Yamanashi Restaurant Meli-Melo

Delicious and healthy french cuisine with lots of fresh local vegetables

In my 16 years in Japan I have been to many restaurants that offer French cuisine, this is the 2nd best I've ever had. The last time I visited was with a group of 10 women and we all agreed the food was excellent, but it only enjoys mediocre reviews online. Where it loses points for me is for its size and how cramped it feels. Plus the chairs aren't particularly comfortable. The restaurant advertise themselves as "casual french" food. They offer lunch and dinner. You can get a lunch for just over 1000 yen and dinners start from about 3000. I think the menu is quite unique and the food is healthy and presented beautifully. It is made from fresh vegetables sourced locally and Koshu wine beef or shingendori. The restaurant isn't that suited to groups, but they managed to facilitate our party of 10. Apart from table seats there are also counter seats which have a great view of the chefs at work. The staff were friendly and tried to accommodate our varying needs which included a late announcement of an allergy. They were patient and forthcoming with information and explanations about the food. The restaurant is just a 3 minutes walk from the north exit of Kofu Station. It is housed on the 2nd floor of a building that was constructed to be a new landmark for Kofu, replicating the old castle town setting of about an hundred years ago. The restaurant is closed on Mondays and the first and third Tuesday of the month. Lunch is from 11.00 am to 3 pm on weekends and public holidays, 11.30 to 2 pm on weekdays. Dinner is from 5.30 to 10 pm from Tuesday to Saturday and until 8.30 pm on Sundays and public holidays.