Three-star Michelin sushi restaurant in Tokyo dropped from Michelin Guide because it no longer takes public bookings
Sukiyabashi Jiro is generally considered to be one of the best restaurants in the world and only seats 10 people.
Wednesday 27 November 2019 15:04, UK
A famed sushi restaurant in Tokyo has lost its Michelin star status - but not because of the quality of its food.
Sukiyabashi Jiro is generally regarded as one of the best sushi restaurants in the world, but it will no longer feature in the internationally renowned Michelin Guide because of its decision to stop taking reservations from the general public.
The 10-seat counter restaurant is run by 94-year-old Jiro Ono and has held three Michelin stars since 2007.
The Michelin Guide is seen as an indicator of fine dining and awards up to three stars to restaurants that can demonstrate culinary prowess.
Rather than taking bookings from anybody over the phone, Sukiyabashi Jiro only takes reservations from people staying in luxury hotels, or those who turn up in the morning and are able to put a 40,000 yen (£280) deposit down per person.
Announcing the release of the Tokyo version of the 2020 guide, a spokesperson from Michelin said: "We recognise Sukiyabashi Jiro does not accept reservations from the general public, which makes it out of our scope.
"It was not true to say the restaurant lost stars but it is not subject to coverage in our guide. Michelin's policy is to introduce restaurants where everybody can go to eat."
Another Tokyo sushi restaurant, Sushi Saito, also lost its place in the Michelin Guide for the same reason.
On its website, Sukiyabashi Jiro said that taking general reservations was difficult because of the lack of seats in the venue.
It added: "As our restaurant can only seat up to 10 guests at a time, this situation is likely to continue. We will not be able to accept telephone reservations until further notice."
Former US president Barack Obama visited the restaurant in 2014 alongside Japan's prime minister Shinzo Abe, where he declared it was the "best sushi" he had ever had.
Stars from the world of showbiz have also graced Sukiyabashi Jiro, including Katy Perry and Hugh Jackman.
In 2011, a documentary about the restaurant revealed that head chef Ono "massages" the octopus to make it tender before he cooks it.
Despite the exclusion of Sukiyabashi Jiro from the 2020 guide, Tokyo has more Michelin starred restaurants than any other city in the world with 226, and 11 of these hold the top honour of three stars.