The art of the comeback

The other week, I had dinner in a Michelin three star restaurant in Tokyo that's also on the list of Asia's Top 50 restaurants. It has a three-month waiting list on average and a friend had a table for four so I joined in, always eager to see what the competition is doing since we do run Nagatacho Ohka, which is currently Tokyo's best restaurant.

Nagatacho Ohka does not have a website or a publicly listed phone number so guests come by word of mouth or introduction. For example, if you are staying in one of the top luxury hotels in Japan, the concierge does have our hotline.

THE BEST RESTAURANT IN TOKYO

It takes some bravado to publicly write that Nagatacho Ohka is the best restaurant in Tokyo when we have no stars or awards, and we are not on any lists. But almost everyone who has dined with us, including some of the world's top hospitality professionals, will confirm that my Nagatacho Ohka restaurant project is among the finest gastronomic experiences on the planet.

THE MICHELIN THREE-STAR EXPERIENCE

But back to the other Michelin three-star restaurant in Tokyo. The food was excellent and the service was flawless. All together, the restaurant team curated a most enjoyable evening at a price tag slightly lower than ours at Nagatacho Ohka, wine pairing course included.

Here is the interesting part. At the end of the meal, one of the managers came up to us -- I assume he does the same thing to every group of diners -- and said: "Since you are already here and it is so hard to book our restaurant, I'm happy to take your reservations for your next visit."

NO ANSWER IS AN ANSWER

I waited for the response of my companions but no one took the manager up on his kind offer. As soon as we left the restaurant, I asked everyone why they didn't take the opportunity to jump the queue for a second meal, whether it's for next month, next quarter or next year. At my Nagatacho Ohka restaurant, you see, we have guests dining with us twice on their visit to Japan and even families from overseas eating three nights in a row. Our return rate is very high and we are not at all cheap.

One person said: "It was good, but I don't feel the need to return." While another said: "Been there, done that. Checked off my list."

WHEN YOU GO TO A RESTAURANT FOR THE COMPANY...

As for me, I'd been twice over a span of several years when this restaurant had two Michelin stars. The first time I'd taken the initiative to book and the second time I'd been part of someone else's reservation, as with the third time. So my second and third visits had been for the company rather than the food.

As I now have this Nagatacho Ohka restaurant project, I dissected this experience and lack of enthusiastic response from my companions to learn from it. Every restaurant needs new clients but also regulars, because the latter provides confirmation that the restaurant is actually good -- and not just good at marketing. To use a cliche, it's easy to get clients to come once with the right strategy; but "the proof of the pudding" is in the return rate.

ANALYSIS TIME

The next day, I immediately called for a meeting of our entire Nagatacho Ohka team. I discussed my latest Michelin three-star experience with them, including what we are doing better and what the other restaurant is doing better. Then I described that awkward moment when no one at our table opted to book their next meal in advance.

At Nagatacho Ohka, many guests are booking their next meal even before dessert is over. And we have a lot of regulars, including one company CEO who has so far eaten with us eight times in two months. That's once a week.

For our team, this was the highlight of our meeting that day. Everyone asked me: "Why do you think no one wanted to return?"

THERE LIES THE DIFFERENCE

First, there was the difference between spectacular and excellent -- and this is not about using bells and whistles to serve Instagram-worthy food. We serve simple but spectacularly good food because, as we are focused on being the best rather than being profitable, the ingredients are truly above the rest in Japan.

And when you work with this level of quality, I find very little is needed aside from a perfect cooking technique. Although it does make a difference that the plates and bowls we serve the food on are the kind one does not find in a commercial enterprise.

Most people can take complicated food only in small doses and certainly not often. However everyone loves the best quality of simply cooked and beautifully plated food -- which is what we serve at Nagatacho Ohka.

Second, and perhaps very importantly, the Michelin three-star restaurant had a highly professional but rather automated service. Everyone smiled and said the right things, but we all felt like we were just one of so many diners on just another evening with a full house.

At Nagatacho Ohka, every diner or group of diners feels like the only guest/ guests in the room, even if many of our 40 seats are full. We do only one seating a night and guests can linger over dinner as long as they wish. Sometimes guests are so busy enjoying themselves that it's midnight and the staff decide to miss their last train home rather than break up a party (if I'm around, I always make sure doors are closed by 1130 PM).

So, yes, our team is not only professional and hardworking, but it is also made up of genuinely nice people who truly want to give our guests a most wonderful evening. And this makes all the difference.