SHŌ Unveils Menu Vol. 3: Spring Awakening

Spring has arrived at SHŌ, as the Old Town omakase debuts Menu Vol. 3: Spring Awakening, a ten-course evolution that trades winter for a more produce-driven expression.

The opening courses set the tone with a more composed, kaiseki-adjacent lead-in:

• A reimagined milk bread tea sandwich draws from Katsumura’s childhood; lightly chilled, layered with spring vegetable cream cheese and finished with caviar, its garnishes emerging from the surface like something pulled from a garden.
• The fish course centers on madai (Japanese red snapper), long associated with celebration and good fortune. Lightly torched and presented as a composed sashimi, it’s met with bright notes of strawberry, shaved fennel, and pickled celery, adding a crisp, acidic lift before a tableside pour of rhubarb dashi brings the dish into focus.
• A chilled chawanmushi follows, built on an ibérico dashi and lifted by spring pea, shiso, and preserved lemon.

The handroll sequence unfolds as a four-course progression:

• Balfegó chūtoro returns with a new garnish of avocado, pickled shishito crema, and wasabi sesame.
• Trout follows on perilla leaf, brushed with salsa verde, topped with fried capers and a myoga-shallot-lemon peel salad.
• Anago arrives layered with tsukudani-style soy paste, shaved truffle, quail egg, and sansho.
• The fourth handroll shifts to lamb loin, thinly sliced and served on perilla with red yuzu kosho romesco, lamb jus glaze, fried shallot, and orange zest.

The closing courses lean into comfort, with a lighter touch:

• A somen course arrives in a caramelized miso and soymilk broth with house chili oil, silken tofu, chrysanthemum, and fine-cut leek. 
• Dessert reimagines strawberries and cream through a more layered lens: strawberry soft serve with buttermilk ice and sake kasu condensed milk, finished with freeze-dried strawberry. A lemon poppy seed cake soaked in lemon verbena syrup adds brightness to close.