Eight_cdn

I have to say, this was the best dining experience, I have ever experienced. I dined at Gaggan in Bangkok, which is number 5 in the world, and Eight was even better. Went to Shoshuken tonight, and it was better than many restaurants I visited in Tokyo. Can’t wait to get lucky, and get another reservation as I didn’t get in last week!

I went to Eight with my mother and up until the very end, the experience was excellent. The food and drinks were delicious, the service during dinner was great, and we were invited into the speakeasy area for a final drink, which felt like a nice touch. The head chef even came out to mingle with guests. Talking to the head chef, my mother shared a kind story. A few nights earlier, she had attended a private dinner where a chef spoke very highly of Darren MacLean, sharing that working under him saved his career when he was about to walk away from food entirely. My mother was simply trying to pass along a compliment and casually asked the head chef to share it with Darren if he ever got the chance. Before she even finished speaking, the head chef cut her off, scoffed, laughed, and said, “I guarantee Darren probably doesn’t even remember him.” He openly mocked her, continued laughing when she told him he was being rude, and then walked away from her mid‑sentence. It was incredibly disrespectful and humiliating to watch someone speak to my mother that way, especially when she was doing nothing but trying to be kind. The bartender witnessed this entire exchange. When I told him how uncomfortable we were and that we wanted to leave immediately, he brushed it off by saying, “he’s Irish, that’s just how they speak.” That is not an excuse. We are not in Ireland, and even if we were, being rude and condescending to guests is unacceptable, especially after such an expensive dining experience. I then tried to raise this issue with another member of management who had earlier told us he was there to make sure we were comfortable. While he did apologize, he seemed disinterested and did nothing to meaningfully address what had happened. This interaction completely ruined what would have otherwise been a five‑star experience. I am appalled that a head chef would so casually disrespect a guest, and even more appalled that staff defended and minimized his behavior. For a restaurant of this caliber and price point, this is unacceptable. I will not be returning.

Very unique experience, and food was incredibly creative, only 8 seats available and reservations are hard to get. Start out in their exclusive lounge, Speakeasy, for starters and cocktails before heading over for dinner. Very cool bar menu including their mocktail. After dinner we returned to the lounge they called it After Eight for drinks and petite four. Darren himself came out and gave a brief intro and dropped in and out to chat with us. An experience to remember!

As the name suggests, there is only room for 8 people and reservations are a must; almost like getting concert tickets. The atmosphere is great, you use a phone in the hotel lobby to be escorted to a speakeasy for pre dinner drinks which are so unique and delicious. Then it's time for dinner which doesn't disappoint. We had 19 courses and each one was a piece of art and flavor was unbelievable. We loved how the chef and team explained the inspiration behind each course, which is a cross between Canadian and Japanese cuisines. My wife had the tea pairing and each one was incredible, I had the wine pairing which was very good too. Cannot wait to come back, reservations open soon!