New Otani Hotel Fontana di Otani

Hotel Buffet Near Kumamoto Station

On a recent visit to Kumamoto, I left it up to my husband to decide where he wanted to eat, knowing full well it would be a buffet restaurant of some kind. He had a difficult time finding something at first, but then seemed excited to find Fontand di Otani, as they advertised 'baniku hamburg.' (Kumamoto is known for their horse meat sashimi among other things.) We went for the lunch time on a Sunday, but the price is the same on weekends – 1350 per adult, plus tax. The dinner menu was around 3000, but it's also a crab meat tabehodai, which explains why. The lunch price includes all you can eat soup, salad, main and side dishes, and a limited drink bar (coffee, tea, selected juices), plus dessert. There is a separate drink menu if you'd like to order something more than basic coffee or something with alcohol in it. We suspected the baniku hamburg was mixed with beef, but it was still nice. There was a grilled and boiled version, but I only tried the grilled one, with garlic sauce. There were a few soups available including crab miso, which was a first for me. Crab cream croquet was nice but a little heavy, and there were also fried oysters, which went quickly (and I didn't have room for) but I heard they were good. Fish and chicken was really good, salads were good, everything was good quality for the price. Desserts were small waffles and pancakes, gobou bread and carrot castella, mousse, raspberry cake, and coffee jelly. We were quite full after not even tasting everything and think it would be wise to go back in the future when we're in town again. The foods are seasonal, so they will change depending on when you visit, although sample menus are available on their website (in Japanese). Right outside of Kumamoto Station.