In this series, we introduce lunch buffets that we have tried and found to be "I want to come back here again!" This time, we will introduce Northern Terrace Diner at the Sapporo Grand Hotel, a long-established establishment that can be said to be a pioneer of hotel buffets in Sapporo.

Located close to Sapporo Station, 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 important people and celebrities from Japan and abroad. It is also said to be the hotel where ramen salad originated, and its restaurants, bars, bakery, and other facilities are popular with local residents for their casual atmosphere. It was one of the first hotels to offer a lunch buffet, which has remained a firm favorite.

Northern Terrace Diner is located on the first floor of the hotel, and the tables and buffet area are separate, allowing you to enjoy your meal in a relaxed atmosphere. The buffet area, surrounded by an L-shaped open kitchen, offers a wide selection of cold and hot dishes, salads, desserts, bread, and more. It's compact, so you can see all around and conveniently pick up food from any available spot. The menu changes every two months, adding classic and seasonal dishes that will make you want to come back again and again.

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

The appeal of the buffet is that you can eat plenty of fresh vegetables

In addition to dressings, there is also 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 dishes warm and cold dishes cold. Also, since they don't serve a lot of food at one time, the turnover is fast and food is frequently replenished, showing their commitment to serving 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 flavor of minced meat.

It's also fun to make your own tacos with your own ingredients (*Some ingredients may not be available)

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

The a la carte dish changes monthly. 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 are especially high quality, so be sure to try them. There's also a honey bar next to the bread corner, so you can enjoy drizzling it on bread and sweets! It's amazing how different the flavors of different types of honey can be.

Jumbo French bread with a crispy crust and chewy dough inside

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

Enjoy the luxury of honey that you wouldn't normally be able to compare on your own!

My personal 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 they put a lot of effort into their sweets, so you'll definitely want to try everything. The sweets are generally not too sweet, and are bite-sized, making the most of the flavor of the ingredients, so you'll want to try them all!

Each dessert has a different texture and flavor, making it unique and never boring.

Fruit jelly is recommended to reset your tongue

The drinks corner has a wide selection, from standard items like coffee, 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 it a welcome option for beer lovers.

There is also syrup that you can mix with soda to your liking.

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

・The overall balance is good and it's perfect for buffet beginners ・The dishes that make the most of the ingredients' natural flavors are not too strong and are easy to eat. ・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 add 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 For details and maps of "Sapporo Grand Hotel," please click here.

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