Restaurant Clair: Classic Yōshoku with Local Seafood

Restaurant Clair (レストラン　クレール) is a small, long-running restaurant in Atami serving yōshoku, or Western-style Japanese cuisine, with a strong focus on the region's excellent seafood. It has the intimate feel of a 'house restaurant', with just a handful of tables, and has built a reputation for treating high-quality local ingredients with classic French techniques.

Guests consistently praise the seafood preparations. The standout is the live abalone steak, which reviewers have enjoyed with either a butter-lemon sauce or a richer alternative made with the abalone's liver and red wine. Other frequently mentioned highlights include the white-fish sauté served with a luxurious lobster (Ise-ebi) or sea urchin (uni) sauce, various scallop dishes, and the signature tomato gratin soup. The deep-flavoured demi-glace sauce used in the beef stew and hamburg steak is also very popular, as are the angel shrimp dishes and the house bread.

While the food receives high marks, service can be inconsistent. Several independent reviews mention brusque or even unwelcoming interactions with a particular server, and strict rules during busy periods. Popular dishes like the beef stew or the special seafood sauces can also sell out, so it's wise to order early.

Despite these issues, most visitors find Restaurant Clair to offer exceptional value. Lunch courses were recently cited by reviewers at around ¥1,980 to ¥2,980. À la carte, a white-fish main with lobster sauce was about ¥2,750, while the signature abalone steak courses were reported between ¥5,500 and ¥6,100. Typical spend is around ¥2,000–¥3,000 for lunch and ¥4,000–¥5,000 for dinner.

• Getting There: The restaurant is a 20-minute walk from Atami Station on the JR Tokaido Line.
• Reservations: Essential. The dining room is very small (18 seats) and frequently sells out, especially on weekends and holidays.
• Payment: Credit cards (VISA, Master, JCB, AMEX) are accepted. Electronic money and QR code payments are not. Some reviewers note a minimum spend for card use, so carrying cash is advisable.
• Children: Children are welcome.
• Smoking: The entire restaurant is non-smoking.
• Parking: No dedicated parking is available, but there are public car parks nearby.