Cancellation & Charges Policy

Last updated: August 27, 2026

There are two separate kinds of money in a booking, and we keep them apart: our fee for the work we do, and, if it applies, the restaurant's own cancellation charge, which we simply pass through. Every charge is announced by email at the moment it is made.

1. Our fee — charged when your table is secured, non-refundable

1. The booking fee (¥6,000 per seat for restaurants in our collection; ¥10,000 per seat for restaurants outside it) and any concierge arranging fee you have agreed are charged to your registered card only when your table is secured and the booking is confirmed under your standing request (see Terms §2.4). Where the restaurant charges a non-refundable cancellation fee from the moment of booking, we check with you before securing the seat.
2. They are payment for work delivered — securing the table and arranging what you asked for — and are non-refundable once charged. They are not a penalty.
3. No seat, no fee. If we cannot confirm a table, nothing is charged.
4. If we or the restaurant cancel a confirmed booking, we refund our fee in full.

2. The restaurant's cancellation charge — passed through, no markup

1. We do not set cancellation fees and we take no margin on them. Where a restaurant has its own cancellation policy, we state it in full in your Confirmation; where the house charges a non-refundable fee from the moment of booking, we check with you before securing the seat; with ordinary policies the booking is confirmed automatically under your request.
2. Standard tiers (the reference for "stricter"): 4 or more days before the seating — no cancellation charge; 2–3 days before — up to 50% of the estimated course total; the day before, the same day, or a no-show — up to 100%. A restaurant policy within these bounds is applied without further approval; anything beyond them is put to you in writing first.
3. If you then cancel, we charge your registered card the amount due under that restaurant's policy and pay it to the restaurant on your behalf. We keep none of it.
4. Where a restaurant has no cancellation policy, there is no cancellation charge.
5. We email you before charging, and charge only after we have shown you the amount.

3. The course price — paid at the restaurant

The restaurant's course price is settled directly with the house, usually on the evening. A few very high-demand houses require full course prepayment at Confirmation; where they do, we tell you before anything is set, and any refund then follows that restaurant's own schedule.

4. Concierge services

1. Concierge fees are charged to your registered card when the content of the service is agreed in writing and arrangement begins.
2. Made-to-order work — a private table briefing, advance menu and drink composition, a thank-you letter to the chef — is non-refundable once composition has begun.
3. Goods — a gift for the chef, celebration items (flowers, dessert arrangements, keepsakes) — are non-refundable once purchased or ordered.
4. A food-culture docent may be cancelled free of charge up to 7 days before the arranged day; 50% of the fee applies from 6 days before; 100% applies on the day before and the day itself.
5. The on-call concierge is non-refundable once your stay has begun.
6. Any third-party provider's own fee follows that provider's cancellation terms, which we show you when we quote. Cancel early enough and there may be nothing to pay; cancel late and the provider's charge applies, passed through in the same way.

5. Failed charges & exceptions

1. If a charge to your card fails, you agree to settle the outstanding amount by another method within 7 days of our notice.
2. If we or the restaurant cancel a confirmed reservation, you pay nothing and any amount already paid is refunded.
3. Documented emergencies (natural disaster, or a flight cancellation for same-day arrivals, with documentation) are reviewed case by case in good faith.