Lucky Pierrot Review: Is Hakodate’s Famous Burger Chain Worth Eating?

Everywhere we went in Hakodate there seemed to be a grinning clown on a sign, and Audrey and I kept wondering what exactly it was selling. It turned out to be Lucky Pierrot, a local burger chain with a clown mascot, a menu that apparently ran from burgers to curry to spaghetti, and, outside the branch near Goryokaku Tower, a sign promising something called Angels’ Chatter. Everything about it suggested a tourist gimmick, so we went in expecting very little, and we came out full, a little baffled by the décor, and happier than the clown had led us to expect. It’s worth one meal, I think, though I wouldn’t put it ahead of the sushi.

Samuel Jeffery in a cap and backpack stands beside a smiling clown statue and a soft-serve cone model outside a Lucky Pierrot restaurant in Hakodate, Hokkaido, Japan, with Japanese signs in the windows. — The grinning clown by the door is what made us expect a gimmick. Behind it was a cheap, decent burger meal, which is why I’d still tell you to walk in and judge the food, not the mascot.

Why We Went In Expecting a Gimmick

From the outside the place looked cheesy and corny, and after seeing the clown all over the city we had a fair idea of what we were in for: novelty first, food second. We weren’t hostile, just unconvinced. The signage didn’t help, because next to the soft-serve advertising one sign promised “Angels’ Chatter,” and we stood there wondering whether it was the name of a dish and deciding that, if it was, it sounded interesting.

Shelf of angel figures inside a Lucky Pierrot restaurant in Hakodate, Hokkaido, Japan, with a large blue-and-white angel statue, cherubs, gilt-framed angel paintings and dark ivy-patterned wallpaper. — This is what Angels’ Chatter turned out to mean: shelves of angel figures and framed angel paintings. We couldn’t explain what angels have to do with burgers, but we declared our food blessed anyway.

The clown, it turns out, is a fixture rather than a stunt. Lucky Pierrot began in Hakodate in 1987 and now runs 17 restaurants in and around the city, each with its own theme, which at least explains why the mascot kept turning up. A gimmick that has lasted close to four decades has probably stopped being one, or so I’d argue now, though that wasn’t a thought we had while trying to decode the angels.

Seen from across the street, this corner building is the branch that had us puzzling over its Angels’ Chatter sign. It sits diagonally opposite Goryokaku Tower, so it’s easy to find once you’re there.

The Goryokaku Branch: Angels, Counter Orders and Cash

The branch we ate at sits on the corner diagonally across from Goryokaku Tower, about a minute’s walk from the tower and the park, which is handy if you’re already on that side of the city. We didn’t take a guided tour at Goryokaku, so I can’t vouch for one, but if you’d like the fort’s history explained before you eat, one current option covers the park, the magistrate’s office and the tower, and you can see current times for the Goryokaku star fort and tower guided tour.

Customers stand with their backs to the camera at the order counter of a Lucky Pierrot restaurant in Hakodate, Hokkaido, Japan, facing Japanese menu boards covered in burger photos and notices. — This is where ordering happens: you read the picture boards, order and pay at the counter, take a numbered slip and wait to be called. We paid in yen, since this branch didn’t take cards that day.

Inside, the sign finally made sense: Angels’ Chatter is this branch’s theme, built around the founder’s collection of angel dolls and paintings, and the room is full of angel sculptures. Neither of us could explain what angels have to do with burgers, but we decided angels were the theme and solemnly declared our food blessed.

Yellow menu board at a Lucky Pierrot restaurant in Hakodate, Hokkaido, Japan, listing burgers, fries and a green section of nine curry rice dishes with photos and prices, in Japanese with some English labels. — Burgers are only part of the menu; the curry section alone lists nine dishes. We didn’t try any of it, so I can’t tell you how it tastes, and prices on boards like this change, so check at the counter.

It looks like a sit-down restaurant but works like a fast-food counter. You order and pay up front, take a slip with a number on it, and wait to be called, and the room was busier than we’d expected. It was also cash only. I don’t know whether that applied across the chain, but this branch didn’t take cards when we went, so we paid in yen. The chain started adding QR payments at individual restaurants in 2019, so what we ran into may well have changed, and I can’t tell you how this branch handles payment now. I’d still carry some yen.

