A new alliance of French and Japanese culinary creators is a perfect match
In 2021, the elegant Shimogyo-Ku neighborhood of central Kyoto was injected with a fresh burst of Gallic flavor. The five-star Fauchon L’Hotel Kyoto opened along the Kamo River (often referred to as “Kyoto’s Seine River”). The new destination is French food purveyor Fauchon’s second hotel in the world after the Paris original and a member of the Leading Hotels of the World group.
The first Fauchon shop opened in Paris in 1886. Today, Japan accounts for around 40% of the company's global sales. Both France and Japan are renowned for their flourishing art and food culture and this natural affinity works harmoniously at Fauchon L’Hotel Kyoto. Chefs from both countries collaborated on the menus for Grand Café Fauchon, the hotel’s top-floor main restaurant that boasts impressive views of Higashiyama.
Fauchon’s high-quality ingredients such as caviar and caramel are showcased at Grand Café Fauchon, as well as seasonal Japanese products including Kyoto-grown vegetables, seafood from Hokkaido Prefecture, and Omi beef from Shiga Prefecture. Grand Café Fauchon’s breakfast includes Japanese rice flour bread, Hokkaido butter, and Kyoto Clover Farm milk and yogurt.
Fauchon sells an extensive tea range and Le Bar Fauchon’s specialty is signature tea liqueurs and cocktails. As a unique project to commemorate Fauchon L’Hotel Kyoto, Fauchon partnered with Tango Beer of Japan to recreate “La Delicieuse,” a beer that was served back in the 1940s. Other beverages include mocktails, wines, high-grade Japanese whiskies, and Fauchon's original rosé champagne.
Grand Café Fauchon is a Parisian playground in the heart of Kyoto. Its cuisine explores classic and contemporary styles via a cross-cultural exchange that embraces the ideas and synergy of the two cities.
Access to Salon de Thé—where guests can experience a traditional Japanese tea ceremony—is via a glittering staircase from the atrium lobby. A new tea blend was created specifically for the hotel called "One Night In Kyoto," a green tea with fruity notes of cherry, pear, and tangerine. Fauchon also developed a hotel-exclusive yatsuhashi, a traditional Japanese sweet bean pastry, in partnership with noted local bakery Izutsu. Fauchon brand teas, pastries, and sweets are also served.
At street level, visit the patisserie and a boutique offering a variety of Fauchon items, many imported directly from Paris. There are fruit-flavored teas, desserts and the iconic French treat—macarons, of course. At Fauchon L’Hotel Kyoto, macarons seem to be promoted everywhere, all the time. There’s even a special Macaron of the Day. This could be the highest-density-per-square-meter macaron space in Japan.
Address: 406 Namba-cho, Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto City, Kyoto
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