home on the second floor of Garden Plaza D at Azabudai Hills, the tallest building in Tokyo.

A 13-Metre Table, Open to Everyone

The new space is built around a single idea Kawate had been nurturing for years: the table d'hôte. Guests pass through a reception and approach a 13-metre communal table where, throughout the meal, they sit alongside other diners and talk directly with the chef and his team. The open kitchen runs the length of the room; there is no barrier between the people cooking and the people eating. It feels, the restaurant says, like being invited into a residence at the heart of the city.

Vegetables at the Centre

The further Kawate has pushed to express what matters to him through his cooking, the more he has arrived at vegetables. Sustainability is not a footnote at Florilège — it shapes the menu. The contemporary French tasting menus deliberately reduce the weight of meat, seafood and dairy, placing familiar vegetables in unexpected roles. Guests choose either a meat or a vegetable main course, though the full menu is not vegetarian or vegan; it is something more considered than either label suggests.

The lunch tasting menu is priced at ¥12,000, the dinner tasting menu at ¥23,000, both excluding a 10% service charge. Alcoholic and non-alcoholic pairings are available at each service.

Recognition Built Over Time

Florilège has held two Michelin stars since 2018. It entered The World's 50 Best Restaurants list in 2021 and has climbed steadily — reaching 21st place in 2024 and ranking 36th in 2025, a position that reflects consistent, evolving work rather than a single moment of attention. In 2023, Kawate's peers voted him the recipient of the Inedit Damm Chefs' Choice Award as part of Asia's 50 Best Restaurants, a recognition that comes from within the profession.

Beyond Florilège, Kawate collaborates with chef Zaiyu Hasegawa of Den on Den Kushi Flori, an innovative joint venture that has expanded to Bangkok. The contemporary French spirit that defines Florilège, however, remains rooted in Tokyo — and in the conviction that a great restaurant should be as enjoyable for the people making the food as for the people eating it.