Bistro le jiu 慈雨 — Restaurant in Beppu

Amazing experience at a highly impressive and meticulously run one-man show. When speaking to the chef and owner, we found out that he has over a dozen years of experience working in a French restaurant in a big Japanese city but he also spent over a year afterwards refining his skills in the French Basque Country. This explains the mastery and authenticity with which he cooks.

I saw another review here that claimed the food was simple French food. I beg to differ. Just because something is not heavy, boldly flavoured and decadent does not make it simple. The man served his Basque cheesecake with hojicha crumbles that I could only assume he made himself - just like how he made the pastries, the pickled sides, and all of the sauces and reductions he served his dishes with.

If this restaurant was in a big city like Tokyo, the meal would easily fetch triple and more of what it cost to eat something so skillfully and soulfully...

Bumped into this cozy little one-man-band French bistro as we were strolling along the Beppu town centre and didn't feel like getting into one of those izakaya restaurants. We ordered a tasting menu of 5,000 yen and some local beer. The owner chef is a young Japanese gentleman who spent a year in Alsace, France, and meticulously prepared a great meal for us - starter platter, cold fish soup, main dish grilled pork with farm vegetables, and ended with basque cheesecake. Everything was done perfectly. It is a real hidden gem and I hope the restaurant will have great success...

Went on a Friday evening in November after passing it during the day. There was a group of 5 already in and then just the two of us at an 8 seat counter. The chef managed to finish feeding them, take about 5 phone calls and prepare a superb 7 course tasting menu for the two of us. The food was fabulous and also some interesting and very impressive wine. After just over two weeks in Japan this was one of the very best eating experiences. And a lovely chef who explained everything to us. A great experience and...