Bon — Restaurant in Toyooka

We read reviews that queues will start forming even before Bon opens for business. Hence we rushed there in the cold, windy rain and waited outside the shop after a short walk around Kinosaki Onsen.

We were initially afraid that our wait would be futile as there are no indications that Bon is in operations. However, after 15mins of waiting, we were welcomed by the owner who opens the door for us.

Bon is a very small restaurant with only 10 counter seats and specializes in crab. It’s a one-man show, so some waiting time is required.

We ordered a few things off the menu: Crab set (Crab sashimi, steamed crab, grilled crab - we don’t consume raw food so we requested chef to grill our crabs instead) Whole steamed crab Crab leg miso soup Crab porridge Grilled fish

Pictures cannot do justice in describing how juicy and fresh the crab tastes like, regardless steamed or grilled. It is simply delicious. However, we prefer the steamed crab more than the grilled crab as it best retain the crab’s freshness and moisture.

Something to take note is that once your order is sent in, the chef will start preparing the crabs. It’s not a bad thing per se, but we just hope that there could be more spacing between the dishes. Case in point - Once our grilled crabs are served, the chef started preparing for our steamed crabs. As you probably know, it takes time to peel off the shell and enjoy the meat. But way before we are halfway done, the steamed crabs are served. So by the time we moved on to the steamed crabs, it was already very cold. The steamed crabs still taste good nonetheless but we prefer our steamed crabs hot.

We will definitely drop by Bon if we’re back to Kinosakionsen again! But do note that this restaurant only accepts...

Great experience for a crab novice. Took Set C which was half sashimi crab and half grilled crab with rice and a crab soup. The chef noticed I only ate half of my sashimi and all of my grilled crab and offered to grill the rest. I’m glad I tried sashimi crab and glad that i got to eat the rest cooked. Caution, there are only 2 sittings per session and no bookings, so either line up for the first or prepare to wait...

What an amazing little place. Probably 10 counter seats, and one amazing host/chef.

The crab and scallops were spectacular. The host was very friendly and accommodating. The prices were also very good. The only downside was the lingering smell of old cigarette smoke as it still allows smoking. No one was smoking when I was dining however and this may suit some people...