Kanazawa was definitely one of the more memorable cities in Japan that I’ve visited. If you read my itinerary then you’d know how much I raved about the historical sites that I went to in the 3 days I was there. I will say though that it was perhaps the food that left a really huge impression on me when I was there.
Where to Eat in Kanazawa: Some of the Best Local Places to Go
Today, I’ll be talking about ALL the food that I enjoyed leading up to and during my stay at Kanazawa. So if you’re ready then let’s start things off with…
Hokuriku Shinkansen Gran Class train meal from Tokyo to Kanazawa
The Hokuriku Shinkansen Gran Class seat that I got was, without a doubt, expensive. Despite this, I think it was actually more than worth it just for the food alone. In fact, I think the food that we got served was arguably one of the highlights of the ride from Tokyo to Kanazawa. This particular meal seat in the picture is concocted by Kan Morieda of Social Kitchen Toranomon for a Dean & Deluca collaboration. Items in this Japanese Fare set include pressed fava bean and lily bulb, carrot and fish paste wrapped in frozen dried tofu, dried daikon strip salad, burdock root wrapped in beef, and many more. All of these came in bite-sized morsels which made them really easy to consume.
Aside from the Japanese Fare meal set, the collaboration also features one for Western Fare. This meal set contains Hokkaido pumpkin bread gratin, Pacific cod brandade risotto, Wine-braised pork ragu, and a Chestnut souffle cake. Much like the Japanese Fare meal set, these also came in bite-size servings.
To help wash down the scrumptious food, the meal sets came with this Duc de Montagne non-alcoholic sparkling wine. This was actually great as I definitely had no plans of being intoxicated for my check in at Hyatt Centric Hotel Kanazawa.
I will say that while I enjoyed the Gran Class meals, I also couldn’t help but think that I wanted more. Overall though, this was still an experience that I’d highly recommend you try at least once on your own Japan trip.
Gyukatsu Kyoto Katsugyu Cross Gate Mall
Another food experience that gets a recommendation from me is Gyukatsu Kyoto Katsugyu. This specific branch is at the Cross Gate Mall which is just adjacent to the Hyatt Centric Hotel Kanazawa (which was the hotel I was staying in). Thanks to its proximity, it was one of the first restaurants that I visited after checking in at our hotel.
I started my stay in Kanazawa with an order of the Premium Wagyu Sirloin set meal which features (as its name suggests) a premium wagyu beef cutlet, a cup of rice, an onsen egg, cabbage, miso soup, and the restaurant’s signature dipping sauces (sansho pepper, soy sauce, and gyukatsu sauce). It’s a stacked meal and it’s going to set you back JPY4939.
Here’s a page off of the restaurant’s menu advertising the set. It’s sort of crazy how the picture on this page actually looks a lot like the picture I took of the meal set earlier.
The other order that me and my companion got was the Japanese Beef Sirloin. This is pretty much the same order as the other one except for the fact that it uses Beef Sirloin rather than Wagyu. Thanks to this, it’s relatively cheaper at JPY3619 (inclusive of tax). It’s not as melt in your mouth good as the Wagyu but the meat was still very tender and I think it might have been a better value thanks to its price.
This is the menu page that advertises the Japanese Beef Sirloin meal set. You’ll also notice that there is an option to order other cutlets from other parts of the beef including even minced meat. Depending on the cut, you can expect to pay anywhere from JPY300 to as much as JPY950 (excluding tax).
Gyukatsu Kyoto Katsugyu was expensive but in my opinion still worth it.
Shabu Sai Kanazawa Fo-Rasu Te
Another memorable food experience I had in Kanazawa involved hotpot. The city is known for its hotpot restaurants so I decided to try out one. Thankfully, I did find one close to the hotel called Shabu Sai Kanazawa Fo-Rasu Te. This picture shows a signboard with the restaurant’s pricing for its hotpot courses. Expect to pay from JPY2299 to JPY2899 (exclusive of tax).
Another display featuring some of the popular toppings for shabu shabu that are available in the restaurant. Take note that what’s on display here are shokuhin sampuru and they are NOT edible. I wouldn’t blame you if you thought these were real though. When I came here I really thought these were edible though that could have just been me being so hungry after walking around Omicho Market and the Higashi Chaya District.
Here are some of the toppings that you can choose for your shabu shabu. I think mushrooms should be a staple of every hotpot and they have a number of these available here. In addition, there’s onions and Japanese komatsuna or Japanese mustard spinach.
Other notable toppings here include tofu, shiitake mushrooms, pea sprouts, and even some udon. While not pictured, the restaurant also offers carrots, Chinese noodles, Grenn Onions, daikon, as well as a wide range of condiments that include peanut sauce, grated radish with yuzu, coriander and potherb mustard, red pickled ginger, and sweet chili sauce (just to name a few).
