This is a series introducing lunch buffets that we have tried and that we would like to return to again. This time, we will introduce Northern Terrace Diner at the Sapporo Grand Hotel, a long-established establishment that can be said to be the pioneer of hotel buffets in Sapporo.

Located close to Sapporo Station, the Sapporo Grand Hotel opened in 1934 as Hokkaido's first authentic Western-style hotel. It is well known as a prestigious hotel, frequented by many domestic and international dignitaries and celebrities. It is also said to be the hotel where ramen salad originated, and its restaurants, bars, bakeries, and other facilities are popular with local residents for their casual atmosphere. It also started serving lunch buffets early on, and has remained popular ever since.

Northern Terrace Diner is located on the first floor of the hotel, and the tables and buffet corner are separate, so you can enjoy your meal in a relaxed atmosphere. The buffet corner, surrounded by an L-shaped open kitchen, offers cold dishes, hot dishes, salads, desserts, bread, and more. It's compact, so you can see all around and it's convenient to pick up food from an open spot. The theme of the dishes changes every two months, so you'll want to come back for more, with classic and seasonal dishes.

The cold dishes are a selection of colorful hors d'oeuvres made with plenty of seasonal vegetables.

The buffet's appeal is being able to eat plenty of fresh vegetables.

In addition to dressings, there is a wide selection of olive oils and balsamic vinegars.

The hot dishes, mainly meat and fish, are not too strong in flavor, so you won't get tired of eating them.

Not only is the food delicious, but they also take great care to keep hot food warm and cold food cold. Also, since they don't serve a lot of food at one time, the turnover is fast and food is replenished frequently, showing their care to serve food as fresh as possible.

The popular curry changes from time to time

On this day, we had the hotel's original keema curry, made with the delicious flavors of minced meat.

It's also fun to make your own tacos by putting your own ingredients on them (*Some ingredients may not be available)

The live cooking corner, where the chefs prepare freshly cooked dishes in the open kitchen, offers steak and other meat dishes and Western dishes. The chef also serves freshly cut roast beef, which is only available on weekends and holidays. The meat dish for the day was a tender steak. There are three types of sauce, so you'll want to have more.

The a la carte dish changes every month. On this day, it was garlic shrimp.

All-you-can-eat carefully cooked roast beef available only on weekends and holidays

Sapporo Grand Hotel's hotel-made bread is highly rated among bread lovers. Of course, it's also available at the buffet. The croissants and French bread in particular are of high quality, so be sure to try them. There's a honey bar next to the bread corner, so you can enjoy adding honey to your bread and sweets! It's amazing how different the flavors of different types of honey can be.

Jumbo French bread with a crisp crust and chewy inside

A wide selection of honey from Hokkaido, including flavored honey such as rosemary and lemon.

Enjoy the luxury of honey that you would rarely be able to compare on your own!

Personally, my favorite is "Hokkaido Honey Hyakka"

One of the tips for enjoying a buffet is to save room for dessert. It's easy to get full from all the food, but Sapporo Grand Hotel's new style sweets buffet "THE SWEETS!" is extremely popular and focuses on sweets, so you'll definitely want to try everything. The sweets are not too sweet overall, and are bite-sized, making the most of the flavor of the ingredients, so you'll want to try them all!

The sweets have different textures and flavors, each unique and never boring.

Fruit jelly is recommended to reset your tongue

The drink corner has a wide selection, from standard items such as coffee, tea, black tea, and various juices to soda and katsugen. All-you-can-drink wine is reasonably priced at +950 yen, and for an additional +1,000 yen you can even get all-you-can-drink Sapporo Classic! Wine buffets are common, but all-you-can-drink draft beer is rare, making this a great option for beer lovers.

There is also a syrup that you can mix with soda to get the strength you like.

There are three types of white wine and three types of red wine. Beer is poured from a tap.

・The overall balance is good and it's perfect for buffet beginners ・The food makes the most of the ingredients' natural flavors and is easy to eat without being too strong in taste. ・The theme changes every two months, making you want to come back again and again ・Food is replenished frequently, so there is little stress when waiting for it to be replenished - High quality bread and sweets! In addition to wine, you can also get all-you-can-drink beer.

*The photo was taken at the time of the interview. The content may vary depending on the time of year.

*All prices include tax and service charge.

Sapporo Grand Hotel

■Location: Kita 1-jo Nishi 4-chome, Chuo-ku, Sapporo ■Telephone number: 011-261-3311 Click here for details and maps of "Sapporo Grand Hotel"

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