World-renowned chef Anne-Sophie Pic and designer Christian Dior go together like “haute” and “couture.”
Both are celebrated French artists who reached the top of their fields, and each was drawn to the other’s craft. As a young woman, Pic dreamt of working in fashion. And Dior was an ardent gourmand whose favorite recipes were collected in a cookbook, La Cuisine Cousu-Main.
The chef partnered with the brand for its first restaurant in Japan, the recently opened Monsieur Dior by Anne-Sophie Pic. The Osaka restaurant was a good fit. Pic lived in Japan when she was in her 20s and finds inspiration in the country’s cuisine.
Tucked inside the House of Dior in Shinsaibashi, Osaka’s main shopping street, it is Japan’s first Monsieur Dior restaurant, joining outposts in Beijing (also helmed by Pic), Beverly Hills (overseen by Dominique Crenn), Milan (led by Enrico Bartolini), Paris (from Yannick Alléno) and St. Tropez (with Mauro Colagreco).
The dishes, unique to the Osaka restaurant, pay homage to Dior. Pic pored over the house’s haute couture collections for ideas she could carry into plating and flavor. She threaded his emblems throughout the lunch and dinner menus. The mille-feuille blanc dessert is a neat square of vanilla cream and jasmine layers, dressed in a houndstooth pattern. In an ode to the star, a Dior symbol found in every store, Pic created L’Étoile de Mer. It’s a star-shaped starter with a sea urchin and sobacha (buckwheat tea) bavaroise, sweet satsuma citrus, dill and nasturtium coulis. Even Les Berlingots, the ravioli pyramids from Pic’s flagship in Valence, France, here filled with Comté cheese, pea sauce and fresh wasabi, don a leopard look.
“Like haute couture, her style is based on lightness and precision through a philosophy called ‘suffusion,’” said Alexandre Miroux, chief operating officer of Christian Dior Couture Japan, who also oversees the country’s food and beverage operations. “She sees food like perfumery and layers flavors, all without weighing down the plate.”
Japanese flavors are found throughout the menu. Le Dôme Soyeux, for example, consists of hazelnut tofu, maitake and ginger consommé. Les Pétales, chicken marinated in sake lees (the solids left after sake production), comes with wild mushrooms and a yellow wine sauce.
Seasonality plays a role as well. “In the restaurant, we change the menu according to the seasons, just as the fashion industry moves between summer and winter collections,” restaurant director Vincent Fredon said.
And of course, the tableware has to be as fashionable as the food. The plates, silverware and glasses come from the Dior Maison collection, all of it for sale.
Monsieur Dior’s 1,400-bottle wine cellar skews mostly French with a deep selection of champagnes, Burgundies and Bordeaux — a recent find was a 1984 Château Margaux. Labels from Japan and other countries fill out the rest of the list. You can add on wine pairings or get help choosing a pour from the sommelier. Non-alcoholic options aren’t an afterthought and include tea-based mocktails and complex bottled teas.
The restaurant, designed by architect Peter Marino, evokes Château de La Colle Noire, Christian Dior’s Provence retreat. Dior adored gardens, so florals, ranging from fresh arrangements to flower-motif chairs, feature prominently. Curated art — like French American artist Karine Laval’s vivid floral installation that manipulates images of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden — brightens up the space. And a private dining room seats eight and an exclusive five-seat chef’s table is inside the kitchen.
