We had a marvelous time at the Cafe Tosca, a restaurant serving international cuisine inside the Pan Pacific Yokohama Bay Hotel. It was such a lovely place for a casual dinner for two that I wanted to share the experience here, for those undecided on where to go for a delectable and fun dinner date.
The entrance of Cafe Tosca
Cafe Tosca calls itself an open oasis restaurant. It’s aptly fitting because even when the hotel is smack in the middle of the city, dinner guests can dine with 24 genuine palm trees! Yes, those lighted trees are the real thing :) (Continued after Japanese summary)
パンパシフィック横浜ベイホテルのカフェ・トスカ
先日行った、横浜のみなとみらいにあるインターナショナルなレストラン、カフェ・トスカ。ディナータイムには本物のパームツリー２４本と煌くイルミネーションで都会の真ん中にいるのに完全にリゾート気分。ブッフェスタイルで楽しいディナーを。
今回のイベントは、「ナイト・キッチンスタジアム in インディア～スパイスアドベンチャー」というテーマで、横浜と姉妹都市であるムンバイの本格なインド料理を堪能しました。11種類のカリーセレクション、焼きたてナンとロティ、それにベジタブルガーデン・サブジ風やシーフードマリネ。野菜が美味しく新鮮で充実していました。肉派の方にはタンドリーチキン、ラム肉、スパイシースペアリブ、ポークとナスのソテー。主人はカフェ・トスカ自慢の柔らかでジューシーなローストビーフを2回も頂き^^ 私は白身魚のココナツミルク煮込みを美味しく頂きました♪ ビリヤーニ風ピラフ、2種類のスープ、そして、充実したデザートセレクション。本当に大満足でした。
スパイスの美味しい香りに包みながら、インド服を身をまとう親切なスタッフ、そしてライブの歌・ピアノ・サックスとクラシックギター演奏。カジュアルでありながらとても素敵な雰囲気でした。また、是非、行ってみたい！素敵で楽しかったレストランだったのでお勧めしたいと思います。
Room with a Special View
One of the most familiar landmarks of Yokohama City is the Cosmo Clock 21, a gigantic Ferris wheel with a digital clock in the middle. The colored lights do an applause-worthy performance at sunset till late at night, swirling with patterns using all colors of the rainbow.
Room with a happy view
At Cafe Tosca we got a seat next to the expansive glass wall, with the best view of the Ferris wheel. Guests seated along the wall could not just watch the wheel’s colorful lighting display, but also the people walking down below. No need to search for conversation topics with a view like this! 🙂
Different Themes, Always Fresh
Photo courtesy of the Pan Pacific Yokohama Bay Hotel
Why India? Bombay is Yokohama’s sister city, so in honor of this friendship an Indian food extravaganza was planned at the hotel. The result? We thoroughly loved it!
First, upon entering the restaurant we were greeted with the delicious smell of Indian spices. There was Indian music playing. The servers were adorned in colorful saris. Moving closer to the buffet tables, the aroma of curry wafted through the air.
We opted for the buffet dinner. There were a few diners who went for the course meal, but we thought it would be fun to choose whatever you want and eat as much as you want, even if it’s the same thing over and over again 🙂
Speaking of which, we really, really loved the vegetable buffet. There were about a dozen veggies (okra, squash, potato, cauliflower, broccoli, yellow and red paprika, eggplant, carrots, and several types of lettuce) on parade at the salad bar. There was also curry and yogurt salad with a mint dressing, Tosca-style seafood marinade, and a mushroom marinade. I liked best of all the colorful and super delicious kachumber salad. All the veggies in the salad bar were seasoned so perfectly well they could have made a meal on their own. My husband couldn’t get enough of them!
After the filling salad, we had a hard time deciding which among the hot offerings to choose. There was ram kebab, Tosca-style tandori chicken, potato and cauliflower saute, Biryani-style pilaf, spicy spare rib, and pork and eggplant saute. My favorite was the fish boiled in coconut milk. I decided to have two servings of this one 🙂
A couple of views inside the restaurant.
Of course, it wouldn’t be an Indian cuisine extravaganza without the curry. There were a total of 11 different flavors to choose from, from meat to vegetable to fish. Freshly-baked nan and roti, and two kinds of soup (lentil and chiken-and-onion) completed the meal. My husband had two servings of the incredibly tender and perfectly marbled Tosca-style roast beef.
