Good Japanese/Western Style food and other Niigata, Japan Restaurant Reviews

Restaurant Name: COCO's

Coco's falls under the category of a family restaurant. Big points for Coco's on food choice as they'll make both Western and Japanese diners happy. On the non-Japanese side they serve dishes such as Thai Green Curry (absolutely love it!!), Vietnamese noodles, Mexican quesadillas, hamburgers, steak, pizza, pasta, etc. For those up for Japanese cuisine they serve pork-cutlets (tonkatsu), ramen noodles, Japanese risotto, etc. They also have a good selection of desserts. Best of all, they have an awesome selection at their drink bar especially in the tea category (not tea bags BUT, fresh tea leaves). Compared to other family restaurant choices Coco's is better than most.

Favorite Dish: Like I said, I love the Thai Green Curry. On the downside, they only serve that dish during the summer (I'll take a picture of it some time later). Like the quesadillas, too. Most recently, I've been enjoying the pork cutlets a bunch.

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Theme: Other
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$11-20  » Currency Converter

Restaurant Name: Mon Amie Pierro

Mon Amie Pierro is ideal for a romantic night out. I took my wife to this restaurant for our 2nd year anniversary and for Valentine's Day (For the fans,... we married on Valentine's Day).

Overall the food was great. They almost had everything perfect except that they served my red
wine cold rather than at room temperature as it should have been (see my notes on Japanese restaurants about that one).

It's best to make a reservation before going. I've heard that it's a popular restaurant although
I must admit we were the only guests the night we went. This is understandable as it's a bit expensive and there is a lot of competition in Niigata in the restaurant business.

A huge plus for this restaurant is that it is NON SMOKING. :)
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Favorite Dish: I would have to say I enjoyed the duck the most but the fois gras (goose liver pate) was also excellent.

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Theme: French
Comparison: more expensive than average
Prices: US$41 and up  » Currency Converter
Directions: downtown near Mitsukoshi Dept store.
From Mitsukoshi walk towards the McDonalds.
Cross the street on the corner of where Cous Cous is. The restaurant is
here on this street. Walk on the left hand side away from the Indian restaurant and you'll get there.

Restaurant Name: Saizeria

Saizeria is a good choice for free refills and fast meals. It only takes the chefs a few minutes to bring most of the meals on the menu.

The food is cheaper than most restaurants and not bad for the price.

The drink bar has unlimited refills offering a variety of sodas, tea, and expresso or cafe latte.

Favorite Dish: I recommend the cold pumpkin soup.

The tomatoe, basil, & olive oil dish.

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Theme: Italian
Comparison: less expensive than average
Prices: US$11-20  » Currency Converter
Directions: There are several Saizeria restaurants in Niigata City.

Restaurant Name: Delica

Delica, owned by Greg Hasegawa, is one of the few places serving sandwiches done your way. In fact, it might be the only one that makes it exactly as you like. It looks even better than Subways but, that's only true in terms of the restaurant itself. The sandwiches on the other hand look more to cater to Japanese clientele than American clientele as one sandwich just doesn't feel like enough. In fact, 2 might not either.

Size wise, Delica's sandwiches, loose the contest. However, points have to be given that the sandwiches do taste good. In fact, as far as I could tell, a Subway's avocado and turkey sandwich doesn't taste any different than a Delica's sandwich of the same type. The big difference is how much bite you get for your buck. In this case, Subways delivers far better. But, since there is no other competition in town (Niigata City that is), Delica wins the proximity contest (Subway's loses because the closest one I know of is in Tokyo).

The staff speak English, are friendly and talkative and do things the American way (meaning they know what's in the food, how it's made, and they'll make it the way you like). This itself is one of Hasegawa's trademarks in Niigata city, in that he brings the American way of running a restaurant to 'the snow country'. So, when you're paying for that sandwich, forget you not that there is some good part of American quality in the service... now, if we can just get American sized servings then I'll be a real happy camper. Honestly, Greg would make more money if they were larger as he'd get lots of regular customers all the time. I don't know how many foreigners I know wish there were a Subway's here.

Hasegawa's Delica also offers 4 choices of bread to choose from and there's lots of other stuff on the menu as well.

Favorite Dish: As mentioned, the avocado & turkey sandwich.

