Tokyo Weekender - May 2017

© Mikkel Vang
FOR ME, THE
CREATIVE VISION IS
ALWAYS THE START
OF EVERYTHING
so that they’re comfortable. They’re not
meant to be fine dining establishments,
they’re meant to be pretty relaxed. Our
dishes are based on food you want to eat
all the time but also get excited about. Food
is like fashion and you’re constantly getting
new flavors that are coming through.
In the past few years there have been so
many more textures and different grains,
CAN YOU TELL ME MORE ABOUT THE
TRANSITION YOU MADE FROM AN ARTIST
WHO WAS WAITING TABLES TO OPENING
YOUR FIRST RESTAURANT? WERE THERE
ANY REALLY PIVOTAL MOMENTS?
Working with art is a solitary pursuit. I
You’ve got to love people. My father,
having been a butcher was very good
at talking to people. Both my father and
grandfather loved customers and I think
that’s the most important thing in the
restaurant business too. It’s not about
nuts and seeds being used, so it’s always
important for me to try new flavors and
see what’s going on. I love going to other
restaurants and seeing what people are
using, and what’s happening. It’s fun.
It’s very much like fashion in that way.
started working in a restaurant part-time
your ego or yourself; a lot of people
to get some money whilst I studied, and fell
misunderstand that when they start a
in love with the collaborative effort and
restaurant. You’re creating an empty space
the energy of it. My father and grandfather
that your customers are putting their lives
had owned butcher shops, and so that idea
into. You’ve got to be humble, you’ve got to
of shop keeping was really normal for me.
like people, and like working with people,
When I was 22 my grandfather gave me
getting the best out of them and inspiring
some money, which he’d set aside for all of
them to deliver the best possible results.
his grand kids to borrow a little bit from,
© Anson Smart
so I thought what I’m going to do is open a
restaurant, and it would almost be like my
shop. That’s how it started.
YOU WEREN’T FORMALLY TRAINED AS A
CHEF, SO WHAT ARE SOME OF THE THINGS
THAT HAVE HELPED YOU SUCCEED IN
AN INDUSTRY THAT CAN OFTEN CHEW
PEOPLE UP AND THEN SPIT THEM OUT?
YOU SPENT YOUR GAP YEAR IN JAPAN
WHEN YOU WERE 19; DID THAT
EXPERIENCE HAVE AN INFLUENCE ON
YOUR PERSONAL STYLE, AND YOUR
STYLE AS A RESTAURATEUR?
Absolutely. I’d grown up in the 80s when
the Japanese influence and aesthetic was
really big in terms of popular culture,
music and style. Then when I went there
in the early 90s I was totally blown away
by the Japanese attitude to the visual – the
craft in the way people dressed, interiors,
objects; it’s an incredibly visual culture,
which was really inspiring to me. I was
also inspired by how people ate well all the
time, not just in the really high end places,
but in the simple udon or ramen shops.
Even cheap places were still beautifully
designed and thought out, and that really
inspired me when I was first starting Bills.
© Anson Smart
OUT OF THE MANY RESTAURANTS THAT
YOU’VE OPENED SINCE 1993, DO YOU
HAVE ANY FAVORITES?
There are different restaurants in different
countries that feel a bit more emotional.
The first Bills in Sydney is very important to
me, because that’s where I learnt my trade.
I think in Japan I love Shichirigahama,
our first restaurant on the ocean – that’s
beautiful. I love Omotesando because it’s
right in the center and when I was on my
gap year I used to live around there, so it
HOW DO YOU STRIKE A BALANCE
BETWEEN COMFORT FOOD AND
PUSHING PEOPLE PAST THEIR COMFORT
ZONES WITH NEW AND INTERESTING
OFFERINGS?
The interiors of my restaurants are
reminds me of being a 20-year-old. Our
new restaurant in Ginza is absolutely
beautiful and I think London, Notting Hill
which is close to my home is a favorite.
It’s my local as well.
everyday places – almost home. When
For more information about Bills
people come in, the environment is created
restaurants in Japan, visit billsjapan.com/jp
TOKYO WEEKENDER | MAY 2017 | 31