A sampling of the dessert buffet at the Cafe Tosca
A meal wouldn’t be complete without desserts, and here Cafe Tosca did not disappoint. There were plenty of fresh fruits, four kinds of cake, ice cream, as well as pudding and jelly. By this time if I ate another bite I would burst, so I had only two kinds of cake, which was quite tragic for an avowed sweet tooth 🙂
Recommended! Will Go Again
Would I recommend the Cafe Tosca? Yes, absolutely! I’d love to go there again and have my dose of delicious Indian cuisine. I’d also like to try out the Hawaiian cuisine event they’ve held in the past.
Here's to a fun and filling dinner at the Cafe Tosca
Whatever event the Cafe Tosca at the Pan Pacific Yokohama Bay Hotel is cooking up, I’m truly looking forward to it. The palm trees, glass wall, expansive views of Yokohama’s Minatomirai area, the themed dinner, as well as live performance on the grand piano and guitar, all made up for a wonderful atmosphere and a great time.
When to Go
We made a reservation a week before the date. My husband specifically asked for a seat near the glass wall. Since it was a weekday night it wasn’t too crowded.
Lobby of the Pan Pacific Yokohama Bay Hotel
We spent a total of three leisurely hours there, happy hours filled with sumptuous food and light conversation. On a busy weekend night there could be a limit of two hours per table; be sure to ask when reserving on a weekend.
The dinner buffet is JPY 4,700 on weekdays, and JPY 5,600 on weekends and holidays.
How to Get There
Cafe Tosca is located on the lobby floor of the Pan Pacific Yokohama Bay Hotel. The hotel is located in Minatomirai, perhaps the most famous and photogenic area of the city.
The Pan Pacific Yokohama Bay Hotel and the Cosmo Clock 21 Ferris wheel
It is only a minute away from the Minatomirai station, though I’d recommend a walk from Sakuragicho station on the JR Line. The views along the route are scenic!
I Left My Heart in Yokohama Urban Sunset Mt Fuji Tee Shirts by BeverlyClaireDesigns
View other I left my heart T-Shirts
By Train
A minute walk from Minato-Mirai Station on the Minato Mirai Subway Line.
Approximately 10 minutes walk from Sakuragicho Station on the JR Keihin Tohoku Line (or Negishi or Yokohama Line) and Municipal Subway Line.
84 minutes ride from Narita Airport to Yokohama Station via the JR Narita Express. Upon arriving at Yokohama transfer to the Minatomirai Line or JR Keihin Tohoku Line and get off at the corresponding station mentioned above.
電車
みなとみらい線「みなとみらい駅」から徒歩約1分 （ランドマークタワー、クイーンズスクエア方面の改札口よりクイーンモール1Fへ）
JR根岸線、横浜市営地下鉄「桜木町駅」から徒歩約10分
JR新幹線「新横浜駅」からは横浜市営地下鉄「桜木町駅」が便利です（約15分）
成田空港から「横浜駅」まではJR成田エクスプレスで約90分
I Would Love to Hear from You!
So, what do you think of this article? Please share your thoughts and opinions in the Comments section below.
ご意見をお聞かせください！
この記事についてのご意見・ご感想を是非、お聞かせください！コメント欄↓に書きこんで頂けると幸いです！
Related Links
Yokohama Chukagai at Night – visiting the nearby Chinatown, the largest in Asia.
A Quick Cruise: The Royal Wing – dinner on a ship at Yokohama Bay, at an affordable price.
Yokohama Marine Tower – article on one of the city’s popular viewpoints.
External Links
A Yokohama Night Scene – my photo of Yokohama with a view of the Ferris wheel and the Pan Pacific hotel (it’s the building with the blue lights on top).
Cafe Tosca at the Pan Pacific Hotel – official site of the hotel restaurants.
Kitchen Stadium in India – hotel page on the restaurant’s Indian cuisine theme.
Pan Pacific Hotel – the hotel’s official site.
ナイト・キッチンスタジアムinインディア – カフェトスカのイベント公式ページ。
カフェトスカ – オールデイダイニング。公式ページ。
パンパシフィック横浜ベイホテル – 公式ページ。
Books to Consider
関連書籍
Other Articles on BC Discoveries
Welcome! Whenever I plan an itinerary I try to read the first-hand account of others. Why? Because it helps! This site contains not just detailed accounts of my experiences, but also things I learned along the way. Hopefully they'll be a source of information (and inspiration?) to you. Enjoy!