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Theme: Deli
Comparison: more expensive than average
Prices: less than US$10  » Currency Converter

Restaurant Name: Pouja

The staff at this restaurant have been working here for a long time and this restaurant is probably Niigata's best known Indian restaurant. The staff themselves are authentic chefs from India or neighboring countries. Prior to living in Japan, I had never tried Indian food. I even had a roommate in
college who was of Indian ancestry and I never was willing to try his food because at the time I though it looked so weird (well, now I'll always wonder what I missed out on Manish (my former college roommate's name)).

But, Pouja really turned me on to Indian food as well as other Asian dishes (i.e. Thai food, too). The food at Pouja is excellent and reasonably priced. It's a good place to go with friends or for a nice romantic meal.

On the downside, they still permit smoking there, so it's best if you get yourself next to a window where you can open it just enough to breathe fresh(er) air. I frankly hate cigarette smoke but, I like Pouja so much that it's about the only restaurant in Niigata that I'm always all up for.

For foreigners, another plus is the staff can speak English (although with a heavy Indian accent). Of course, they speak Japanese as well.

Favorite Dish: I highly recommend to all is the Tika fish.

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Theme: Indian
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$11-20  » Currency Converter
Directions: Located on the same street as Mitsukoshi, McDonald's, Royal Host, and Cous Cous (all in that order). Following the order stated above, you'll find Pouja on the second floor on the corner across the street from
Cous Cous.

Restaurant Name: Lone Star

Lone Star is a small 3-story restaurant located about 4 to 5 minutes on foot from Niigata Station offering small but various types of Mexican dishes. One of the attractions of Lone Star is that it is foreign own (by Greg Hasegawa) and so, Lone Star employs English speaking staff.

The service is good (another advantage of being foreign own), yet I would much rather have larger dishes for the price. There are a few other restaurants in Niigata that offer Mexican cuisine, but Lone Star seems to offer a wider selection than others.

On the downside as I mentioned, portions are small. This may cater well to some Japanese cleintelle but, the foreign crowd can be left feeling hungry or might have to dig a little more into their pockets. Being from California, I've been spoiled by much larger portions for a much
cheaper price. However, realistically I also know that tortillas are very expensive in Japan. The average price range is about 500 yen for a pack of 5 - 8 tortillas (compare that to California were a pack of 10 tortillas will cost 25 to 30 cents). A smarter move on the restaurants part would be if they just made them themselves instead of importing them. Then they would more likely make more money and at the same time be able to provide cheaper prices and draw in larger numbers of customers. Well, here's hoping that Greg sees my page and puts that idea into action.

Favorite Dish: The fajitas are good. Another nice touch to Lone Star is that they have a wide selection of hot sauces. Don't get any in your eyes (Chad).

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Theme: Mexican
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$21-30  » Currency Converter
Directions: 4 to 5 minutes walk from Niigata station... I'll have to look into directions later as I haven't got a clue at the moment. It's not the easiest place to find.

Restaurant Name: Immigrants Med

Greg Hasegawa has expanded his empire to include another restaurant. This one is located on the south side of Niigata station very close to the Washington Hotel.

His new restaurant focuses on Mediteranean cuisine. The staff are friendly and like the Immigrants Cafe (also run by Hasegawa) are partially staffed by foreigners (gaigin).

So, unlike what I'm used to, you can actually be served here in English. One other thing both my wife and I noticed was that the American waiter seemed to know everything about the food, how it was made, and what was in it (Japanese waiters elsewhere tend to know comparatively nothing (unless they work in an expensive restaurant)). I imagine this has something to do with Greg running his restaurants the American way (meaning the staff must know what they are serving).

We had dinner there. But, I can tell from the location this place would be ideal for lunch, too.

Favorite Dish: I went for the lamb chops, scalloped salad, and 2 non-alcoholic drinks (coconut/pineapple drink and a mango/orange drink).

My wife had the paella.

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Theme: Other
Comparison: more expensive than average
Prices: US$41 and up  » Currency Converter
Directions: Located across the street from the Washington Hotel on the South side of Niigata Station.

