Akira Back Paris, the Prince of Wales's modern Japanese restaurant

Akira Back, the Prince of Wales's modern Japanese restaurant, is celebrating its 1st anniversary. It's an opportunity to (re)discover the place, with some lovely new additions to the menu.

It's already been a year since the Akira Back restaurant opened its doors in Paris. It took several years for the Prince of Wales to return to a food scene worthy of the name, following the departure of Stéphanie Le Quellec, the chef who offered her two stars to the palace's La Scène restaurant, before regaining them in her restaurant of the same name, opened in the wake of her departure from the Prince of Wales.

After Las Vegas, Singapore, Toronto and Seoul, where he won his first star, starred chef Akira Back opened his first European restaurant in the French capital last year, at the beginning of 2022. It is in place of the Prince de Galles' bar, Les Heures, that this address has taken up residence, completely transforming the premises and leaving only the magnificent central chandelier and its ceiling fresco.

In a chic, polished decor, with large, ink-colored lacquered tables and avery subdued atmosphere, the Akira Back restaurant offers fusion cuisine. Yes, even though the term has been misused, the restaurant's menu does indeed feature dishes with international influences, drawing inspiration from Japan, Korea and the United States, the chef's two nationalities.

Born in South Korea, Akira Back, whose real name is Sung-Ook Back, grew up in the United States, in the mountains of Aspen, Colorado, where his family moved in the late 80s. After a career in extreme sports, and snowboarding in particular, the chef met his future master thinker and mentor, sushi master Kenichi Kanada, and after years of gastronomic apprenticeship, now finds himself at the helm of 21 addresses around the world.

In the large 90-seat room, seated at the marble-faced counter, you'll discover a fairly extensive menu, divided into several distinct segments. These include signature cold plates, such as the now cult signature tuna pizza, made with thin, crispy dough and sashimi tuna, and topped with ponzu sauce, micro sisho, mushrooms and truffle oil. A new version with wagyu beef is also available, to our great delight.

Akira Back has also set himself the task of revisiting the recipe that made him fall in love with raw fish, Jeju Domi, a sashimi snapper served with chojang sauce, flying fish roe and orange infusion. Other new dishes include salmon tataki with wasabi sauce, which awakens the taste buds, and scollop kiwi, scallops with kiwi and truffle paste on a yuzu sauce base, which we love.

But Akira Back doesn't stop at cold delights; there's also a whole host of hot signature dishes that, again, draw their inspiration from beyond our borders. Here, a naughty taco topped with marinated bulgogi beef; there, grilled eggplant, beet and lotus leaf. Accompanied, without hesitation, by a glass of sake, to be chosen from the restaurant's selection of top Japanese brands.

Another new feature is the delicious nigiri platter, topped with divine yellowtails, wagyu sushi, red tuna or fine salmon and sea bass, ideally prepared by a sushi master.

For desserts, Akira Back brings in its new pastry chef, Hélène Kerloeguen, for a lovely black sesame dessert with meringue leaves and homemade Thai basil sorbet.

So, why not treat yourself to a (re)discovery? Note that the Akira Back Paris restaurant also offers an express menu served in 45 minutes max, so you can have lunch without taking up too much time.

This test was conducted as part of a professional invitation. If your experience differs from ours, please mention it in the comments.