Restaurant in Annecy, France
Osaka-trained soba in the French Alps.
Minami is Annecy's only serious Japanese soba option, led by a Tsuji Culinary Institute-trained chef at a €€ price point. Signature dishes include soba with grilled conger eel and Kyoto-imported herring. With a 4.7 Google rating across 447 reviews, it is the practical choice for Japanese cuisine in a city dominated by French fine dining — and a smart addition to any Annecy trip that already has French meals covered.
Minami is one of the few places in Annecy where you can eat Japanese soba noodles prepared by a chef trained at the Tsuji Culinary Institute in Osaka. At a €€ price point, it sits well below the Michelin-tracked French fine dining circuit in this city, and it delivers something that circuit cannot: a focused, technically grounded noodle menu with a clear point of view. If Japanese cuisine is what you are after, Minami is your leading option in Annecy by default, and given its 4.7 Google rating across 447 reviews, the consistency of execution is not in question.
Soba is the entire reason to come here. Chef Nam Chang-soo trained at the Tsuji Culinary Institute in Osaka, one of the most demanding culinary schools in Japan, and he applies that foundation specifically to buckwheat noodles rather than spreading it across a broad Japanese menu. That kind of disciplined focus is rare in a mid-sized French Alpine city, and it is the core reason this restaurant earns attention from food-oriented travelers passing through Annecy.
The soba dishes at Minami are rooted in Japanese tradition but carry a personal stamp from Nam. Two dishes in particular have built a following among regulars: a soba noodle soup topped with soy sauce-braised and grilled conger eel, and a version made with soy sauce-braised herring imported directly from Kyoto. The herring import detail matters because it signals that Nam is sourcing ingredients to Japanese specifications rather than substituting with local alternatives, which would be an easier and cheaper path in this context. For a traveler whose frame of reference includes serious soba restaurants in Tokyo, such as Myojaku or the Japanese dining tradition represented by venues like Azabu Kadowaki, Minami will read as a genuine attempt rather than a tourist approximation.
Annecy itself is a city where French cuisine dominates at every price level. At the upper end, restaurants like L'Esquisse and Le Clos des Sens represent serious investment-level dining, while places like ANTO and La Rotonde des Trésoms cover the modern French middle ground. Minami exists outside this spectrum entirely. It is not competing with those restaurants; it is filling a gap they cannot fill. That positioning, combined with a €€ price range, makes it one of the more practical decisions in the city for a traveler who has already scheduled French meals elsewhere in the trip.
The address at 19 Fbg Sainte-Claire places Minami in the Faubourg Sainte-Claire area, a walkable part of central Annecy close to the old town. That convenience matters for trip planning. You are not arranging transport to a destination restaurant; you are slotting it into an evening already built around the city center. For context on the broader Annecy dining picture, see our full Annecy restaurants guide. If you are organizing a broader stay, our Annecy hotels guide, bars guide, and experiences guide cover the rest of the city.
No private dining room is confirmed in the available data, so if a dedicated group space is your primary requirement, you will need to contact the restaurant directly before booking. What the data does support is a high satisfaction rate across a meaningful number of reviews (447 at 4.7 stars), which suggests the restaurant handles varied dining configurations competently. The €€ price range also makes Minami a practical choice for groups managing a shared budget, particularly when compared with the €€€€ spend required at the Michelin-level French restaurants in the same city.
For groups focused on a shared food experience rather than a private room, the soba-led menu has a natural advantage: the format is cohesive, there is a clear signature to orient the table around, and the mid-range pricing allows for ordering multiple dishes without significant financial strain. Groups coming specifically for the conger eel soba or the Kyoto herring version will find a ready conversation piece. For groups with mixed cuisine preferences, the narrow Japanese focus is worth flagging before you commit the table.
France's broader fine dining circuit, from Mirazur in Menton to Flocons de Sel in nearby Megève, offers elaborate private dining infrastructure at a significant premium. Minami is not trying to compete on that axis. What it offers groups is accessible pricing, a focused menu with real craft behind it, and a central location that removes logistical friction. If your group is already planning a high-spend evening at somewhere like Maison Benoît Vidal, Minami works well as the informal complement meal earlier in the trip.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Awards | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minami | Japanese | €€ | The star of the show at Minami is Japanese-style soba noodles. Trained at the prestigious Tsuji Culinary Institute in Osaka, Japan, Chef Nam Chang-soo is no stranger to the world of Japanese cuisine, but he professes that soba is his one true love. While respecting the time-honored traditions of Japanese-style buckwheat noodles, Nam adds his own spin to the soba dishes he serves. Customer favorites include soba noodle soup topped with soy sauce-braised and grilled conger eel as well as another variety with soy sauce-braised herring imported from Kyoto.; The star of the show at Minami is Japanese-style soba noodles. Trained at the prestigious Tsuji Culinary Institute in Osaka, Japan, Chef Nam Chang-soo is no stranger to the world of Japanese cuisine, but he professes that soba is his one true love. While respecting the time-honored traditions of Japanese-style buckwheat noodles, Nam adds his own spin to the soba dishes he serves. Customer favorites include soba noodle soup topped with soy sauce-braised and grilled conger eel as well as another variety with soy sauce-braised herring imported from Kyoto. | Easy | — |
| L'Esquisse | Modern Cuisine | €€€€ | Michelin 1 Star | Unknown | — |
| Le Clos des Sens | Creative | €€€€ | Michelin 3 Star | Unknown | — |
| ANTO | Modern Cuisine | €€ | Unknown | — | |
| Black Bass | Modern Cuisine | €€€ | Unknown | — | |
| Brasserie Brunet | Traditional Cuisine | €€ | Unknown | — |
What to weigh when choosing between Minami and alternatives.
No private dining room is confirmed, so large groups looking for a dedicated space should check the venue's official channels before booking. At €€ pricing, Minami is a low-stakes choice for small groups of 2–4 who are happy sharing a table in the main dining room. If a private event space is your primary requirement, Le Clos des Sens or L'Esquisse are more likely to have that infrastructure.
Yes. A soba-focused spot at the €€ price point is well-suited to solo visits — the format is counter-friendly and the menu centers on individual bowls rather than sharing plates. Chef Nam Chang-soo's training at the Tsuji Culinary Institute in Osaka gives the cooking a focused identity that rewards paying close attention, which solo diners tend to do better than groups.
Go for the soba noodle soups. The two customer-noted options are soy sauce-braised and grilled conger eel soba, and a version with soy sauce-braised herring imported from Kyoto. Both reflect Chef Nam's Tsuji Culinary Institute training and his approach of keeping traditional buckwheat noodle technique intact while adding his own interpretation. Start there before exploring anything else on the menu.
No tasting menu format is confirmed in the available data for Minami. The restaurant's identity is built around individual soba dishes rather than a structured multi-course progression. If a tasting menu format is what you want in Annecy, Le Clos des Sens or L'Esquisse are the more appropriate choices. Minami is a specialist noodle restaurant at €€, not a tasting menu destination.
Specific dietary accommodation policies are not documented for Minami. Given that soba is the kitchen's core product, diners with gluten sensitivities should note that buckwheat noodles are sometimes processed alongside wheat — check the venue's official channels at 19 Fbg Sainte-Claire to confirm. Chef Nam's Osaka training means the menu will likely carry soy and fish-based ingredients throughout.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
