Kasumi crab, the winter star of the Tajima region on Hyogo’s Sea of Japan coast, becomes French cuisine on Port Island in Kobe. Comptoir Ruban, the French restaurant on the first floor of the main building of Kobe Portopia Hotel (Chuo-ku, Kobe), will serve a six-course menu built around Kasumi crab delivered from Kasumi fishing port for just three days, from Friday, November 13 to Sunday, November 15, 2026. It is a chance to taste seafood from Hyogo, as French cuisine, at a hotel in Hyogo.
The fifth edition of the chef’s special course, “La Table du Chef”
“La Table du Chef” is a series the restaurant has been running since April 2026. Each time, it takes seasonal ingredients and the food culture of a region of France as its theme and serves a course menu for a limited period. For this fifth edition, the Kasumi crab is in the hands of Comptoir Ruban’s chef, Natsumi Takahashi.
“Ruban” means ribbon in French. The name expresses the idea of tying together people with people, and producing regions with the dining table, and the restaurant says it expresses seasonal ingredients and food culture in each dish. The hotel sees it as a place where guests can casually enjoy hotel French dining — which has become rare among Kobe hotels — with a live, in-front-of-you feel.
Six dishes, from starter to main
The course opens with an amuse-bouche. Next comes “Kasumi crab émietté under a veil of beetroot”, a starter of flaked crab meat covered with translucent ruby-colored beetroot, designed to be as striking to look at as it is to eat. It is followed by a roulade of local fish and Kasumi crab, paired with a white wine sauce that brings out the sweetness of the ingredients.
The main dish is roasted duck fillet with foie gras, served with the bounty of the mountains and accented with black soybean miso. The meal ends with a dessert by the pastry chef and a choice of blend coffee or tea. On the wine plan, two wines selected by the sommelier accompany the food. From crab from the sea to duck from the mountains and black soybeans, the course traces a wide range of Hyogo’s produce in a single meal — an interesting way to put it together.
The course is served at both lunch and dinner, with dinner in two sittings. The food-only plan is available at lunch only. Prices include tax and service charge, and other discounts or benefits cannot be used. Note that the menu may change depending on what is available, and that cancellations are free up to the day before but charged in full on the day. If you do not drink, or just want to try it out casually, the food-only lunch looks like the easy choice.
The sixth edition of the series is planned for Friday, January 15 to Sunday, January 17, 2027, with the theme of winter specialties using ingredients from Hyogo Prefecture. On the first evening, Tetsuya Nitta, head of Kariman, a game meat processing facility in Tamba-Sasayama, will join for a special menu dedicated to game.
Event details
- Name: La Table du Chef, Vol. 5 – Enjoying Kasumi Crab
- Dates: Friday, November 13 to Sunday, November 15, 2026
- Hours: Lunch 11:30–14:30 (last order 14:00) / Dinner in two sittings: (1) from 17:00 or 17:30, (2) from 19:30 or 19:45
- Venue: Comptoir Ruban, 1F Main Building, Kobe Portopia Hotel (Chuo-ku, Kobe)
- Price: Food + two wines (lunch or dinner) ¥14,000 per person / Food only (lunch only) ¥11,500 per person (both including tax and service charge)
- Reservations and inquiries: Restaurant Information 078-303-5207 (10:00–17:30)
- Website (Japanese): https://www.portopia.co.jp/restaurant/detail/ruban/
- Fair details (Japanese): https://www.portopia.co.jp/restaurant/detail/ruban/fair/#!fair-97
