Twelve seats. One counter. A kitchen so close you can feel the heat of the grill on your face. This is not a restaurant so much as a stage with plates.
Mise en place
Four hours before service, every ingredient is already weighed, cut and waiting. The chef walks the line in silence, touching each container like a pianist checking keys.
The performance
Course eleven: a single charred leek, a spoon of smoked butter, three flowers placed with tweezers. It takes ninety seconds to plate and four seconds to eat. Nobody at the counter thinks that's a bad trade.
"Precision isn't coldness. It's the most attentive thing you can do for a stranger."
After service
At midnight, the team eats standing up — rice, pickles, leftover broth. The best meal of the night, they say, is always the one nobody plates.
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