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Freshly made cheese buffet is a secret known only to those in the know.

Japan has a whole smorgasbord of all-you-can-eat restaurants, but some of the best buffet deals can be found in low-key, unexpected places. One of those places is “Good Spoon”, which is technically a trendy pizza chain, but at some of its locations you’ll be able to enjoy all-you-can-eat fresh cheese.

In the Kanto area in and around Tokyo, the deal can be found at the chain’s Shinjuku, Tachikawa, and Yokohama locations. We visited the branch inside the Lumine building at Shinjuku, and when we arrived just after 1 p.m. on a Sunday, there was a queue of people waiting to get in.

After waiting in line for about 40 minutes, we were finally shown inside, and when we were seated, staff informed us that that during weekend lunch hours, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., all menu items come with all-you-can-eat cheese.

The price varies depending on the main dish you choose, but a typical spend is around 2,500 to 3,000 yen (US$15.60-$18.72), and there’s an option to add a drink or dessert for an additional 319 yen. After placing our order, we wasted no time in checking out what we had really come here for:

▼ The all-you-can-eat cheese.

▼ On the day we visited, there were five types of fresh cheese and a marmalade jam on offer.

Cheese is a premium product in Japan, where even a small block can set you back well over 1,000 yen, so you’re unlikely to find a deal like this at other restaurants. The reason why this place can offer it at all is because the cheese is made in the in-store “cheese workshop”, which helps keep production prices low.

The selection is relatively limited, but the focus here is on quality over quantity. With a time limit of 90 minutes, we were keen to try as much of the cheese buffet as possible, and we started with a small selection of everything.

▼ Clockwise from top center, we have stracciatella, followed by fromage blanc, mozzarella, mascarpone, and mango mascarpone.

▼ First, we started with the mozzarella.

It had a beautiful, chewy texture with a light saltiness, making it dangerously easy to eat.

▼ Now for the mascarpone.

It was incredibly rich, with a creamy texture and a very strong milk flavour. It was decadent and absolutely delicious, and the mango version was equally rich, but slightly more refreshing thanks to the fruity embellishment.

▼ Just as we were about to try our next cheese, our plans were scuppered by the arrival of our main dish, “King’s Bolognese” (3,157 yen).

Pushing our cheese plate aside momentarily, we followed staff’s advice to cut into the shiny mound of burrata cheese, and when we did…

▼ …it burst open, flooding its cheesy juices all over the meaty sauce.

Not only did it look amazing, it tasted fantastic too, as the sauce and minced meat were so bold and flavourful they stood up to the richness of the cheese.

It was delicious as it was, but we couldn’t resist the urge to add a ball of mozarella from our cheese plate. This transformed the dish even further, creating an unbelievably rich mixture of flavours.

If you’re unsure about what to order from the menu, you can’t go wrong with the King’s Bolognese. The only problem for us, though, was it was so delicious that it almost distracted us from our original mission:

▼ All-you-can-eat cheese.

With plenty of time remaining, we were able to make some thoughtful choices, filling a new plate with a bit of everything while adding honey, rock salt, black pepper, and olive oil, which were provided on a table near the buffet.

Because each of the cheeses have such robust and distinct flavour profiles, the toppings did nothing to distract from them. In fact, they seemed to enhance the richness even further, with the stracciatella being particularly well paired for the flavour enhancers.

Stracciatella is incredibly rich, as it’s made by mixing shredded mozzarella with fresh cream, so the honey and black pepper garnish helped to rein in the richness while bringing out extra details in flavour.

Trying it with salt and honey was another great choice, and the smooth, melt-in-the-mouth texture made it so easy to eat that we went back for seconds.

The toppings made the stracciatella so addictive that by the end of the buffet, it was the one cheese we kept going back for again and again. We were so impressed that we’d go so far as to say that the trip to Good Spoon is worth it just for the stracciatella alone.

▼ Oh, and if you need something to wash down all the richness, Good Spoon also serves all-you-can-drink soup.

Though the variety of cheeses and toppings may not be extensive, this buffet delivers a quality eating experience, and we were definitely satisfied with everything it had to offer. It’s incredibly popular, though, especially on weekends, so be sure to get there early to avoid the queues, and then you’ll have more time to explore Tokyo’s other little-known all-you-can-eat offers, like this one at Mister Donut.

Restaurant information
Good Spoon Handmade Cheese & Pizzeria
Address: Tokyo-to, Shinjuku-ku, Nishishinjuku 1-1-5 Lumine Shinjuku Lumine1 7F
東京都新宿区西新宿1-1-5 ルミネ新宿LUMINE1 7F
Open: 11:00 a.m.–10:30 p.m. (Lunch time: 11:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.)
Closed when the Lumine building is closed
Website

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