Following his graduation from the University of California and a career in finance in both Japan and New York City, Mark Sekita came to his senses, and quite literally so, to follow a passion he had had for a long time. Sekita enrolled in a reputable cooking school to learn all about French cuisine and eventually started working in Gramercy Tavern, one of the city’s many top diners. Fast forward to 2017, and Sekita has moved back to Japan – mind you, he is of mixed Japanese and American-Italian heritage – to set up his first restaurant, named Mark’s Table, in Tokyo‘s Ginza district. Indeed, the story doesn’t stop there as the talented chef has once again upped the ante, relocating to the more scenic and lower-paced neighbourhood of Naka Meguro to open an establishment that expresses his culinary vision even better—Mark’s Tokyo. Situated only a stone’s throw away from Meguro River, along one of the area’s alleyways, the restaurant occupies a compact 36 sqm. (388 sq.ft.) ground floor space of a modern structure.
The interior design, created by local architecture practice Kenta Nagai Studio, is a modern exercise of Japanese minimalism which cleverly balances homey intimacy, practicality, and last but not least, a distinctly Japanese atmosphere by way of a lengthy list of striking details. Indeed, there’s the tiny, Zen-inspired stone garden beside the entrance, but the latter vibe is also anchored by elements such as the edges of the walls, tables and shelves, all crafted from specific wood types with a warm colour, and the manually processed, copper elements of the wall lamps. By partitioning part of the elongated side wall, directly opposite the open kitchen, the establishment also features semi-private booths for four. Mark’s Tokyo is all about Japanese-inspired modern American cuisine, but a very personal one at that, featuring flavours from Sekita’s childhood and many travels, highlighting fresh seasonal ingredients carefully sourced from farmers across Japan.
Mark’s Tokyo
1-23-14 Meguro (Naka Meguro)
Tokyo 153-0063
Telephone: +81 3 6417-0664
Wed-Sun 6pm-11pm
Publishers Note
Just to be clear – superfuture® is a design blog and not a political commentator. No surprise there. The scope of our content has always been global and borderless, however that can often mean covering projects in countries where we will not agree with the politics or actions of those countries. In a world that’s as screwed up as ever right now, the focus of our support is to those designers, architects and other creatives who aim to make the world a more liveable one – as opposed to people that try their hardest to destroy it. So if a project hits our desk and we like it based on its design credentials, we may choose to publish regardless of its location or creators nationality. superfuture® has always been inclusive and hopes for all current wars, aggression, violence, hate and extremism to end.
