Chef
Kotaro Nakajima
Owner Chef, Kutan
- Discipline
- Chef
- Based in
- Tokyo, Japan
- Venue
- Kutan · Restaurant
Known for
- Modern classic kaiseki with non-traditional ingredients and playful sequencing like tempura first or hand-rolled sushi mid-course
- Signature dishes including green yuzu, ankimo on ankou sashimi with hot sauce, maguro tossaki temaki, and grilled snow crab leg
i. Biography
Kotaro Nakajima is the owner and chef of Kutan, a modern kaiseki restaurant in Ginza, Tokyo, which he opened in 2018. Born in Fukuoka Prefecture in 1978, he began his career at a local Japanese restaurant at age 19, trained at Matsuhisa in Los Angeles at age 24, spent ten years at the three-Michelin-starred Kanda restaurant under Hiroyuki Kanda, and earned one Michelin star for Kutan in 2019 and two stars in 2021.
Profile updated April 2026