Audrey Bergner’s hand holds a yellow Lucky Pierrot order slip printed in Japanese with a handwritten call number in a small box, above a dark wooden table in Hakodate, Hokkaido, Japan. — After you order and pay at the counter, you get a slip like this with a call number, then wait to be called. Ours was printed in Japanese, so keep it handy and listen for your number.

The branch opens at 9:30 in the morning and serves until about 10 at night, with last orders roughly half an hour earlier, so it works for an early lunch or a late dinner, though the restaurant’s own page is the place to confirm current hours. It’s also listed as having menus in English, Chinese and Korean. That late-evening option is one reason a base around Goryokaku is worth considering if you like to eat late, and while I won’t single out a property, you can browse current hotels near Goryokaku and check how far each sits from the tower.

Close-up of glossy brown-glazed fried chicken pieces with lettuce and a smear of mayonnaise on a sesame-seed bun at a Lucky Pierrot restaurant in Hakodate, Hokkaido, Japan. — This is the Chinese chicken burger, the one the restaurant puts first on its menu and the tastier of the two we shared: fried chicken in a sweet glaze with lettuce and mayo.

What We Ordered, and What It Cost Us

We shared two burgers. The Chinese chicken burger is the restaurant’s signature, the one it puts first on its menu: pieces of fried chicken in a sweet glaze with lettuce and mayo in the bun. The tonkatsu burger, which the English menu calls a pork cutlet burger, came with a sauce, a little lettuce and some mayo and mustard. We both liked our burgers, though not equally. The tonkatsu was a decent hamburger, very fast-food in style, and better than I’d expected, while the chicken was the tastier of the two. I won’t pick a winner, because we didn’t. Both came well wrapped in paper, which mattered with the chicken, since it looked like it could get messy at the table.

Close-up of a breaded pork cutlet burger with lettuce and mayonnaise in a sesame-seed bun, opened in its paper wrapper at a Lucky Pierrot restaurant in Hakodate, Hokkaido, Japan. — The tonkatsu burger, which the English menu calls a pork cutlet burger, was a decent hamburger, very fast-food in style, and better than I’d expected. The chicken was the tastier of the two.

The fries arrived in a mug under gravy and cheese. They looked like what the menu calls Lucky Potato, fries with demi-glace, white and cheese sauces, and we wondered whether the dish had been inspired by Canadian poutine, which is pure speculation. The iced tea turned out to be unsweetened, which we hadn’t expected. We finished with three sesame balls, which turned out to be filled with bean paste, and one of them disappeared almost immediately. They went down very well.

Close-up of french fries in a white cup covered in creamy melted-cheese sauce with reddish-brown sauce spots at a Lucky Pierrot restaurant in Hakodate, Hokkaido, Japan. — Our fries arrived in a mug under gravy and cheese, and looked like what the menu calls Lucky Potato. Don’t expect a plain side. We wondered if poutine inspired them, which is pure speculation.

Burgers are only part of what this branch serves, since there’s also curry, omelette rice, spaghetti and soft serve, and we didn’t try any of it. If you have an allergy, the restaurant warns that allergens can cross over between dishes because everything is made in the same kitchen.

16:13 – Lucky Pierrot
– Tonkatsu pork cutlet hamburger
– Chinese chicken hamburger

The whole meal came to ¥1,738 for the two of us, covering two burgers, a drink, fries to share and the sesame balls. That works out to under ¥900 each, and we left full. We called it very affordable at the time, and it was, but that was a 2023 bill, so treat it as a memory rather than a price list. The menu page shows what’s on offer, and the numbers are worth checking at the counter.

Bronze-coloured winged cherub statue hanging from a patterned ceiling inside a Lucky Pierrot restaurant in Hakodate, Hokkaido, Japan, beside ceiling lights and a yellow Japanese sign. — Even the ceiling is on theme. Once we realised angels were the point, this hanging cherub made the room feel designed rather than random, which went a long way toward explaining the place.

