As we’ve mentioned before, Denny’s in Japan tends to be notably nicer than Denny’s in America, with a much more varied menu and higher overall quality to the food. That said, it’s still squarely in the class of eateries known as “family restaurants” in Japan, casual establishments where the majority of diners are probably going to be parents out for an affordable meal with their kids or groups of student friends similarly looking for a bite to eat at affordable prices. So we were surprised to find out that Denny’s newest menu item is a gourmet dessert created for them by Sadaharu Aoki, a celebrated Japanese patissier who’s made a name for himself by succeeding in the Paris sweets scene.

Aoki, whose chocolates we’ve been fans of for a full decade, was recruited to create a special dessert to celebrate Denny’s 50th anniversary of arriving in Japan. Actually, Denny’s Japan is currently in its 51st year of operations, but you can be forgiven for arriving late to the party when you show up with a gift that looks as nice as this. That’s the Green Tea and Azuki Bean Crumble with Homemade Orange Sauce, and along with its grandiose name it’s got an eye-popping price for a Denny’s dessert, at 1,694 yen.

Considering you can get all sorts of full meals, including hamburger steak, pasta, sandwiches, and rice plates at Denny’s for less than 1,000 yen, this is a big outlay for a dessert. Still, we were intrigued, and so we ordered the Aoki-produced dessert. The.