The characters for dining hall can be read as ‘jikido’ in Buddhist terminology – a hall where monks take their meals. Yuki Kanazawa chose the name because he aspires to offer respite that soothes people’s souls through cuisine. He eschews luxurious ingredients and sprinkles his menu with simple fare such as o-hitashi (a boiled vegetable side dish) and aemono (a salad of cooked vegetables). Running his restaurant alone, the chef is never far from his customers. Good-humoured service stimulates lively conversation.