Is Lucky Pierrot Worth Eating?

Yes, for one meal. The clown and the angels are a deliberate theme, and what sits behind the theme held up: a decent tonkatsu burger, a tastier chicken one, loaded fries and a bill that barely registered. We said at the time that it exceeded our expectations, and I haven’t found a reason to revise that. It isn’t exceptional, but it’s good, cheap and a bit ridiculous.

Green tray at a restaurant table in Hakodate, Hokkaido, Japan, holding paper-wrapped Lucky Pierrot burgers in a white basket, fries in a white mug, an iced tea with a blue straw, a fork and a napkin. — Here’s the meal as it arrived: burgers in clown-printed paper, fries in an actual mug and an unsweetened iced tea, all on one tray. The paper is the main defence against a messy table.

I only have one visit, one branch and two burgers to go on, which tells me nothing about the curry, the spaghetti or the other 16 restaurants. It was busy when we went, and I wouldn’t guess how long the queue gets at its worst.

Audrey unwrapping one of the two burgers we shared; it doesn’t matter which, since we tried both. The paper made them easy to hold, and we both liked what was inside, though not equally.

The decision I’d actually make is about priority. Shunka, the conveyor-belt sushi restaurant right across from the tower, is a minute or so from this one, so around Goryokaku you’re really choosing between them, and with one lunch to spend I’d choose the sushi, as we did. We only ate at Lucky Pierrot once, because Shunka had the stronger claim on our remaining meals, but I’m glad we went. If you have a meal to spare, or you want something cheap and cheerful, walk in, order the Chinese chicken burger and don’t let the clown talk you out of it.

Close-up of a golden fried sesame ball covered in white sesame seeds on green-and-white printed paper at a Lucky Pierrot restaurant in Hakodate, Hokkaido, Japan. — We ended the meal with three of these, which we took to be filled with bean paste. They’re easy to overlook next to the burgers, but they went down very well and barely moved the bill.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Lucky Pierrot, and is it really a Hakodate chain?

Lucky Pierrot began in Hakodate in 1987 and now runs 17 restaurants in and around the city, each with its own theme, which is why the clown mascot seems to turn up everywhere.

Which Lucky Pierrot branch did we visit, and where is it?

We ate at the branch on the corner diagonally across from Goryokaku Tower, about a minute’s walk from the tower and the park. Its theme is Angels’ Chatter, built around the founder’s collection of angel dolls and paintings.

How does ordering work at Lucky Pierrot?

When we went, you ordered and paid at the counter, took a slip with a number on it, and waited to be called. The room was busier than we’d expected, and it’s listed as having menus in English, Chinese and Korean.

Does Lucky Pierrot take cards?

It was cash only when we went, so we paid in yen. I don’t know whether that applied across the chain, and the chain started adding QR payments at individual restaurants in 2019, so it may well have changed. I’d still carry some yen.

What are the opening hours at the Goryokaku branch?

The branch opens at 9:30 in the morning and serves until about 10 at night, with last orders roughly half an hour earlier. Hours can change, so confirm them on the restaurant’s own page before you plan around them.

What did we order, and what did it cost?

We shared a Chinese chicken burger and a tonkatsu burger, plus fries, an unsweetened iced tea and three sesame balls, for ¥1,738 between the two of us. That was a 2023 bill, so treat it as a memory rather than a price list.

Which burger should I order at Lucky Pierrot?

I’d order the Chinese chicken burger, the restaurant’s signature: fried chicken in a sweet glaze with lettuce and mayo, and the tastier of the two we shared. The tonkatsu burger was a decent, very fast-food-style hamburger, better than I’d expected.

Is Lucky Pierrot worth eating, and how does it compare with Shunka?

Yes, for one meal. It’s cheap, quirky and better than the branding suggests, but with one lunch to spend near Goryokaku Tower I’d choose the sushi at Shunka, as we did.

This guide is also available in Spanish. [Leé la versión en castellano: Reseña de Lucky Pierrot: ¿vale la pena comer en la famosa cadena de hamburguesas de Hakodate?]

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