Looks nice! This would be a great place for a first date. Casual, but nice and fun all at the same time. Lots of things to talk about in a restaurant like this! 🙂 Ice cream and glass shots are wow!
Hey Han! Thanks for the comment! I totally agree: it would be a wonderful place for a first date. There will be lots of conversation topics since it’s a buffet and you can comment on each other’s food choices; the venue itself looks out to Minatomirai and it’s the nicest place in the city (“Have you ever gotten on a Ferris wheel?” or “Do you like amusement parks?” etc); and if all else fails you can just watch and comment on the chefs preparing cuisine at the Action Corner 🙂 What more can two people ask for? 🙂
こんなところでデートしたら最高だよね！
コメントありがとうございます！
本当に、ベストなレストランだと思います。会話に困ることなく、周りに面白いものがたくさんあって話せることが増えると思います^^ また、ブッフェのため、お相手のチョイスを見たり質問したりすればいいですよね。窓から夜景のみなとみらいを眺めるので観覧車や遊園地、お相手の好きな物事も会話できます。そして、会話が短くなったら、アクションコーナーでシェフたちの料理作りを一緒に観察したりすればいいです^^
楽しい場所ですが、同時に素敵でシークな場所で大好きです♪
Hmm, palm trees year round. I like it! 😉 Best not to eat the entire day. Go there for your first meal 😉
Hi Krissy! Hehe, yeah, I guess you can do that, but me, I’d fold by midday 🙂
I did enjoy the palm trees. On the pics they look somewhat cheesy/Christmassy, but in real life they were rather pretty 🙂 Perfect in summer, a nice point-of-conversation during other seasons.
It’s sooooo Yokohama!!! Love it!!!
Hello Chisa! Indeed, it’s very Yokohama 🙂 I always tell visitors that if they had only half-a-day to spend in the city the place to go would be Minatomirai.
hi! went there a few months back, hawaii theme. very nice place, nice atmosphere, fun to pick which dish to eat. my only complaint is that, guy friends each ate twice as much as we girls did, but we all paid same amount…
I guess that’s the down side of buffet dinners. Some restaurants do charge separate amounts for men and women, but then there are cases where there’s a man who eats like a bird and a woman who eats like a pig. So in a sense, it’s the entire party shouldering the bill equally.
Anyway, glad to know you enjoyed the Hawaiian theme! We missed that one. It would have been perfection to have Hawaiian food with the palm trees all around 🙂
You have described Cafe Tosca so good, which I visited as if there. Very beautiful and dishes look so appetizing!:)
Hi Valentina! Thank you so much for visiting my blog, and the lovely comment! It’s really nice to know that you were able to take a virtual tour of the place through my article 🙂
The restaurant was dimly lit so it was hard to take good photos. I do appreciate your kind words!
Is Indian food popular where you live? Curry is a favorite food here, though I prefer the authentic, spicy Indian curry to the local version which is sweeter and has a thicker sauce. It was really good that Cafe Tosca had the authentic version 🙂
Hi,Beverly! You know how to make good pictures even in low light! In my town there is only one indian restaurant. More popular here still european dishes.
Thank you so much, I’m glad you could figure out my photos despite the low light! 🙂 I see that Indian food isn’t very popular there. In my town there are four or so Indian restaurants, and more in the central part of the city. But I have yet to visit India so I still don’t know what the food there actually tastes like 🙂
I’d probably have two servings of the roast beef myself 😉
Interesting interiors! Is the lobby on the ground floor? I can’t quite tell from the view. Because it doesn’t look like sidewalk level to me and seeing palm trees up indoors on the nth floor would be surreal.
Hi sereffe! Thank you very much for the visit and comment! I really did like the roast beef myself. Even the mustard sauce that accompanied it was incredibly good 🙂
The restaurant is on the 2nd floor, which is also the lobby floor. They planted an indoor garden, not uncommon here, though somewhat surreal (and special) because they choose large palm trees! 🙂
There’s a better photo here:
http://pphy.co.jp/rest/e-index.htm
こんばんは☆
G+から来ました。キタノブワですw
ほんとこんな夜景もいつか絵に描けるといいなぁと思います。
これからも寄らさせていただきます。
こんばんは！お越し頂きありがとうございます♪ 是非是非、横浜の夜景を描いてください〜^^ 本当に絵になるような光景が多いです、この街^^ kitanobuwaさんのブログをRSSリーダーに追加しますね♪