"Alain Ducasse's one-star Marunouchi room, where Kei Kojima cooks French with Japanese produce — book the lunch prix-fixe to impress a client."
About Esterre by Alain Ducasse
Kei Kojima spent more than ten years cooking beside Alain Ducasse at Le Louis XV in Monaco before taking the pass at Esterre, on the sixth floor of Palace Hotel Tokyo in Marunouchi. The dining room holds one Michelin star in the 2026 Tokyo guide. The cooking is French built on Japanese produce: vegetables from Saitama, octopus from Aomori, a coffee jus that points back to Paris. It belongs among the best French restaurants worldwide without pretending to be Parisian.
The Kitchen
Kojima trained as sous-chef under Ducasse and Franck Cerutti at Le Louis XV, three of those years as second-in-command. Ducasse has called him the Japanese chef who carries out his philosophy more faithfully than any other. At Esterre the signature plate is a roasted sujiara, a Japanese grouper, set against winter gourd, courgette and a black-olive marmalade. Another brings Aomori octopus finished on a grill at the table, with potatoes, capers and sage.
Lunch opens at ¥13,000, dinner from ¥23,000 before a fifteen percent service charge. The address is the sixth floor of Palace Hotel Tokyo, 1-1-1 Marunouchi, looking over the Imperial Palace moat. The room earned its Michelin star in the 2026 Tokyo guide, and the kitchen reads as a Ducasse outpost run by a chef who knows the local market cold. For the wider pedigree, read Ducasse's French rooms beyond Paris.
The Room
The dining room runs along the hotel's sixth floor with garden and moat views toward the Imperial Palace. Tables are set wide, the lighting kept low and even, the sound level an easy hum rather than a roar. Around forty covers, mostly banquettes and free-standing tables, no counter. Dress is smart; jackets are common at dinner though not enforced. Service is French in form and Japanese in pace: measured, quiet, exact.
Best for Impress Clients
Book Esterre to impress a client because the room reads as serious without shouting, the lunch prix-fixe lands a Ducasse name on the table for ¥13,000, and the Marunouchi address is a short walk from the Otemachi tower lobbies. Picture a mid-deal lunch: Aomori octopus grilled tableside, a coffee-scented jus, the moat outside the window, the cheque settled before anyone checks the time. For the booking mechanics, see best for impressing clients.
Not for
Skip Esterre if you want Japanese food. Kojima cooks French, and the Aomori octopus arrives grilled tableside with capers and sage, not as sushi.
Frequently Asked
Is Esterre worth it?
Yes, for the Ducasse pedigree at a Tokyo price. Esterre holds one Michelin star in the 2026 guide, and chef Kei Kojima trained more than a decade under Alain Ducasse at Le Louis XV in Monaco. Lunch from ¥13,000 is the value entry; dinner from ¥23,000 buys the full French-on-Japanese-produce range. Best booked when you want refinement without a Parisian flight.
How hard is it to book Esterre?
Moderately. Esterre takes reservations directly through Palace Hotel Tokyo and via TableCheck, usually on a rolling window about thirty days out. Lunch is easier than dinner, and weekend dinners with the seasonal menus go first. Booking two to three weeks ahead is usually enough except around cherry-blossom season, when the Marunouchi hotels fill early.
What is the dress code at Esterre?
Smart. There is no jacket-required rule, but most dinner guests wear a jacket and the Palace Hotel setting rewards it. Daytime is more relaxed: a collared shirt is fine at lunch. Avoid shorts, athletic wear and open sandals, since the room is formal French in tone even when the cooking leans Japanese.
What should I order at Esterre?
Order the roasted sujiara with winter gourd, courgette and black-olive marmalade, which is Kojima's signature, plus the Aomori octopus finished on a grill at the table. At lunch the ¥13,000 prix-fixe is the smart route; at dinner let the seasonal menu run. The vegetables from Saitama and the coffee jus from Paris show the kitchen's French-Japanese line clearly.
Is Esterre good for a business lunch?
Yes. The ¥13,000 lunch prix-fixe, the quiet wide-set tables and the Marunouchi address near Otemachi make Esterre a strong business lunch room. The pace is measured but not slow, and the Ducasse name carries weight without a three-star price. Reserve a table away from the entrance for a quieter conversation.
Reserve a Table
Reserve at Esterre by Alain Ducasse
Book direct through Palace Hotel Tokyo or TableCheck. Lunch and dinner.
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Practical Information
Address6F, Palace Hotel Tokyo, 1-1-1 Marunouchi, Chiyoda
NeighbourhoodMarunouchi
CuisineContemporary French
PriceLunch from ¥13,000; dinner from ¥23,000 (+15% service)
Dress CodeSmart; jackets common at dinner
Seating~40 seats; banquettes and tables
ReservationDirect or TableCheck, ~30 days
