Local gourmet food and seafood to be savored in Beppu. Recommended 6 famous restaurants for lunch.
Beppu is one of the best hot spring resorts in Japan, surrounded by the sea and mountains. Beppu is a treasure trove of a rich variety of foods, including seafood such as Sekiaji horse mackerel and Seki mackerel, brand-name Oita Wagyu beef, and local delicacies such as Toriten (chicken tempura) and Dango Jiru (rice ball soup). Here are six delicious lunches at famous restaurants in Beppu that are loved by locals as well as tourists from outside of the prefecture.
1Kaisen Izutsu
A former fresh fish restaurant offers a wide selection of fresh seafood. Kaisen-don" is a bowl of rice topped with a variety of fresh seafood.
This restaurant started as a fresh fish restaurant and now operates as an izakaya. Customers from inside and outside of the prefecture visit the restaurant for the "Kaisen-don," a bowl of rice topped with about 10 kinds of seafood at any given time, mainly from Oita and Kyushu. natural Seki yellowtail, which is served almost throughout the year, is especially recommended for its firm and resilient flesh. Other fresh seasonal seafood such as sea bream, salmon, squid, shrimp, Spanish mackerel, and bonito can also be enjoyed.
The refreshing sushi rice and the restaurant's original blend of soy sauce made from Beppu's long-established "Miho Soy Sauce" enhances the flavor of the sashimi, making the chopsticks hard to stop eating.
Relaxed space where you can spend your time without feeling self-conscious.
The "Ryukyu-don" is also a must-try dish, available in limited quantities and quickly sold out. It is characterized by the fact that the sashimi fillets are not marinated, but instead are dressed with soy sauce. The light and refreshing sauce allows you to enjoy the natural taste of the fish. The Toriten Ryukyu set meal, which allows you to taste Oita's specialties all at once, is very popular among customers from outside the prefecture.
At night, the restaurant is open as an izakaya (Japanese style bar), and the menu is the same day and night, so there is a wide variety of dishes to choose from, which is a nice feature. Each dish, such as "kama no karaage" (fried fish paste) and "kaisen yakimeshi" (seafood and rice cake), is large, so it is recommended to share with many people.
- Kaisen Izutsu
-
5-5 Kusunokucho, Beppu City, Oita Prefecture MAP
8 minutes walk from JR Beppu Station
11:00-15:00 (L.O.14:30), 18:00-21:30 (L.O.21:00)
Mon.
0977-22-2449
None
2TOYOTSUNE HONTEN
Crispy and savory tempura with a special sweet and spicy sauce.
The "Tokujo Tendon" (extra large tempura bowl) is the most popular item at this famous restaurant, where the line is long. Two plump, extra-large prawn tempura and vegetable tempura such as eggplant and carrots are served on top of a bowl of rice, and the volume of the tempura is so large that it overflows the bowl.
The crunchy, savory, and chewy batter is one of the main characteristics of this dish, and it goes perfectly with the special sweet and spicy sauce. It is recommended to eat it freshly made right away. For an additional 360 yen, you can add prawn tempura. The accompanying miso soup is made with miso from Sakamoto Chohei Shoten, a long-established restaurant in Beppu. The miso soup with red miso broth enhances the overall flavor.
A well-loved restaurant that attracts 200 to 300 customers even on weekdays.
Anago-don" featuring thick and large conger eel tempura is a popular menu item that will surprise you with its volume. Enjoy the harmony of the crunchy batter and fluffy conger eel.
In addition to tempura, the restaurant also boasts fresh fish from the Bungo Channel. You can taste fresh local fish such as Seki horse mackerel. The "Ryukyu-don," a specialty of Oita, is a bowl of rice topped with various types of sashimi sliced into pieces and dressed with a strong sesame-based flavor. It is served with hot spring egg, which is a little unusual.
- TOYOTSUNE Head Office
-
- 2-12-24 Kitahama, Beppu City, Oita Prefecture MAP
- 8 minutes walk from JR Beppu Station
- 11:00-21:00 (L.O. 20:00)
- Wednesday
- 0977-22-3274
- Available
Reservations not accepted
3Beppu Sweet Tea House
Enjoy nostalgic handmade local cuisine
The restaurant is located along the Yamanami Highway, where you can enjoy local cuisine prepared with great care. The most popular dish is the "Dango Jiru Set Meal. The firm and elastic dumplings are handmade daily using only wheat, salt, and water. The base of the soup is a combination of red, white, and barley miso, and during the kabosu season, the soup is served with a squeeze of kabosu juice for a refreshing taste.
The seasonal rice that accompanies the set changes with the seasons, such as sweet potatoes, mushrooms, crab, beans, and chirimen sansho (Japanese pepper). Yaseuma" made with dumplings has an addictive taste with the gentle sweetness of soybean flour and sugar.
The "deep fried rice cake sumashi" is also highly recommended!
A deep-rooted favorite, "Aged Mochi Sumashi Jiru" is a dish containing three crispy fried rice cakes in a Japanese-style broth with stewed radish and plenty of grated daikon. The rice cakes are made every morning at the restaurant.
All menu items are handmade, and there are more than 100 varieties on the menu. As they reflect the feedback from their customers, they have added various variations of dishes such as "Curry Rice" and "Doria". There are also a variety of sweets, including handmade Japanese sweets with red bean paste, puddings, parfaits, and more. You will have a happy time wondering which one to choose.
