Chez Calvert opens in Tokyo's Azabudai Hills on 1 October
Daniel Calvert, who took Sézanne to three Michelin stars and No. 1 in Asia, opens his own room with a John Pawson interior. Sézanne lost its stars after he left.
Chez Calvert, the first independent restaurant of British chef Daniel Calvert, opens on 1 October in Tokyo's Azabudai Hills, six months after he left Sézanne, the hotel dining room he took to three Michelin stars.
The restaurant occupies the second floor of Azabudai Hills Residence B in Minato ward, according to its official website. Dinner starts at 17:00, a time the restaurant still lists as provisional, and bookings have been taken since 1 August through the Omakase reservation platform. The price of the seasonal tasting menu has not been published.
The kitchen promises French tradition applied to Japanese seasonal produce, which is also a fair summary of what Calvert cooked at the Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Marunouchi. For anyone planning a trip around the opening, our guide to what to eat in Tokyo covers the other end of the price scale.
Calvert built one of Asia's most decorated hotel dining rooms; now the name on the door is his.
Chez Calvert and a John Pawson room
The interior is by the British architect John Pawson, known for pared-back spaces built from a handful of materials. The restaurant has not released seat numbers or photographs of the finished dining room, so the first reports will come from guests rather than from the press kit.
Calvert, born in 1987, trained in London, New York and Paris before running the kitchen at Belon in Hong Kong. He opened Sézanne in July 2021. The restaurant gained three Michelin stars within three years, was named No. 1 in Asia's 50 Best Restaurants in 2024 and reached No. 7 on the global list. In 2026 he received the British Empire Medal for services to culinary arts and to culinary ties between the UK and Japan.
What Sézanne lost when the chef left
Calvert left Sézanne at the end of March 2026. The hotel appointed Stephen Lancaster, who opened Poise in Singapore in 2022 and won a star there in its first year, as executive chef from 1 April, with Calvert's endorsement, according to Four Seasons.
The handover had a price. Michelin took Sézanne's three-star listing off its website after what Michelin Japan called significant changes at the restaurant in spring 2026, as reported by The Japan Times. The guide has said in the past that stars are awarded to the restaurant, not the chef, which is why the move drew attention. Sézanne still ranked No. 16 in Asia's 50 Best Restaurants 2026.
The next Michelin verdict on the city is fixed: the guide will reveal its Tokyo, Kyoto-Osaka and Nara selections together on 16 February 2027, marking 20 years of the Michelin Guide in Japan.
