A brief list, in order of our favourites. Posted 4 years or so after our visit, in typical lategae fashion.
Great-tier
- Tempura Tenko (super old tempura chef, super delicious tempura. We had a pretty rude waitress though)
- Imoto (blend of kappo and kaiseki, great chef, great food. Super interesting food. Great overall experience)
- Sushi Kubota (Super super small 7-seater hidden away by the side of the road. Great experience. Talisker highball very nice by the way. Solemn, quite mood but generally great sushi. Pacing perfect too. Spent around 2 hours ++ there and the food kept coming regularly without being overwhelming)
- Stereo Coffee (standing cafe. Great filter coffee, gorgeous setting)
- Oshige Shokudo Imaizumi (great ramen! The best in Fukuoka! Real top tier stuff, super interesting. Broth concentrated using a coffee siphon. Super light and subtle broth but so many layers. Sardines, beef, bonito flakes etc etc etc).
Good-tier
- Pizzeria de Gaetano (very very good margherita, not quite Seirinkan let alone Savoy Azabu Juban, but even better than 4P’s in Hanoi and much better than Pizzeria Dihyang, never mind how many Italians supposedly say Dihyang is good. Anyway, sausage and broccoli pizza is delicious too)
- Mashica (super cool wine bar. Great ambience, nice wine, pasta of the day was actually very good too)
- Chez Remy, yatai (delicious mulled wine, super tiny place, 3 funny French dudes, tiny stoves and tiny stall. Tiny portions too for the price. Delicious escargots though. Great pork leg too. Skip the bouillaiaiaise (Sp?))
Alright-tier
- Kashiwaya Genjiro (chicken spot inside a mall. Chicken salad is nice, oyakodon comes with fantastic egg but weird, tough free range chicken).
- Rec Coffee in Kitte, next to Hakata station (nice filter coffee inside a mall)
- Genki Ippai (for tonkotsu, pretty good. Am not a big fan of tonkotsu anymore though. A bit below Kanbe in Malaysia)
- Key Coffee (the only decent coffee place around if you’re near Hakata canal. Super old school coffeehouse. Nice if you want to smoke inside)