Esukaroppu’s original flavor—preserved and passed down by its birthplace

Nemuro’s local specialty, esukaroppu, traces its roots back to a café called Mont Blanc. Bearing the restaurant’s name, New Mont Blanc opened in 1963 when its founder, Katsutoshi Umeda, struck out on his own after leaving Mont Blanc. Even after the original restaurant closed, chefs who trained there continued to popularize esukaroppu in Nemuro. Esukaroppu (with soup) is especially known for its demi-glace sauce. Carefully created from a fond de veau broth, it is reddish in hue with a pronounced acidity. “It has a lot of tomato puree in it,” the owner Mr. Nobuya Sano says. The butter rice—made with two kinds of butter—has a deep richness. Placed atop the rice is a crispy, deep-fried pork cutlet that perfectly matches the acidity of the tomatoes in the demi-glace sauce, giving the whole dish a light taste. It is served on a retro stainless steel platter that has been used since the founding to prevent excess fat from settling at the bottom. Such details may be the reason why this restaurant has been beloved for so long.

*Information accurate as of July 2025