If you were wondering why there wasn’t any meat on display it’s because you need to order them when you’ve already seated. The tables here have a QR code that you can scan that would then allow you to order the meat. What’s also unique about the restaurant is that the meat you order will be delivered to your table by a cute robot server (which greatly decreases chances of your meat getting contaminated).
I ended ordering 5 cuts of which included my favorite wagyu and I will say, this meal ended up being pretty filling. If you’re checked in to Hyatt Centric or any hotel that’s close by then I’d recommend checking out Shabu Sai Kanazawa Fo-Rasu Te. Also, I have an in-depth review of the restaurant that you might want to check out if you want more information about it.
Hyatt Centric Kanazawa Breakfast Buffet
Just before I visited Shirakawa-go and Takayama in my first full day here at Kanazawa, I got to enjoy Hyatt Centric Hotel Kanazawa’s breakfast buffet. Now, the hotel has a number of restaurants and the one that offers breakfast is called the Five-Grill and Lounge Restaurant.
One thing about the breakfast buffet that stood out to me was its variety. I had plenty of choices when it came to proteins. Featured in this picture are fried dishes such as shrimp tempura, scrambled eggs, and fried rice.
In the fruits section, the options available included sliced kiwi, oranges, pineapples, grapes, and whole apples and bananas. If you wanted to, there was also yogurt as well as some confiture made from Kanazawa Yuzu and even Blueberry. Not shown in this picture were the whole grains, corn flakes, chocolate crisps, and granola that you could’ve paired the fruits in this image with.
Now, if you were a little conscious of your calorie intake then you could also opt to just focus on the salad section. You could pair this bowl of mixed greens with a wide selection of other vegetables for a relatively healthy meal in the morning.
Here are some of the other vegetables and even some salad dressings that you could pair with the greens in the previous image. Some of the standout options here (for me at least) are the lotus roots, mustard greens, as well as the watermelon and red kururi radish mixture. For the salad dressings, the Yamato Soy Sauce and Mayonnaise looked especially interesting. If you’re not too keen on that though, you could just get the regular French dressing or maybe just the Balsamic vinegar.
For proteins, the options available here (other than the fried food I mentioned earlier) include these smoked salmon, sliced bologna sausages, and smoked duck. Other protein sources not pictured but worth noting were the grilled fish, Japanese bacon, sausages, and the cheeses (at the time, they had Gruyere, Cheddar, and Camembert).
The pastry section was my personal favorite as you could see that what they served here was freshly baked. You can’t see it in the picture but these croissants, milk bread, raisin danish and pain au chocolat were still warm when I got here. Other bread that was served but not pictured include Baguette Campagne, plain roll bread, and English muffins.
Looking back, I can say that the breakfast at Hyatt Centric Hotel Kanazawa was probably one of the most varied. Some of the items were a miss like the Japanese bacon but in general, the food was definitely tasty. Considering breakfast here is complimentary for guests, I’d say this was more than worth it.
Shirakawa-Go Lunch
Though mainly known for its historic and well-preserved gasshou zukiri buildings, Shirakawa-go does have some culinary delights that are worth checking out. The marbling on this wagyu was really nice though the star of this particular meal was perhaps the grilled fish which really was a palate cleanser after all the meat that I’d been consuming since I came to Kanazawa.
Sake from Takayama Vending Machine
After Shirakawa-go, our group headed to Hida Takayama where I then came across sake vending machines! These featured in the picture were from the Funasaka Sake Brewery Shop. The concept here is rather simple, you play a gachapon vending machine to get a cup for JPY200 and then you use the cup for tasting the contents from the pictured sake vending machines.
Each of the vending machines holds two kinds of sake with 3 taps for each. Take note though that all the sake in these vending machines are from Funasaka Sake Brewery. These range from junmai daiginjo to limited and seasonal miyamagiku varieties. Typically, a bottle of these can range anywhere from JPY850 to as much as JPY11000 depending on the kind of sake. Thankfully, the price for a cup from these vending machines is set at just 1 token (equivalent to JPY100) so you get to taste them without having to break the bank.
If you’re wondering where you can get the tokens from, just ask this helpful guy here. Kidding aside, you’ll find the machine to exchange your cash for tokens just right next to this guy.
This was honestly a really fun activity at Takayama that I think more people should at least experience once.
Hida Beef Sushi in Takayama
Hida Beef Sushi is also another Takayama specialty that you probably want to check out especially if you’re someone who enjoys wagyu. For those unfamiliar with it, Hida Beef is actually a type of Japanese wagyu (kind of like Miyazaki Beef). The store selling this Hida Beef Sushi is called Hida Kotte Ushi and as you can see in the picture, the line for it is quite long.
