Cork diners get their first chance to sample Takashi Miyazaki’s 12-course tasting menu tonight, as he opens the doors on his new restaurant ichigo ichie.

It is the Japanese chef’s new project, following on from the success of his Miyazaki takeaway on Barrack Street, and is based in what was formerly the Fenns Quay premises on Sheares Street.

My Miyazaki is offering a taste of Japanese fine dining for €95 per person, and eager customers made reservations for months in advance as soon as bookings opened earlier this month.

“Bookings are still going very well,” he told the Evening Echo on Thursday, as he was hard at work in the kitchen prepping for the opening.

The new restaurant has 25 seats in three defined areas - the 5-seat kappou counter where guests can watch while the food is prepared, the Nagomi room which seats 12 or the garden area where up to eight guests can eat.