Konnichiwa to this UFO from the Land of the Rising Sun, touching down in the seaside resort of La Baule. In a town where too many tourist traps chase margins instead of flavor, Ko Iki is the outlier – serene, self-assured and gloriously uninterested in strawberry maki or mango-mayo sushi. Ko iki means elegance, and that’s exactly the brief: authentic Japanese cooking blissfully untouched by Westernization, served in a minimalist space of pale wood tables, matte-black chairs and gallery-white walls. At the helm is chef Kaori Jager-Blacik – who also designs her own fashion pieces – raised in her family’s restaurant from childhood and here assisted by her husband Nicolas, chief importer of Japanese wares and good vibes. Highlights from our last visit? A bowl of black sesame rice crowned with silken slices of raw salmon; tamago omelet topped with shiso leaf, ikura (fish roe) and pickled daikon, with a side of miso soup; and miso-glazed pollack served with steamed cabbage, wasabi and soy sauce. Dessert kept the theme: house-made black sesame ice cream embellished with sweet azuki beans. The restaurant also spills into an adjoining boutique stocked with tableware and fabrics the couple bring back from Japan each winter. · Lasri Racha

FEELING THIRSTY? Junmai kimoto sake (€9) poured into a traditional wooden masu cup, as well as umeshu (plum liqueur, €7 per glass) or homemade purple shiso and yuzu soda (€7).

PRICE: Mains €23-24, desserts €7-9, takeaway bento €20 (lunch), à la carte €11-28 (dinner).