Tabelog ratingotto is the solo project of Satoshi Yamagata, formerly head chef at the Ginza branch of Ristorante Hiro. He cooks alone and serves set courses only: a seasonal Italian tasting menu with a Japanese accent, in a calm second-floor room above Tokorozawa's busy shopping street. It won the Tabelog Award Bronze in 2017 and 2018 and made Tabelog's Italian EAST Tabelog 100 list in 2021, 2023 and 2025.
Almost every review mentions the signature dish: hairy crab and salted panna cotta under a light vichyssoise mousse, which you stir together as you eat. Guests also single out Mont-Saint-Michel mussel broth with steamed fish and celeriac purée, foie gras with corn soup and summer truffle, foie gras brûlée, porchetta and three house-made breads. Reviewers repeatedly mention generous portions and inventive combinations. Staff are praised for birthday plates and for wine pairings that offer half-glass pours.
Criticism is minor and scattered. Courses can arrive slowly: one dinner ran three hours, and a 2023 diner noted uneven pacing. A 2020 guest found the service clumsy. An Italian-minded visitor thought the pasta, served after the main, was the weakest course, and a detailed 2025 review found the foie gras and truffle underwhelming. Other tables can make the room noisy, and seating is a little tight.
Reviewers in 2024–2026 paid around ¥14,520 for the chef's omakase course, tax and service included. They paid ¥11,495 for a seven-glass wine pairing or ¥7,500 for five glasses, ¥5,000 extra for the Sendai beef fillet main and ¥1,210 for sparkling water. One 2025 diner quoted ¥12,000 plus tax and service for a dinner course. Expect to spend about ¥20,000–29,999 at dinner and ¥10,000–14,999 at lunch. No recent lunch course price is documented.
Value is the consistent theme. Regulars and first-timers alike compare the cooking to Michelin Italian restaurants in central Tokyo at a lower price, and most leave very full.
- Getting there: 3 minutes' walk from the west exit of Tokorozawa Station (Seibu Ikebukuro and Seibu Shinjuku lines, with direct trains from Ikebukuro), on Prope-dori. The restaurant is on the 2nd floor above a Nippon Chouzai pharmacy. Signage is minimal, so use a map.
- Booking: reservation only, with no walk-ins. Book by phone on 050-5595-7694, on the restaurant's website (24 hours) or through Tabelog. Dinner seatings start between 18:00 and 19:30. Give allergies and dislikes when booking, because requests made on arrival may not be possible.
- Children: children below middle-school age are not admitted at dinner. Children may come only to weekend lunch, only with a private-room booking, and only if they eat the full adult course.
- Payment: Visa, Mastercard, JCB, AMEX, Diners and UnionPay are accepted. Electronic money and QR payments are not. A 10% service charge applies.
- Dress code: smart casual. No T-shirts, shorts or men's sandals.
- Seating: 22 seats, with 12 at tables and private rooms for 6 and 8 (a room fee applies). The maximum party size is 10, and the restaurant cannot be booked out entirely.
- Menu: set courses only, and the whole table must choose the same main. You can ask for a smaller pasta serving, and leftovers can be packed to take away.
- Time: allow 2.5–3 hours. If you are in a hurry, tell the restaurant by the day before.
- Non-smoking. There is no parking at the restaurant, but coin parking is nearby.
- More Cucina on the 3rd floor is a cheaper sister restaurant, not otto.
