Atelier at InterContinental Beppu Resort & Spa (Beppu, JAPAN) ★★★★☆

We didn't have much time to enjoy the breathtaking view from the balcony of our hotel room or dip into our private hot spring bath. That because we have another journey to embark on. A culinary journey I've been looking forward to since we touched down in Fukuoka. 

InterContinental Beppu Resort & Spa is about a 10-minute drive from where we were staying. It is an exclusive luxury resort up on the hills overlooking the city of Beppu. While hotel guests can easily escape the hustle and bustle of city life, the property is just a comfortable 15-minute drive from the heart of the spa town. Very easy to navigate around.



Atelier, one of the two restaurants at InterContinental Beppu Resort & Spa, is the hotel's signature casual fine-dining restaurant with 21 counter-only seats in a theatrical setting.

A couple of days before our trip, I started engaging in a conversation with Atelier's reservation team but was devastated to learn that children under 12 were not allowed to dine in the restaurant. I totally understand the reasons behind the policy but wasn't going down without a fight. After exchanging a few emails with the team pledging my case, I was ever so fortunate to receive the terrific news that Executive Chef Kenji Kudo (工藤 賢二) has given the green light to little nugget for dining with us at Atelier. This easily became the best meal of the trip for us by a country mile.

We had the pleasure of choosing the Atelier Saison tasting menu tonight. It's dubbed as a "journey in Kyushu" with some of the prized ingredients coming from different cities in the region.

Nagasaki potato, caviar – Our amuse bouche was potato ice-cream topped by caviar and wagyu consommé jelly. 

There was a layer of yoghurt cream on the bottom to bring some acidity to the dish. A nice, refreshing start to our evening.

Oita flounder, Miyazaki mango – The second course of the tasting menu was a very busy dish full of local ingredients.

The flounder fillet from Oita was slightly torched and served up with Japanese ginger sauce, dabs of mango purée, radish and okra topped with green peas and scallop mousse.

Kumamoto Akaushi beef, Yifiun cheese – Our second and final starter was Kumamoto Akaushi beef roasted, and matched with parmesan chips made from Yifiun cheese, mustard seeds (fermented?) and eggplant purée. The prized Akaushi beef came with moderate marbling, lean but melt-in-your-mouth texture and buttery flavor.

Some housemade salted and unsalted butter arrived along with different kinds of bread.

Looked like these just came out of the oven.

Saganoseki black abalone, Itoshima vegetables – Our seafood dish tonight featured charcoal grilled isaki fish (伊佐木) with black abalone from Saganoseki (佐賀関町), a coastal town on the Eastern tip of Oita. Little one was overjoyed to see his favorite abalone.

This was served with an array of seasonal vegetables from Itoshima (糸島) including butternut squash, bak choy, zucchini and carrot balls, finished off with a thick and tangy abalone sauce.

Oita wagyu filet mignon, eel – The charcoal grilled wagyu filet mignon from Oita topped with a slice of sautéed foie gras, was nicely matched with porcini mushroom chutney, sancho pepper, spring roll stuffed with wagyu beef, lemony Eel, sweet corn, bitter melon, carrot and pearl onion.

The succulent wagyu came with some nice smokiness from the charcoal grill and it was perfect to go with the melt-in-the-mouth foie gras (which I haven't had the pleasure of enjoying for a while thanks to my self-imposed ban of consuming foie gras).

The pool of sauce made with eel, beef, and reduction with butter delivered a strong and sublime finish.

Kagoshima green tea, brown cane sugar – I didn’t realize Kagoshima is a good source of green tea (on top of their wagyu).

I really liked the mellow, earthy taste from the green tea terrine and ice cream. This, along with its slight bitterness, was in stark contrast with the sweetness from the melon compote and mousse. The transparent strips of brown cane sugar (can anyone tell me why they were not brown in color?) helped to provide some interesting texture and crunchiness to the mix. A very nice, unpretentious dessert to wrap up our culinary journey in Kyushu.

We actually had time to enjoy a cup of tea and a small cookie. That's a luxury we could never afford back in Hong Kong. We did everything in a rush back home.

Atelier was a dining experience unlike any other on this trip. The clever use of locally sourced  ingredients, cutting-edge cooking techniques and the cozy vibe (although we couldn't see the mountain tops from the windows as it was already dark), it was an unparalleled multi-sensory journey. Special thanks to Chef Kenji for granting us the opportunity to enjoy this meal as a family. That was much appreciated.

Food Rating: 7/10

Price: ￥￥￥￥

Address: 4/F InterContinental Beppu Resort & Spa, Oita, 874-0000 Japan

Tel: +81 (0)977-76-8258

Website: https://anaicbeppu.com/en/dining/

Opening Hours: 5:00pm - 9:00pm daily