Bentendo Restaurant (博多 弁天堂) is located in the Tenjin area of Fukuoka. This restaurant specializes in bento-like meals where you can customize your own set lunch at a reasonable price. Bentendo’s lunch sets also feature regional dishes from the seven prefectures of Kyushu. This means you could try regional eats while staying only in Hakata!
Not sure if you’ll like this place? Watch the video to see what we ate then read on to learn more about Bentendo Restaurant in Hakata!
Eat in a Tradition Japanese Townhouse at Bentendo Restaurant
Located just outside the main shopping areas of Tenjin, the Bentendo Restaurant is housed in a Machiya—a traditional Japanese wooden townhouse. Their dining areas are split between a couple of large rooms and several private rooms. We lucked out and sat in one of the private rooms overlooking a small courtyard.
Taste Dishes from all 7 Prefectures of Kyushu
The menu at Bentendo restaurant allows you to choose your own set lunch. Here’s how it works:
The menu shows 35 different dishes you can choose to make your own set lunch. The columns represent the 7 prefectures of Kyushu (from left): Fukuoka, Saga, Oita, Nagasaki, Miyazaki, Kumamoto and Kagoshima. The rows are the 5 different type of dishes (from top): sashimi, fish or seafood dish, meat dish, salad and dessert. Besides these 35 dishes, there might be a couple seasonal dishes featured at the top right corner of the menu (item 36 & 37).
The dishes in each column represents the regional specialty. If you’re not sure what to get, items marked with “おすすめ” is a recommended item.
Bentendo Restaurant Lunch Set Prices
The basic lunch set lets you can choose 2, 3 or 4 items for ¥910 ~ ¥1450 +tax. By “basic” this means you pick any items on the menu that are not marked with “XXX円up” in red. All set lunch comes with rice, miso soup and a couple of pickled dishes.
If you choose items marked with “XXX円up” you have to pay extra on top of your set menu price. For example, you pick the 2-item set lunch and one of the items has 190円up. Then your set lunch is ¥910 + ¥190 = ¥1110 +tax.
Our Lunch at Bentendo Restaurant
Here are the dishes I picked for my lunch:
Sashimi from Fukuoka
Ginger Pork
My dessert! Cake and ice cream in a stone bowl with hot chocolate and cherry sauce.
And here are the dishes that my brother-in-law picked!
Tonkatsu – deep fried pork
Fish (mackerel?) dish – sorry couldn’t remember what this was…
Eggplant with miso and dashi (I think)
Green tea ice cream with green tea cake, mochi and red bean paste
Final Thoughts on Bentendo Restaurant in Hakata
I really enjoyed our lunch at Bentendo Restaurant because there are so many options. Since we didn’t get the visit the Southern part of Kyushu, it was nice to try some of their specialty dishes. Would I recommend Bentendo Restaurant? Definitely! The pricing is very reasonable, the portion size is great and the food is delicious. Do try to go early because when we got there 10 minutes after it opened, there was already a line outside the door.
See my other recommendations for places to eat in Fukuoka.
