A great location and a variety of delicious dishes! A luxurious lunch course by a one-star chef (Minami-ku, Fukuoka City)

Hello. This is Chihi Log, a casual website that provides information about Fukuoka, with a focus on gourmet food.

This time, we will introduce you to the special lunch menu that you can enjoy at the popular restaurant inside "ABURAYAMA FUKUOKA."

The view overlooking the city of Fukuoka is also great! The second branch of the popular restaurant run by a one-star chef, "Sola Aburayama" (Kashiwara, Minami-ku, Fukuoka City)

ABURAYAMA FUKUOKA is a complex experiential outdoor facility that opened in April 2023.

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It is located in Kashiwara (ranch side) and Hinohara (forest side) in Minami-ku, Fukuoka City, about 30 to 40 minutes by car from central city areas such as Tenjin and Hakata (parking is 300 yen for standard cars for the first 3 hours, 100 yen for each additional hour).

It's surrounded by a wealth of greenery, giving you a feeling of being out of the ordinary, and it's also a great spot to get a panoramic view of Fukuoka city.

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This time we visited "Sola Aburayama", run by one Michelin star chef Hiroki Yoshitake.

This is the second branch of Restaurant Sola, a popular restaurant in Bayside Place Hakata that is so popular it's impossible to get a reservation.

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The interior of the store is stylish and sophisticated, with a warm and cozy atmosphere.

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The window seats and terrace seats offer particularly good views. With a panoramic view of the abundant nature and cityscape of Fukuoka, it is the perfect location for anniversaries and other special occasions.

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Enjoy the weekday-only "lunch course"

This time we tried the "Lunch Course" (8,250 yen per person), which is only available on weekdays and started in June 2024.

The set menu consists of an amuse bouche plate, four appetizers, a main course, dessert, a small after-meal snack and a drink, and the menu changes depending on the season.

I will introduce the menu that was on the day I visited (late July).

Amuse plate

The "amuse bouche plate" was served on a wooden plate. On this day, it featured zucchini, corn, okra, and almonds.

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First up is a dish inspired by the Indian snack "panipuri."

The crispy fried dough was filled with zucchini and melt-in-your-mouth squid. It was not only delicious, but also had a fun texture.

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This is ice cream made with corn.

The ice cream has a rich flavor, but I was surprised to learn that it's made only from the sweetness of corn! The generous serving of corn kernels was also delicious.

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The menu item using okra is served in the form of crepes.

The combination of okra, prosciutto, and homemade ricotta cheese created a soft and fluffy dough with a perfect balance of the saltiness of the ingredients.

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These are freshly picked almonds from Asakura. They were extremely fresh and flavorful, and the taste was amazing.

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4 appetizers

Next came four appetizers. On this day, the menu featured tomatoes, salmon, conger eel, and sweetfish.

First up is gazpacho made with tomatoes from Itoshima.

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Inside was blancmange made with milk from ABURAYAMA FUKUOKA, as well as small balls of watermelon, melon, and tomatoes.

The cool basil ice cream and mint on top add a refreshing accent. The red and green colors are beautiful!

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The next dish, made with Okuhyuga Salmon, was like a work of art.

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The salmon is of course melt-in-your-mouth delicious, but the carrots that come with it are also tasty.

Every time I took a bite, I was amazed at how many different flavors could be enjoyed from the same carrot, such as fried carrots, rich carrot cream roasted in butter, and a sauce made with carrot leaves.

It's a dish I still can't forget how delicious it was.

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This is a dish made with conger eel. Crispy, fluffy fries are served on top of a cool conger eel soup.

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Not only the soup but also the plate was cold, which made the warmth of the frites stand out even more.

It is topped with a generous amount of golden kinjiku sorrel, shishito peppers, okra, and parsley! It is a dish with a variety of textures, some fresh and some grilled crispy over an open flame.

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The last of the four appetizers is wood-grilled sweetfish, garnished with Itoshima winter melon and fried green onions.

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When we cut the sweetfish into pieces, we found that it contained pig's trotters, pork, shiitake mushrooms, and more!

The fragrant aroma from the wood-fired cooking was followed by a variety of flavors and textures, making for an incredibly delicious meal.

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The risotto made with sweetfish broth, served on a separate plate at the same time, is also delicious!

It had a gentle flavor packed with the umami of sweetfish and shiitake mushrooms, and it permeated my body.

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Homemade bread

The homemade whole wheat bread, served around the same time as the appetizers, was soft and chewy, so much so that you could almost feel the fibers gently dissolving in your mouth.

You can eat it with the ricotta cheese sprinkled with red paprika powder that comes with it, or you can have as many refills as you like, so we also recommend dipping it in the sauce that comes with the dish.

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Main

The main dish is made with the shoulder loin of Itoshima's brand pork "Densuke." The colorful summer vegetables that accompany it are also appetizing.

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The meat, which is grilled with koji on all sides, is juicy and packed with flavor and aroma.

It was soft enough to be easily cut with a knife, but had just the right amount of elasticity and was very satisfying to eat.

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The side dish, a mille-feuille of potatoes, eggplant, zucchini, and peppers, had a fresh flavor that brought out the flavor of the ingredients. It was delicious.

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dessert

The dessert, which was served in a summery outfit, was peach sorbet on this day.

It was served with crispy meringue cookies and refreshing yogurt cream, which brought out the sweetness of the peach and was absolutely delicious.

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Small snacks and drinks

The meal ends with a snack and drink, which is optional.

You can have a wonderful time savoring the afterglow of delicious food while admiring the beautiful scenery.

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By the way, there is a farm within "ABURAYAMA FUKUOKA", and "sola aburayama" uses the vegetables and herbs grown there in its cooking.

As the facility's theme is "realizing a circular society," it also undertakes initiatives such as returning food waste to the soil instead of disposing of it.

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The menu was all made with seasonal ingredients, and it was a happy time where I was able to fully feel the summer. I'm looking forward to the next menu! Please come and visit us as a reward for yourself. (Text by CHIHIRO)

＜Click on the store name for more details about the store ↓＞
■sola aburayama
Address: 710-2 Kashiwara, Minami-ku, Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Prefecture
Business hours: [Weekdays] Lunch 12:00-14:30 (LO 13:00) / Cafe 14:30-18:00 (LO 17:00) [Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays (a la carte)] 10:00-18:00 (LO 17:00)
Closed: Wednesdays
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