Behind Kobe there’s a mountain called Mt. Rokko, and word is that the view, with all of Kobe spread out below, is fantastic. The night view in particular is supposed to be stunning, and I’d been told again and again that I had to go, so when my route finally worked out this time, I got to go up. While I was at it, I also booked a table at a lodge-slash-French-restaurant on Mt. Rokko. Stopping by a mountain lodge like I was out on a picnic and having a nice French meal.. I was really looking forward to it.
The inside looks roughly like this..
It’s not just made to look like logs; it’s built from real logs, which may be why it feels so cozy.. It really felt like being out on a picnic in the woods. Unfortunately the weather was bad, so the view wasn’t much.
Plate
Simple..
Bread with potato
Warm bread comes out. They say there’s potato in it, but I thought I caught a faint hint of sweet potato too. Nicely salty, and neither greasy nor dry. Kobe really is strong on bread and desserts.
Cutlery set
If you look closely you’ll see there are three kinds. It’s a short course, so the idea is to use whatever you’re comfortable with.
Starter: treasures of the sea and mountains
It has baby squid, clams, white asparagus, and natsumikan. Fresh seasonal ingredients, carefully chosen and each cooked the right way. So it tasted fine, but it was all cheap ingredients, which was a bit of a letdown.. and this isn’t exactly a cheap place. At this price in central Kobe you’d probably get some foie gras in there, but compared with that, the food here was less satisfying..
Main: French chicken braised with vinegar
The sourness of the vinegar gives a nice accent to the chicken, stewed tender in the sauce. The mashed potatoes were good too.. But paying 4,000 yen for this feels like a bit of a waste.. Last time at Igrek I paid 4,500 yen for an aperitif + pasta + a steak main. On top of that, the ingredients felt a little skimpy. For French food at a mountain lodge, I’d imagined them sourcing local ingredients from around the area, but it’s not much different from what they use down in central Kobe. I guess you really have to go deep into the countryside to find that kind of place. Looking for it on the mountain behind Kobe was asking too much.
Dessert: strawberry bavarois
Kobe’s desserts live up to their reputation. No matter how small the French place, you get a proper dessert. It might look a little shabby, but it’s a pudding with the strawberry flavor nicely melted into it.
Chamomile tea
I’d gone to bed late the night before and rushed straight over after shopping, so I was a bit tired and took it easy over two cups of herbal tea. It was just overcast when I arrived, but after we started eating, a snowstorm blew in -_- I’d planned to walk around and look about a bit after the meal, but I decided to head straight back down to Kobe instead.
Outdoor table
In any season other than winter, it would probably be worth the trip. With better weather it would have been worth coming even at these prices, but in weather like this..
Cottage
The lodging next to the restaurant; a few groups seemed to be staying there.
The restaurant
A snowstorm pounding down.. I came out to buy spring clothes, so what on earth is this..
The view of Kobe
It was cloudy so this is all you can see, but with decent weather it would be a great view. I’m really curious about the night view in particular.. but in weather like this, the night view couldn’t have been much either. I’ll have to come back up some time when the weather’s good.
The road you see up there is the expressway..
The expressway tolls are cheap too, so I’m thinking of going to Kobe often. It’ll probably be when I need to go clothes shopping, though.. Kobe, shopping included, is a town I really like.