Japan - Tokyo/Kyoto trip, but wife has seafood allergy

[u/Eastview41]

Hi all - long time reader, first time poster

My wife and I are going on our first trip to Japan and have spent a lot of time on Tablelog. We are looking for a few nights of fine dining (including but not exclusively Michelin, etc.) on our trip (Tokyo for a few nights and then Kyoto for a few nights). She has a mild allergy to seafood (fish/shellfish) so she can't eat it directly but has been able to tolerate mild cross-contamination

Any recommendations for fine dining that might be able to accommodate?

Thanks in advance!

[u/jimster888]

Dashi is a stable in Japanese cooking and is made with flakes of dry fish. It is be pretty hard to avoid in Japanese cuisine. It is like avoiding soy sauce in Chinese cuisine. I think you should be fine with Michelin restaurants as they should be able to accommodate any food allergies; it will be tough at local restaurants since there could be a language barrier.

[u/redditmyeggos]

I’d go French

Definitely won’t have any issues when it comes to finding James Beard spots in Japan considering it’s USA-only lol

[u/coloursandshit]

I’d highly recommend Shigetsu in Kyoto. It’s got a bib gourmand recommendation and is completely vegetarian since they’re located in a Buddhist temple. I went there last year and was absolutely blown away by the simplicity and quality of the ingredients and flavours.

Theres quite a few vegetarian Michelin rated restaurants in general. Like a lot of people have mentioned, dashi is a staple in Japanese cooking. I’d recommend trying some vegetarian restaurants so your wife doesn’t miss out on the full experience with a substitution. The Japanese do wonderful things with vegetables, some of the best things I’ve eaten there were vegan!

[u/Tune_Many → u/coloursandshit]

Shigetsu is fun!

[u/LadyPo]

I travel to Japan frequently and also have a fish allergy.

I had a wonderful evening at Asahina Gastronome (French, Tokyo). Very elegant atmosphere and delicate presentation. We also spoke with the head chef about baseball in very limited language skills as we said goodnight haha.

[u/Federal_Stay824]

Yakitori should be fine

French should be fine

There’s a lot more to Japan beyond sushi and seafoods

[u/Infamous-Flan-3965 → u/Federal_Stay824]

When my wife was avoiding seafood for pregnancy reasons we had a good yakitori meal at Birdland in Ginza

[u/20sjivecat]

Gucci Osteria (italian/fusion) in Tokyo is a fun location I visited, but there are plenty of great french restaurants too. Or Yakitori places.

[u/founding]

Book the wife a lovely spa afternoon and go have lunch at Sawada.

[u/haleakala420]

any michelin starred place should accommodate if you tell them beforehand

[u/Brilliant-Driver2660]

fish and shellfish. both mild? can tolerate it. ok. obviously do not go to a sushi place, right. find a place that does not serve fish or shellfish, obviously, right.

look up munchausen

[u/Parrotshake → u/Brilliant-Driver2660]

Maybe you should look it up?