CUTE COUPLE

Japan's long-standing romance with Italian food is playing out in inventive ways all over Tokyo

- MELINDA JOE

From left: An array of slices at the Pizza Bar on 38th inside the Mandarin Oriental, Tokyo; the floral façade of Gucci Osteria da Massimo Bottura, in the fashionable Ginza district

THERE ARE ABOUT 1,500 Italian restaurants in Tokyo, but Alter Ego is one of the most legendary. Here the tajarin pasta is a tangle of delicately thin noodles bathed in a silky butter sauce; the minced duck is grilled on a skewer like a tsukune meatball and drizzled with a balsamic glaze. When Alter Ego opened in 2019, its popularity prompted the world of Japanese fine dining to more seriously consider the appeal of Italian fusion, which had until then been mostly the realm of chain eateries. Half a decade later, Tokyo's finest chefs are taking inspiration from Italy and beyond to whip up creative fare served on both white tablecloths and at casual counters.