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La Maison de la Nature Goh

Fukuoka

Imaginative French-Japanese omakase by popular Fukuoka chef

On the Pass

Goh Fukuyama

What is it like? Hidden down a small alleyway off Fukuoka’s Nishinakasu street, La Maison de La Nature Goh is a quiet, stylish restaurant serving omakase (or ‘chef’s choice’) – a six or seven-course menu created by talented chef-owner Takeshi ‘Goh’ Fukuyama.

On the menu: A typical omakase at Maison Goh includes five dishes and two desserts. The menu changes with the seasons but can include chef Fukuyama’s signature prawn and spinach risotto with sautéed shiitake mushroom and brown butter sauce, mackerel with grapes, and wagyu beef with vegetables from Kyushu Island, where the chef was born.

About the chef: Chef Fukuyama has spent his whole life in Fukuoka on the northern shore of Japan’s Kyushu Island, starting his career as a trainee chef at Ile de France and working up to head chef at Mercury wine bar and restaurant. He founded La Maison de la Nature Goh in 2002.

How do I get in? The restaurant, particularly popular with wealthy overseas visitors to this resort city, is almost always fully booked, but it’s worth persevering to meet the charming Fukuyama, who personally greets guests while cooking for them from behind the counter.

Future plans: Fukuyama and famous Indian chef Gaggan Anand have long been working on plans for a new restaurant run by both cooks in Fukuoka.

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