Restaurant Name: Popolo (Ice Cream Shop)

Popolo is a good place to go on a spring or summer day when you're wanting some
low calorie but delicious ice cream. This ice cream shop can only be found in Niigata and they offer an original variety of ice cream. They have about 12 different ice cream flavors at a time. They don't usually carry the typical 3 at the same time (chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry). Instead they have a wider range of unique flavors. For example, the last time I went there they were serving: expresso, rum raisin, grapefruit, blueberry yogurt, Italian Chocolate Tiramisu, Taiwan Banana, Pumpkin, Green Tea, apple crepe, Okinawa Red Sweet Potato, and Japanese Cherry mochi.

Prices for scoops are as followed:
1 scoop 250 yen
2 scoops 300 yen
3 scoops 350 yen

Favorite Dish: My top 3 favorites are Pumpkin, Green Tea, and the best of all Rum Raisin.

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Theme: Ice Cream
Comparison: less expensive than average
Prices: less than US$10  » Currency Converter
Phone: 025-223-6676
Address: Suidochou Ichoume SeaWest 3
Directions: It's located close to the Aquarium, near the coast of Niigata Island facing the Sea of Japan. Also nearby is a large Shinto shrine and a number of other restaurants.
Website: http://www.xyj.co.jp/niigata/popolo/
Other Contact: WEBSITE IN JAPANESE ONLY :(

Restaurant Name: Starbucks

Details on the (Now 4 Starbucks & counting) Niigata Starbuck`s locations below:

1 Starbucks at Niigata`s Apita Mall (Koshin, Niigata-shi).

Easy to find. Large parking lot located outside. Easy access to the rest of the mall. Largest of the 4 Starbucks restaurants in Niigata in terms of seating available.

2- Starbucks located on Galvaston St. on the corner adjacent McDonald`s, opposite Kinokuniya, and next to Niigata`s Bandai Bus Center Niigata (1-6-1, Bandai, Niigata-shi)

This Starbucks is ideal because it is located so close to Kinokuniya (where you can get a good book or magazine before you get your coffee). This is also the Starbucks where you are most likely to meet other foreigners visiting or living in Niigata City. On the downside for drivers, there are no good parking spots nearby. Most of the foreigners here are pedestrians or bicyclists, so for most of us this little detail doesn`t matter.

3-Starbucks located on the basement floor (B1) of Niigata`s NEXT 21 building (LAFORET Next 21, 6-866, Nishbori, Niigata-shi)

This Starbucks has a nice sofa and set-up that gives one a bit of the feel from the TV show 'Friends'. It`s the hardest of the Starbucks to find (but it`s not that hard to find). It's located on the 1st basement floor of the Next 21 building (one of Niigata's landmarks).

4-The newest of the Starbucks in Niigata is now located a 30 minutes walk from Niigata station (go by bicycle as it's faster and just plain convenient) located on the same street as Don Quihote and in the direction away from Niigata station. Address: 5-2-19 Shichikuyama Chuo-ku Niigata Niigata
check out this website for a map for perspective: http://www.starbucks.co.jp/search/map/result.php?storeId=0817〈=en

This Starbucks has both an indoor and outdoor area for enjoying your coffee and sweets. This Starbucks
also has a drive through window and the location is right by Niigata Meike Interchange (freeway).
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Note: There used to be one other Starbucks located on the side of Mitsukoshi Department Store (Niigata Mitsukoshi 866, Nishbori, 5ban-cho, Niigata-shi). This was the smallest of the 4 Starbucks. But, for some reason they closed it down. I guess it was located to closely to the other one only 3 blocks away (#3 above).


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Theme: Coffeehouse
Comparison: about average
Prices: less than US$10  » Currency Converter
Address: see above
Directions: see above

Restaurant Name: Cafe Comme Ca

For a great place to go for brunch, lunch, or afternoon tea, this is the place to be.
Cafe Comme Ca offers a wide variety of pies all made there on the spot. Pie slices are American size so you get a better deal for your money. Also, the restaurant prides itself on using fresh fruit and other natural ingredients.

During lunch hour it's a non-smoking restaurant. Most of the clientele that frequent here tend not to be smokers so it's a better environment than most in Japan.

One thing though, whereas the desserts are reasonably priced for Japan, the drinks are way too expensive (drink water as it's free... other drinks will cost you 600 yen and up).

Favorite Dish: The lunch specials are good. The cakes and pies are wonderful.

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Theme: Dessert
Comparison: about average
Prices: US$11-20  » Currency Converter
Address: at Billboard Shopping Mall
Directions: Located at the Billboard Shopping Mall.
(See places to shop for more info).