Move over, caviar, because there’s a new luxury food item making waves in New York City: the Crown Melon. Also known as the “King of Melons,” this delicacy is flown in from Japan, and unlike many other high-price tag food products that are often animal-based (think wagyu beef or foie gras), this is something everyone can enjoy, even raw vegans. Carefully cultivated, these melons carry a symphony of flavor inside them—and they don’t come cheap, clocking in at around $200 per melon.
Crown Melons start their juicy existence in Shizuoka Prefecture. This region has both a year-round warm climate and the most sunshine hours in Japan, ideal for growing this crown jewel of fruit. While typically, multiple melons are grown per stalk, the key to the Crown Melon is that only one melon is grown under the “One Tree, One Fruit” method.
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To say the growth process is meticulous would be an understatement. Over the span of the 100 days in which the melon grows, the blossoms are hand-pollinated, hand-watered and the vines are pruned to ensure each one is left with only one final fruit. This results in all of the nutrients and sugars being channeled into one melon, bursting with the immense flavors of what would have originally been several melons, distilled into one. Crown Melons boast a signature T-shaped stem and undergo inspections and testing before being able to label themselves as such.
There are several New York City eateries that serve Crown Melons, and we’ve found the best. Eating such a thoughtfully grown fruit should feel like a celebration, and the most ceremonious place to eat it is at Tao Hospitality’s Sake No Hana, on the Lower East Side. Here, the entire melon gets a tableside presentation with its own knife and special board (if you look closely, you’ll see it says ‘melon only,’ so as to not tarnish this incomparable fruit with any other foods). After about five minutes of carving, during which you’ll also receive a certificate of the melon’s heralded origin, you’ll get to bite into this transcendent piece of fruit. “Its intense sweetness and richness in natural sugars provides a satisfying sweet taste that’s indulgent but light at the same time,” Jason Hall, the vice president of culinary operations at TAO Group Hospitality, told Observer.
Only 12 melons are sold each week at the restaurant, and they require a prior reservation. If you’re lucky enough to nab one of these rare melons, it will set you back a cool $250. Eating the melon as a group after an izakaya dinner ensures you manage to eat the whole thing, and can make the price a little less eye-watering. If you’re dining as a duo and can’t finish the entire melon, you can also bring any extra pieces home, for a few more luxe fruit moments without even having to leave your house. Just make sure to eat it by the next day, as the freshness is key to the taste.
At Ueki and Joji, the melon is part of their omakase, and while the counter-style seating doesn’t allow for tableside carving, the experience of eating the melon at these Japanese eateries is no less gratifying. During a dinner at Ueki, chef Kazutaka Iimori presents the melon for diners to see, and explains how the fruit is cultivated and why this is no regular melon. During a recent evening at the restaurant, he also shared that in Japan, a Crown Melon sold for $25,000 at auction in 2023, making the New York City price a steal in comparison. How would he describe the taste of this fruit? “Hints of brown sugar with light cotton candy finish,” he told us.
At Joji, the melon is also a light yet incredibly flavor-intense way to finish your omakase; one that will leave you feeling refreshed rather than weighed down. “As you bite into one, the soft texture and flavor creates a burst of sweetness,” chef George Ruan said. The omakase at Ueki and Joji both come with the same $195 price tag, and while you won’t get an entire melon, you’ll be able to sample it without having to pay at least that amount just for the melon alone, if not more.
Before trying a Crown Melon, it’s hard to imagine what it could even taste like, especially for those of us who’ve consumed a hard, flavorless, cold melon in a fruit cup and have accordingly relegated it into some less favorable fruit category. Eating a Crown Melon, however, isn’t just a multisensory tasty experience—it’s also a way to savor one of Japan’s most esteemed food practices, right in New York City.
