The ‘world’s best sushi restaurant’ has had its three Michelin stars taken away. Sukiyabashi Jiro, well-known for its extreme waiting lists, and the documentary based on its owner, Jiro Dreams of Sushi, lost its stars because it is no longer open to the general public.
A spokeswoman for the Michelin Guide said that it was not the quality of the restaurant that lost the stars, it is more the fact that restaurants covered in the Michelin Guide are places where everybody could eat.
This is not the first sushi venue in Tokyo that this has happened to. Sushi Saito was removed from the latest edition for the same reason.
Jiro has received three Michelin stars since the inception of the Guide in Tokyo in 2007. Jiro’s owner, Jiro Ono, is into his nineties and continues to serve sushi, along with his eldest son. His eldest son has also opened a branch of the restaurant that is publicly-available—it has two stars.
Often known simply as Sushi Jiro, Jiro’s shop initially opened in 1965. Barack Obama famously dined at Sushi Jiro with the Japanese prime minister in 2014, a restaurant whose guest list includes Hugh Jackman and Katy Perry.
If diners are wanting to secure a spot at the 10-seat restaurant, they either have to be regulars, have a special connection, or book through the concierge of a luxury hotel.