- Beppu Sweet Tea House
-
- 1-4 Jissoji, Beppu City, Oita Prefecture MAP
- 14 minutes from JR Beppu Station by car
Take a bus from JR Beppu Station, get off at "Beppu Sogo Shasha-mae" and walk 2 minutes.- 10:00-21:00 (L.O. 20:30)
- Open daily *Special holidays may apply.
- 0977-67-6024
- Free of charge
4Bungo Beef Steak Restaurant Somuri Beppu Honten
Enjoy "Oita Wagyu Beef" cooked in front of your eyes!
The owner-chef, who has eaten meat from all over Japan, insists on using "Bungo beef," which is recognized as the best beef in Japan. The signature dish is the "Bungo Beef Steak," made from "Oita Wagyu," which is a grade 4 or higher beef among Bungo beef. The sight of the meat cut thickly from a block and cooked in front of your eyes stimulates all five senses and raises expectations.
The meat is finely marbled and has a rich, melt-in-your-mouth flavor. You can taste to your heart's content the high quality meat that is highly acclaimed throughout the country.
The restaurant is carefully designed to provide the best meat.
The environment is meticulously prepared so that you can spend a blissful time cutting the steak with your own knife and bringing it to your mouth. The chic carpeted floor, which is rare for a restaurant, is heated by floor heating. The cutlery is thoroughly sourced from Ryusen Cutlery, a long-established cutlery company.
The consommé soup and corn potage served with the steak course are all handmade, from the bouillon down to the ham. Despite its location in a bustling restaurant district, the restaurant offers a chic and relaxed atmosphere where you can spend time in comfort.
- Bungo Beef Steak Restaurant Somuri Beppu Main Store
-
- 2F Kasaoka Shoten Building, 1-4-28 Kitahama, Beppu City, Oita Prefecture MAP
- 6 minutes walk from JR Beppu Station
- 11:30 - 14:00 (L.O. 13:30), 17:30 - 21:30 (L.O. 20:30)
- Dinner time on Mondays and Wednesdays
- 0977-24-6830
- None
5Grill Mitsuba
Fluffy battered "Toriten" served with homemade sauce
A long-established Western-style restaurant that has been in business since 1953. Since its establishment, it has maintained the same taste with the same production method. The "Toriten" (chicken tempura) served with homemade sweet sauce instead of vinegared soy sauce or ponzu sauce is a tempting dish with fluffy batter and juicy meat.
Not only chicken meat but also various other parts of the chicken are made into tempura. One of the pleasures of this dish is that the sauce soaks into the tempura over time, changing its flavor. The red miso soup that comes with the set meal is made from red miso from Sakamoto Chohei Shoten, a long-established restaurant in Beppu. The traditional thick miso soup balances the entire set meal.
The homemade demi-glace sauce slowly simmered in the sauce is exquisite!
Another menu item not to be forgotten is the beef cutlet. It is covered with homemade bread crumbs from the long-established "Tomonaga Bread" and fried crispy in 100% lard. The cutlet is topped with homemade demi-glace sauce made from Bungo beef and aromatic vegetables simmered for 10 days. The crispy and savory batter, the concentrated flavor of the beef, and the gentle flavor of the sauce blend together to create an exceptional taste.
The restaurant also offers a wide range of dishes such as "Bungo Beef Steak" served on a teppan grill and Chinese dishes characterized by their gentle flavors.
- Grill Mitsuba
-
- 1-4-31 Kitahama, Beppu City, Oita Prefecture MAP
- Approx. 5 min. walk from JR Beppu Station
- 11:30-14:00 (L.0.13:30), 18:00-21:00 (L.O.20:00)
- Dinner on Tuesdays and Mondays
- 0977-23-2887
- Free of charge (3 cars)
6Restaurant Toyoken
A popular restaurant with a long line of customers waiting in line for the famous "Toriten" (chicken tempura).
The third generation is currently in charge of this long-established restaurant, which was established in 1926. It started out as a Western-style restaurant, and its famous "Toriten" (chicken tempura) has been served since around 1937, and continues to be popular even today.
The Japanese chicken thigh meat marinated in a secret sauce made from original soy sauce and spiced vegetables is well seasoned and has a punchy taste. The batter is made with only flour, potato starch, and eggs, and no water is used, making the meat tender and juicy even when cold. It is served with our original kabosu vinegar soy sauce and a generous amount of mustard.
The large bowl of Chinese noodles is also very attractive!
The "Beef To Shou Noodle" is popular among regular customers. The noodles are imported from Taiwan and are characterized by their firmness and elasticity. Other popular Chinese noodles include the "Kakuni Ramen" with pork, the hearty and reasonably priced "Shark's Fin Ramen," and the "Tantanmen" with its deep, rich, and deliciously spicy flavor.
This very popular restaurant is visited by more than 15,000 people a month. The restaurant has been featured in numerous TV programs and magazines, and has been visited by celebrities and well-known personalities. Reservations are not accepted, so it is recommended to go well in advance.
- Restaurant Toyoken
-
- 7-8-22 Ishigaki-Higashi, Beppu City, Oita Prefecture MAP
- Approximately 8 minutes from JR Beppu Station by car
- Take a bus from JR Beppu Station, get off at "Funakouji" and walk about 5 minutes.
- 11:00-15:30 (L.O. 15:00), 17:00-22:00 (L.O. 21:00)
- 2nd Tuesday of the month
- 0977-23-3333
- Free of charge
MAP
- Hoshino Resorts facilities nearby
