A note on the words: Kuroge Wagyu is the Japanese black-haired beef breed, known for its fine marbling; chateaubriand is the center cut of the tenderloin, and poele means pan-seared. Gyoza are pan-fried dumplings, and Utsunomiya is the city in Japan best known for them. Motsu-ni is simmered offal; trippa is the Italian tripe dish it gets compared to here. Oni-oroshi is daikon grated coarse enough to stay in flakes, and ponzu is a citrus-soy dressing. Shime is the dish that closes a Japanese meal. Fond de veau is French veal stock, and brioche is the enriched bread the buns are made from.
hide mode on Tabelog (English) — opening hours, payment details and the Japanese address are kept up to date there, not here.
Drinkers, thank you for waiting! It is time for Hangover Meshi!
I heard there was a spot in Hongo-sanchome where a chef trained in French cooking works under the concept of making only what he personally loves — so while it is French, it serves delicious food that crosses genre boundaries. Its name is “hide mode”. After all, the finisher for the course is a hamburger and ramen, ha. Who wouldn’t want to go try something like that! I booked a spot right away and went.
The place is completely a bistro. And the atmosphere inside is really stylish too!
Well, I had booked the course for this visit.
The “mini set with Kuroge Wagyu chateaubriand”, which lets you enjoy all of their specialties!
Having everything in mini sizes is such a relief. If everything were full-sized, I might not have been able to finish it, ha. By the way, it seems you can definitely order a la carte alongside the course, so if it is not enough, ordering extras is the way to go!
Now then, what comes first?
Right, beer!
Ahhh! Delicious!
First is the mini salad. Even though it is called mini, quite a wide variety of vegetables are packed in! The homemade French dressing coating it is wonderful too, from the bright rise of acidity to its depth of flavor. Delicious!
Next up is the featured gyoza! I wondered why there would be gyoza at a French bistro, but the chef explained it to us. It turns out the chef is from Utsunomiya, and this is a dish he puts serious care into, from the recipe blend right through the prep work. Hearing that it is Utsunomiya-crafted gyoza really gets your excitement going!
There are two of them, so first I try one without dipping it in anything.
S-so good! First the outline of the meat stands out clearly, and then the flavor of the vegetables follows right behind. It is the type that wins you over with the density of its filling, and with a juicy, generous rush of meat juices, it has real substance!
Next, with the dedicated sauce and chili oil. Yes, the familiar gyoza flavor! Even without the sauce it is well-seasoned, so if you like spicy food, just adding chili oil might be plenty.
Motsu-ni, simmered offal, ha, ha!
It is almost too stylish. Because it is simmered in a tomato base, it might be easiest to picture something like trippa. That is offal too, after all! I wonder if there are Japanese elements in the seasoning as well. The offal is thoroughly tender, requiring almost no effort to chew. The flavor is very approachable too.
Being told it is motsu-ni and then having such a gorgeous presentation served up makes for a delightful contrast!
Next up is a truly luxurious dish: Kuroge Wagyu seared nigiri!
On top of one is caviar! And on the other, oni-oroshi, coarsely grated daikon, with ponzu.
Taking a bite, the beef is remarkably tender with the melt-in-the-mouth sweetness of beef fat. With the saltiness of the caviar and the vinegared sushi rice underneath, it ends up finishing clean — a wonderful piece of meat sushi! The oni-oroshi with ponzu, on the other hand, eats even more refreshing thanks to the crispness of the daikon and the tang of the ponzu. That meat is great meat… Kuroge Wagyu does not disappoint! You can really appreciate the quality of the ingredients!
What an enormous plate, ha, ha!
A Kuroge Wagyu chateaubriand poele sitting neatly in the center.
Taking a bite: genuinely delicious! The cooking stops just short of the point where the fibers would fall apart the moment you bite in. With only salt and wasabi and no unnecessary sauce, the natural sweetness of the meat reaches you directly with nowhere to hide. Juicy meat juices and fat spreading across the palate. This is delicious.
And honestly, 30g. This is plenty! If you ate 100g, you would end up thinking it was too rich!
And next, at long last, comes the ramen and hamburger. But they told us: you can upgrade from mini size to regular size! How very kind of them!
They even show you the size, going ‘It is about this big!’!
Being able to see it visually makes it so easy to understand!
That said, we had already eaten quite a bit, so I kept them at mini size. But when I heard you could add an extra patty, of course I added that! Furthermore, to the question of whether we would like a half portion of rice since the ramen can be turned into a risotto, I asked: “I am not so confident in my stomach, ha — would it be all right if the two of us ordered one half portion of rice and shared it?” They readily said yes. Thank you!
Here is the mini hide salt hamburger with one extra patty added!!
Because it is mini, it sits there looking so cute, ha.
The 100% domestic female beef patty with no binder has a bite closer to the cut surface of a steak than a hamburg steak. The diced tomato and minced pickles on top of the patty bring out the patty’s saltiness while offering a sweet-and-sour flavor that lets you eat it cleanly. The buns are homemade brioche baked in-house, and they apparently use white sesame oil instead of butter for the fat. It lacks the heaviness typical of brioche, so you can eat it without feeling weighed down. The seasoning apparently uses French salt, integrating seamlessly with everything to achieve just the right balance.
It is finished in about two bites, but if this had been full size, I might have been completely stuffed.
This is a potage-like ramen. The tomato and basil in the center look stylish!
