Reminiscence

Should You Book Reminiscence?

If you have been once, come back. Reminiscence tracks your visit history and deliberately rotates course content to avoid repetition, which makes it one of the few restaurants in Nagoya where a second booking is as purposeful as the first. Chef Masaki Kuzuhara opened this house restaurant in Higashi Ward in July 2023, and within eighteen months it had collected a Tabelog Bronze (2024), two consecutive Silver awards (2025, 2026), a Tabelog French EAST Top 100 selection, and rankings of #151 and #132 in Opinionated About Dining's Japan list. For a restaurant under two years old at the time of those accolades, that trajectory is unusually steep. La Liste scores it at 89.5 points (2025) and 88 points (2026), placing it firmly in the conversation for Nagoya's most serious French table.

The Experience

Reminiscence operates as a house restaurant with 32 seats across table and private room formats, and the room projects calm rather than theatre. The noise level sits low: no open kitchen roar, no soundtrack competing with conversation, no bar crowd bleeding into the dining space. That atmosphere is a genuine asset if you are booking for a long meal, and this is a long meal: expect 2.5 to 3 hours from first course to last. The main dishes rotate through pigeon, duck, lamb, and beef, which signals a kitchen built around classical French protein preparation rather than a tasting menu format that chases novelty with every dish.

The wine program is taken seriously: a sommelier is on the floor, the list is curated with clear intent, and BYO is permitted at 11,000 yen per bottle, which is worth knowing if you are travelling with something specific. The restaurant tracks every guest's visit history, so if you are returning as a regular, flag any companions who have dined here before under a different reservation name. The kitchen uses that information to vary the course, which is a practical reason to be thorough when you book.

Seating and Private Rooms

The private room configuration is one of the more flexible in this price tier. There are two rooms: one for four, one for six, with the option to connect them for up to ten. Parties of two or three can use a private room but will be charged a surcharge; confirm the fee when booking. For groups up to 20, the full venue can be reserved privately. Solo diners and couples considering the main dining room should note the format: this is a set course in a quiet, unhurried space, and the counter-adjacent seating in the main room gives you the ambient sense of the kitchen's rhythm without the noise or performance pressure of a full chef's counter. For diners who find the chef's counter format too self-conscious, Reminiscence's main room achieves similar closeness without the theatre.

Ratings and Recognition

• Tabelog Score: 4.43 (2026); 4.45 (2025)
• Google: 4.5 across 400 reviews
• Tabelog Award: Silver 2025, Silver 2026; Bronze 2024
• Tabelog French EAST Top 100: 2025
• Opinionated About Dining Japan: #132 (2025), #151 (2024)
• La Liste: 89.5pts (2025), 88pts (2026)

Booking and Practical Details

Reservations: Online booking is available and preferred; phone reservations are possible but the restaurant notes it can be difficult to reach during service. Book at least a few days ahead — the Tabelog award profile will make weekends tighter than weekdays, but this is not a multi-month waitlist venue at present. A confirmation call or email will come roughly one week before your visit. Cancellation: 50% of the course fee if you cancel two days out; 100% one day out. Reductions in party size also attract the cancellation fee, so confirm your headcount carefully. Budget: Dinner JPY 30,000–39,999 per person (review averages push toward JPY 40,000–49,999 at dinner); lunch JPY 20,000–29,999, with review averages at JPY 30,000–39,999. Add a 12% service charge. BYO corkage is JPY 11,000 per bottle. Dress: Smart casual at minimum; the venue explicitly asks guests to avoid shorts, sandals, and strong fragrances. Payment: VISA, Mastercard, JCB, AMEX, Diners accepted; no electronic money or QR code payment. Getting there: Subway Sakura-dori Line to Shado Station (Exit 2), 4-minute walk; Higashiyama Line to Chikusa Station (Exit 2), 7-minute walk. No on-site parking; coin parking is available nearby. Accessibility: Two steps at the entrance; a removable ramp is available on request. Families: Elementary school age and above as a general rule. Allergies: Disclose in advance; requests made after arrival may not be accommodated.

How It Fits in the Nagoya and Japan Context

Within Nagoya, Reminiscence is the clearest choice for a serious French course meal — see also French Ryori Kochuten and Tout La Joie if you want to compare approaches before booking. For the wider city picture across cuisines, our full Nagoya restaurants guide covers the field. If you are building a multi-city itinerary around serious French cooking in Japan, the relevant reference points are L'Effervescence in Tokyo and HAJIME in Osaka, both of which operate at a higher price point with greater international recognition. For European French at the reference level, Hotel de Ville Crissier is the calibration point. Reminiscence sits below those tiers on price and global profile, but the awards accumulation since 2023 suggests the gap is narrowing. Also worth knowing: Gion Sasaki in Kyoto, akordu in Nara, and Goh in Fukuoka are the regional peers most worth comparing if you are weighing where to allocate a serious dinner on a Japan trip. For Nagoya's broader offer: hotels, bars, experiences, and wineries.