Restaurant in Tokyo, Japan
Hokkaido French with a decade of Tabelog Bronze.
Restaurant Molière in Sapporo, Hokkaido, is the French restaurant to book on any serious Japan itinerary outside Tokyo. Chef Hiroshi Nakamichi holds a 4.29 Tabelog score and ten consecutive Bronze Awards, with three Michelin stars and a kitchen built on Hokkaido's exceptional local ingredients. Lunch runs JPY 20,000–29,999; dinner JPY 30,000–39,999. Reservations are easy to secure — unusually so for this level of recognition.
Yes — if you are willing to travel for it. Restaurant Molière is not in Tokyo. It is in Sapporo, Hokkaido, on the ground floor of a residential building overlooking Maruyama Park, and that location is central to what makes it worth booking. Chef Hiroshi Nakamichi has built a French restaurant that draws its identity from the island it sits on: Hokkaido's dairy, seafood, and produce give the kitchen a sourcing advantage that few French restaurants in Japan can match. The Tabelog community has returned a score of 4.29, placing it among the most consistently decorated French restaurants in Japan's east — it has held the Tabelog Bronze Award every year from 2017 through 2026, a decade-long run that is a meaningful indicator of sustained kitchen quality, not a one-season spike.
For food and travel enthusiasts planning a Hokkaido itinerary, this is the dining anchor to build around. The combination of a three Michelin star pedigree, the Tabelog French EAST "100" selection in 2021, 2023, and 2025, and a ranking of #152 among all Japan restaurants by Opinionated About Dining in 2025 puts Molière in a tier where the decision to book is direct. The question is whether the format suits you: this is a 30-seat house restaurant with a relaxed, family-friendly atmosphere, not a formal temple of haute cuisine. Children are welcome. The room is described as stylish and spacious rather than hushed and reverent. If you are after a rigidly ceremonial experience, you may prefer something more austere. If you want a French kitchen at the leading of its game in a room where the mood is warm rather than stiff, Molière is the right call.
Pricing sits at JPY 20,000–29,999 for lunch and JPY 30,000–39,999 for dinner, per Tabelog review data. Lunch is the better-value entry point: you get access to the same kitchen at a meaningful discount. Dinner is appropriate for a special occasion or for visitors making the trip specifically for the meal. Both price bands sit comfortably in line with comparable Sapporo fine dining, and below what you would pay for equivalent technical ambition in Tokyo , venues like L'Effervescence, Sézanne, or ESqUISSE all operate at higher price points in a more competitive market.
The restaurant opens Tuesday through Sunday (closed Wednesday), with lunch from 11:30 to 14:00 and dinner from 17:30 to 20:00. Reservations are available and direct , booking difficulty here is low compared to equivalent Tokyo restaurants, which is itself a reason to prioritise Molière on a Hokkaido visit rather than waiting for a Tokyo alternative. Parking is available on site. The restaurant accepts major credit cards (Visa, Mastercard, JCB, AMEX, Diners) but does not accept electronic money or QR code payments, so card-only diners are covered. A sommelier is on staff, and the wine program is a focus , if wine pairing matters to your decision, this is a restaurant that takes it seriously. The setting close to Maruyama Park means the approach and surroundings add to the meal rather than detracting from it, particularly if you are visiting in cherry blossom season or during Hokkaido's vivid autumn months.
For explorers building a Japan restaurant itinerary beyond Tokyo, Molière belongs in the same conversation as HAJIME in Osaka, Gion Sasaki in Kyoto, akordu in Nara, and Goh in Fukuoka , each representing a case where leaving Tokyo yields a restaurant experience that is harder to replicate in the capital. Further afield, the approach of a regionally rooted French kitchen in an intimate house setting echoes what Hotel de Ville Crissier in Crissier and Les Amis in Singapore do in their own markets: French cooking grounded in local identity rather than Parisian imitation.
Private rooms are unavailable, and the space cannot be hired for exclusive use, so large groups should plan accordingly. The 30-seat count means the dining room retains an intimate scale even when full. For solo diners or couples, this is an easy yes. For groups of six or more, call ahead on +81 (0)11 631 3155 to confirm the arrangement works before booking.
| Venue | Price | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Restaurant Molière | Easy | — | |
| Harutaka | ¥¥¥¥ | Unknown | — |
| L'Effervescence | ¥¥¥¥ | Unknown | — |
| RyuGin | ¥¥¥¥ | Unknown | — |
| HOMMAGE | ¥¥¥¥ | Unknown | — |
| Crony | ¥¥¥¥ | Unknown | — |
What to weigh when choosing between Restaurant Molière and alternatives.
The venue data does not confirm a bar counter for dining. Restaurant Molière seats 30 across a spacious dining room described as stylish and relaxed, so counter seating in the omakase-bar sense is not documented here. Call ahead on +81-11-631-3155 to confirm seating options before booking.
No specific dietary policy is listed in the available data, but a restaurant operating at JPY 30,000–39,999 per head with a sommelier on staff and a 10-year Tabelog Bronze track record typically accommodates restrictions when notified at booking. check the venue's official channels at +81-11-631-3155 or via sapporo-moliere.com well in advance.
This is not a Tokyo restaurant — it is in Sapporo, Hokkaido, near Maruyama Koen Station (roughly 10 minutes' walk from Exit 3 on the Tozai Line). Dinner runs JPY 30,000–39,999 per head; lunch is JPY 20,000–29,999 and is the more accessible entry point. The restaurant has held Tabelog Bronze every year from 2017 through 2026 and a Tabelog score of 4.29, which puts it in consistently high territory on Japan's most-used review platform. Book ahead — reservations are available via the website at sapporo-moliere.com.
Restaurant Molière is in Sapporo, not Tokyo, so direct Tokyo substitutes depend on what you want from it. For high-end French in Tokyo backed by comparable peer recognition, L'Effervescence and HOMMAGE are the closest in format and prestige tier. If you want French with a strong Japanese-ingredient philosophy at a similar price ceiling, L'Effervescence is the stronger Tokyo parallel.
Yes — the venue data explicitly flags it as recommended for celebrations, with a sommelier available and a wine list the restaurant takes seriously. Celebrations and surprises are listed as a supported service, and at JPY 30,000–39,999 for dinner with 10 consecutive Tabelog Bronze awards, the occasion stakes are clearly understood by the kitchen and floor team.
Plausible but not confirmed as a dedicated solo format. The 30-seat dining room is described as spacious, and no counter or bar dining is documented in the data. Solo diners at this price point (JPY 20,000–29,999 at lunch) should call ahead to +81-11-631-3155 to ask about single-seat availability and preferred seating.
Private rooms are listed as unavailable, and the maximum party size is not documented. With 30 total seats and no private dining option, large groups risk dominating the room or being turned away. For groups of more than six, call the restaurant directly before attempting to reserve — contact via sapporo-moliere.com or +81-11-631-3155.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
