Spice Lab is not your casual neighborhood curry joint – this is a high-end dining experience where India’s modern culinary landscape is blended with seasonal Japanese ingredients. Award-winning executive chef Tejas Sovani, whose experience includes a stint at Noma in Copenhagen, serves up plate after plate of exciting new flavour combinations. The set of regional street food snacks is sure to impress any date, and includes crisp samosa filled with spiced lamb, a delicate panipuri dumpling filled with a fragrant blend of ume, mirin, mint and lemon, and more. There are multicourse options ranging from four to ten dishes, and vegetarian, vegan and seafood-only menus are available.
Spice Lab’s owner, who hails from Delhi, was inspired to bring high-end modern Indian cuisine to Japan – a style that’s making its mark in dining hotspots as far afield as London, Melbourne and Hong Kong. The venue’s award-winning executive chef is Tejas Sovani, whose experience includes a stint at Noma in Copenhagen.
There are several course options available, ranging from four courses to seven at lunchtime and eight courses to ten courses on the dinner menu, with vegetarian, vegan and seafood-only options available. The menus change seasonally, rewarding repeat visits.
We recommend starting with a Mumbai Tonic from the restaurant’s impressive original cocktail list – a refreshing, herbal concoction of spice-infused gin, suze, house bitters and tonic. The bitter kick is the perfect palate cleanse before getting started on your meal.
The kaleidoscopic range of ingredients on the menu is woven together with intuition and precision; the flavours aren’t tuned down to suit the local palate, but are refined and well-balanced. The plate of regional street food snacks is a highlight, with a crisp samosa filled with spiced lamb, shiso chaat (tempura) topped with tamarind chutney and pomegranate seeds, and a delicate panipuri dumpling filled with a fragrant blend of ume, mirin, mint and lemon.
In autumn, there’s a wild mushroom and leek pilaf, served with buttery kulcha (flatbread) and a selection of condiments like smoky black lentils and garlic raita. Desserts include an amply spiced carrot cake on a bed of coconut tapioca, or baked yoghurt with seasonal fruit. Don’t worry if this sounds like a lot to handle – staff will guide you through the menu, offering extra contextual info about the dishes, adding a bit of humour and personal touch.
Lunch ranges from ¥2,900 (four courses plus tea or coffee) to ¥7,200 (seven courses plus tea or coffee), while dinner starts at ¥8,800 (eight courses plus tea or coffee) and goes up to ¥14,300 (ten courses plus tea or coffee).