Goh

After 20 years of business, the closing of beloved Nishinakasu restaurant La Maison de La Nature Goh in 2022 was mourned by gourmets from all over Japan. But like a phoenix from the ashes, Goh rose again just the next year as a new incarnation: simply Goh. The original La Maison made a name for itself with French dishes made from the finest domestic Japanese ingredients, even earning itself a Michelin star in 2019 in the Fukuoka edition of the Michelin Guide. With the new Goh, head chef and owner Fukuyama “Goh” Takeshi brings the same mastery of omakase-style French cuisine to the table, but shifts the emphasis slightly from the interaction between chef and diner, to diner and diner. All meals at Goh are served at a communal 14-seater table, allowing for free interaction between guests — something that Chef Fukuyama feels is more pressing than ever after the enforced isolation of the Covid-19 pandemic. There, guests share in Chef Fukuyama’s famously “borderless” cuisine, incorporating influences from his travels all over the world, such as in his abalone with powdered seaweed and shiitake mushroom. Situated on the third floor of the 010 Building, near Canal City Hakata, Goh continues to attract a steady stream of visitors seeking an intimate dining experience on the Naka riverside. Its recent placement on the list of Asia’s Best 50 Restaurants in 2024 has only seen that number grow.