The soup, made by letting fond de veau down with fresh cream, has a rich flavor where you get a direct punch of beef umami! A subtle sweetness and acidity melt through it, and combined with the refreshing touch of basil oil on top, it is an insanely delicious soup! Ah, I see, now I really look forward to the risotto, ha.
The noodles have plenty of spring, and I might have felt a slight sense of pasta to them too.
Ramen that is “rich, yet not heavy.” Still, this soup really is delicious.
Ta-da! Here is the risotto!
I mean, of course it has to be delicious!
I ladle the soup into the quarter portion of rice they split for us, ha. The creamy leftover soup and the rice go together wonderfully, don’t they? I ate the ramen just for this.
Ahhh! Completely satisfied!
Now, if you ask whether I am on the lighter-eating side, I suppose that is true, but with the mini set (+ one extra patty and half of a half portion of rice, ha), I was plenty full! Every dish was delicious, and because there is so much to talk about, you feel like adding little bits here and there — you can add gyoza, and you can size up both the hamburger and the ramen. But really, the mini size is plenty satisfying in quantity!
Conversely, filling up on the other dishes and missing out on the risotto might be the bigger waste, ha?
If anything, I would have loved to try some of the other appetizers too. It was just the right amount, and completely satisfying. I’ll definitely come again!
May you encounter delicious things today too!
hide mode menu
Sets
This is the way to enjoy the specialties all together. Please note that an order for the full number of guests at the table is required.
Mini salad / 2 gyoza / motsu-ni / 1 serving of Kuroge Wagyu seared nigiri. Price is per person; orders must be placed for the number of guests at the table.
7 dishes: mini salad / 2 gyoza / mini motsu-ni / seared nigiri / 30g chateaubriand poele / mini salt burger / mini hide ramen. For the burger: mini double +275 yen, full size +1,100 yen. For the ramen: full size +550 yen.
The mini set with chateaubriand is exclusively available by reservation via Tabelog. It is not served in formal course style; dishes are brought out at the restaurant’s pacing.
Specialty burger & ramen
100% beef with no binder (160g). Homemade brioche buns made with 100% white sesame oil for fat. Minced homemade pickles with mild acidity. All sauces are also homemade.
A slider burger at 1/4 the size of the hide salt hamburger.
Soup thinned with beef bone broth, fond de veau, fresh cream, and tomato. A spicy version is also available.
Putting rice into the leftover ramen soup to make risotto is the restaurant’s recommended way to finish.
Gyoza & appetizers
A flavor unique to this shop by the chef from Utsunomiya. Can be ordered starting from 1 piece.
Japanese base with a French finish.
Nuts seasoned with French Guerande salt.
Mild acidity. Reportedly popular even with people who usually dislike pickles.
Appetizer chashu with a strong smoky aroma.
Served with Guerande salt.
Tossed with fresh cream in the style of burrata.
Served with homemade bread.
A gratin from southeastern France.
Meat & French
For items marked “Requires Time”, ordering early is recommended.
The pinnacle of Kuroge Wagyu, 60g.
Served with oni-oroshi and ponzu only. The cut varies depending on the day’s procurement.
Two kinds: caviar and oni-oroshi with ponzu.
Roast duck, 120g.
Bone-in, 180g. Simmered in duck fat at 80°C for 4 to 5 hours, served with wholegrain mustard.
100g. Balsamic sauce, herb sauce, and pink pepper.
A whole live lobster with claws, boiled whole.
Specialties (limited quantity)
A separate menu sheet whose contents vary from day to day. The following is as of August 2026.
Served with mascarpone.
Special prime cut. Enjoy the grilled meat with fresh wasabi.
A rare cut taken in only small amounts from the rump.
Duck foie gras from Hungary.
Served with tomato and basil.
From Ehime Prefecture.
From Ehime Prefecture.
Teppanyaki-grilled with Guerande salt.
Served with homemade bread.
Gorgonzola and smoked camembert.
Dessert
As of August 2026, chiffon cake and vanilla ice cream.
Drinks
Jukusen Draft Asahi Premium 857 / Heineken 902 / Hoegaarden 935 / Punk IPA 1,067
Sour-style drink with a white brandy base. Plain 693 / + MONAN syrup (mint, green apple, peach, grapefruit) 715 each / + fresh ingredients (fresh lemon, freshly squeezed apple, shikuwasa) 759 each
Choose from with water, on the rocks, or highball. Kaku 693 / Nikka Frontier, Ballantine’s, Bulleit Bourbon, The Singleton of Dufftown 12 Years, I.W. Harper, Roe & Co 869 each / Chita, Fujisanroku, Ao, Taketsuru 1,188 each / Yamazaki 2,090
Choose from on the rocks, with water, with hot water, with soda, or with oolong tea. Akazaru 715 (sweet potato / Kagoshima) / Dabada Hiburi 913 (chestnut / Kochi) / Gensen Kurozaru 1,078 (sweet potato / Kagoshima)
Choose from on the rocks, with water, or with soda.
Red: 0 (Zero) Negroamaro (Italy) 1,188, medium body / White: Blue Kabinett (Germany) 1,078, semi-sweet Muller-Thurgau
* Seating charge: 330 yen per person. * From the storefront menu at the time of visit in August 2026. Prices include tax; menu items change with the season. Please check the official site or storefront for the latest information.
hide mode (Hamburger / Hongo-sanchome Station, Suidobashi Station, Kasuga Station)
Tabelog dinner rating ★★★☆☆ 3.8
I ate here and paid for it myself. Nothing on this site is a comped meal.
One more for the road?