Here are the prices for the shop’s offerings. An order of regular Hida Beef Sushi will set you back JPY700 while the Premium variety is going to cost JPY1000. There’s also a Hida Beef Gunkan (essentially a beef sushi roll) for JPY800. If you want a best of both worlds type of deal then the Hida Beef Combination set which combines an order of Hida Beef Sushi and half of a Hida Beef Gunkan might be worth checking out.
Personally, I wouldn’t say this was a must visit spot. The beef was definitely delicious but I just felt that the portions was a little too small. That said, I still think people will find this delicious and could be worth the JPY700 to JPY1000.
Unagi Yondaime Kikukawa
After the Shirakawa-go and Takayama day trip, I decided to try some hitsumabushi at Unagi Yondaime Kikkukawa which was also at the same mall as Gyukatsu Kyoto Katsugyu. This was the perfect way to end my first whole day (second day overall) at Kanazawa and was a much needed break from all the beef that I’ve been consuming since I arrived here. Pictured is the Ippon Hitsumabushi set that costs JPY5780. This meal consists of a whole grilled eel, eel liver soup, side dishes, and various condiments.
There’s also a Kikkukawa Hitsumabushi set that costs around JPY4200. It’s more or less the same as the Ippon Hitsumabushi set but you get cuts rather than a whole grilled eel. Another major difference between this and the Ippon Hitsumabushi set is that it doesn’t have eel liver in the complimentary soup.
At JPY2750, the sashimi set here at Unagi Yondaime Kikkukawa was actually quite nice. The shrimp, scallops, and tuna featured were all fresh and delicious. Perhaps, the only real issue I had with this was that the portions really left me wanting more.
If you do decide to get the hitsumabushi to go then you should check out the restaurant’s takeout menu. The Kabayaki Ippon Jyu Bento has a whole eel and is priced at JPY5250. If you just want the eel (minus the rice), there’s an Ippon Kabayaki and an Ippon Grilled Eel both priced at JPY4850. Other takeout orders include Eel Rice Bento for JPY3850 and a Hitsumabushi Bento costing JPY3650.
It’s important to note that takeouts here at Unagi Yondaime Kikkukawa are cooked only after you’ve ordered them. This means that you might have to wait a while for your takeout order. Thankfully, you can still call them in advance to order for takeout.
Shiroyamatei Restaurant Near Kenrokuen Garden
Shiroyamatei is one of the restaurants that you’ll find in Edomachi Dori Avenue in Kenrokuen Garden. I ended up going here before my Kenrokuen Garden visit and just after going around Kanazawa Castle Park. One of the meals I ordered here was this Udon Lunch Set that cost JPY1550.
The other order was a Pork Cutlet and Curry Rice set meal that cost JPY1200. While it was more affordable than the Udon Lunch Set, it was by no means the inferior meal. The pork cutlet was an amazing complement to the curry’s flavorful and tasty flavor. Most curry bowls skimp on the rice but this one had a good amount that really soaked up the curry.
Here’s the menu page that features the Udon Lunch Set. It should be noted that there are other lunch sets that you could choose from here. Some of the meals that stood out for me include the Soba and Tonkatsu Lunch sets that cost JPY1550 and JPY1700 respectively.
This section of Shiroyamatei’s menu features its curries. Aside from pork cutlet, you can get a curry rice meal paired with fried shrimp that’s even more affordable at JPY1100. If you just want curry rice then you can get an order for JPY850 and if you want cheese for its toppings then it’s going to cost you JPY1050. You might also want shrimp fried rice which is priced at JPY850.
Shiroyamatei’s food was definitely delicious but it’s probably not something that you’d write home about. If you want relatively affordable teishoku though then I don’t think you’d find a better restaurant that offers these.
Gyoza at Kanazawa Gyoza Sakaba
For my last dinner in Kanazawa, I decided to try out a dumpling specialty restaurant close to the hotel called Kanazawa Gyoza Sakaba. A serving of gyoza dumplings here starts at JPY300 and can go as high as JPY470 depending on the flavor. As for the taste, this specific order was quite savory and its bottom (the part that sticks to the pan) were very crunchy.
This miso soup was probably the most generous that I had when it came to ingredients. It was savory and actually a great palate cleanser for all the other fried food that I ordered that night.
Another complement to all our fried food were these orders for edamame/green soybeans and cucumber with a garlic paste. Each of these orders cost JPY310 and were quite honestly well worth their price thanks to them being so fresh.
While this is a gyoza restaurant, I think the star of our meal for this particular night was without a doubt the Pork Stuffed Lotus. We came here around the lunar new year so of course I had to order this and it was actually really tasty. At just JPY450, this was still pretty affordable compared to what I’ve been eating the last day or two here in Kanazawa.
And that ends my Kanazawa Food Experience. I hope you enjoyed and possibly learned something from this. I’d also be interested to know the food that you ate (or are eating) during your stay in Kanazawa. Make sure to sound off in the comments section!
