gonki — Restaurant in Yamanouchi

Hands down my favorite restaurant in all of Japan. Husband and I stumbled upon this place after checking into our ryokan on a weeknight. We got in late and were starving. This was 2020 also so not a lot of places were open. I'm so so so happy they were willing to stay open for us. We enjoyed every single dish, and wish we had larger stomaches to eat even more. I didn't care about the bill at the end (I think we ordered at least 10 things), because my stomache was so happy. The restaurant is run by a young couple. Husband is the chef (trained in Alsace, France I think?) and Wife was front of house. Decor was so pretty and cozy, everything about that night was perfect.

It was so good that I still look back on our photos to this day. I recommend this restaurant to all of our friends who visit Japan. I would take a return trip just to visit this...

One of the best meals I’ve ever had! It was so good we went both nights on our stay in Shibu!! Gonki is so charming and unbelievably delicious! The food is rich and full of beautiful French flavours. The owners lived and worked in France and brought all their experience and knowledge to Gonki. We tried almost every dish and loved them all, we had; Homemade bread, Terrine, Wild Boar, Homemade Pickles, Lard Flumet Paysanne, Chicken Ballotine, Stuffed Sauid, Red Squid, Beer-braised Pork, Roast Chicken & potato fritters, Grilled vegetables with Balsamic and the Poundcake and berries dessert. We highly recommend all of them! Such a charming setting, lovely lovely owners and incredible flavours and quality ingredients! We won’t forget this meal!...

Truly incredible experience in a family run restaurant with beautiful colorful decoration of their daughter’s creations. The food is the father’s specialty who has a great knowledge of French cuisine and creative talent in preparing it. Then the warm and vibrant atmosphere created by the wife’s welcoming attitude. A generous menu with an exquisite selection of wines and digestif, such as cognac and sake. Many of the products, particularly the fish was from the...