Robbie Swinnerton
Columnist at The Japan Times
Writer at Freelance
Robbie Swinnerton: Food writer & Japan Times restaurant columnist. Spreading the word from 東京都 since 昭和55. https://t.co/sjHwxV7n4b…
Articles
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4 weeks ago |
japantimes.co.jp | Robbie Swinnerton
Gaggan Anand is back. The Kolkata-born, Bangkok-based, self-styled rebel chef’s eponymous restaurant, Gaggan, won the crown at the 2025 Asia's 50 Best Restaurants awards ceremony held in Seoul on March 25. For Anand, this represents more than just a professional success. It is also vindication for his decision to walk away from the initial iteration of his restaurant — also called Gaggan — despite it having held top spot on the list for four consecutive years, from 2015 through 2019.
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1 month ago |
japantimes.co.jp | Robbie Swinnerton
A former Italian favorite in Tokyo now enjoys a renaissance in a bucolic village in Gunma Prefecture.
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1 month ago |
japantimes.co.jp | Robbie Swinnerton
The road leading up to Ventinove is neither arduous nor particularly scenic. Climbing steadily from the western fringe of the Kanto Plain, you make your way through tidy, prosperous rural communities in the foothills of the mountains of central Gunma Prefecture until you arrive at Kawaba Village on the southern slope of Mount Hotaka. When you finally see woodlands, you know you’re really close. The upland air is clear and chilly as you step from your car.
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1 month ago |
japantimes.co.jp | Robbie Swinnerton
There is much to take in as you settle into your seat in Ebitei Bekkan’s pristine second-floor dining room: the vivid grain of the wood on the counter and on the ceiling above; the gleaming lacquerware tray that marks your place; the vase with its single, fragile flower against the matte mud wall. In the narrow open kitchen, owner-chef Kentaro Mura is finalizing his preparations for the extensive meal that lies ahead.
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2 months ago |
japantimes.co.jp | Robbie Swinnerton
Silver linings are never guaranteed. When the Yamagai brothers saw their historic family restaurant consumed by flames in 2005, it is unlikely they ever envisaged it would rise from the ashes to become a beacon of gastronomy in their hometown in the far north of Niigata Prefecture. What they did know, however, was that they were dead set on rebuilding after the fire. And, more importantly, that they would take charge in the kitchen.
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“All the cooking at Ventinove is done over firewood—either in the grill or, indirectly, on a large stove converted from a traditional kamado cooker… Chef Yusuke Takeuchi’s signature steak is Bistecca alla Fiorentina, which he prepares from locally sourced Akagi-gyu beef…”
Florentine steak and other meats get a tender loving treatment at Ventinove, a charming Italian restaurant in a village in Gunma Prefecture. https://t.co/oggepyUmZS
“The upland air is clear and chilly. Sunlight filters through a sylvan canopy of leaves. There, tucked away behind the historic Tsuchida sake brewery, stands a low-slung building incongruous with its sleek, angular architecture: Ventinove, destination restaurant par excellence.”
Florentine steak and other meats get a tender loving treatment at Ventinove, a charming Italian restaurant in a village in Gunma Prefecture. https://t.co/h5qRwSseHV
RT @stats_feed: Best International Cities for Food and Drinks, 2024. 1. 🇯🇵 Tokyo 2. 🇹🇷 Istanbul 3. 🇲🇽 Mexico City 4. 🇫🇷 Paris 5. 🇵🇪 Lima 6…
