Local tells Top 5 best Japanese restaurants in Kobe!Experience authentic Japanese foods

Hi,I’m Keiko from Osaka!

Kobe is known as an international city, you can enjoy various cuisine from western foods to Chinese foods.

It’s not only provides international cuisine, it also serves traditional Japanese cuisine.

It’s a small city so the numbers of the Japanese restaurants are much less than big cities such as Osaka or Kyoto.

However there are some great restaurants where you can enjoy authentic Japanese foods.

Here are 5 restaurants where you can enjoy authentic Japanese foods in Kobe!

Local tells Top 5 best Japanese restaurants in Kobe!Experience authentic Japanese foods

1.Uemura/植むら

　
Uemura is Michelin two starred kappoh style restaurant which is located in the residential area of Kitanozaka.

This restaurant is one of the most difficult restaurants to reserve in Kobe.

Their service is great, the chef greet the customers one by one and ask them whether there’s anything they want to eat or not.

They serve only one omakase course which is special made with selected seasonal ingredients by the chef.

The price changes depending on the season between 20,000yen and 23,000yen.

Each individual dish in the course is a small portion, so you can enjoy a variety of dishes.

The foods are served on beautiful dish and bowl, and present sense of the season.

You’ll be pleasantly surprised by both the service and high quality dishes.

They offer more than 20-30 kinds of Japanese sake which goes well with their dishes very well.

It’s very popular restaurant so you should reserve a table early.

2.Gensai/玄斎

Gensai is a Kappoh style restaurant which is located in the residential areas of Kobe.

The restaurant has received two Michelin stars 5 years in a row since 2011.

They use all fresh ingredients from farmers in Hyogo prefecture.

They serve only one Omakase course(Chef’s selection) of 12,000 yen(Exclude tax and service charges).

The chef will serve you with simple dishes that use ingredients with their original flavor brought out.

If you want to have authentic Japanese foods, you should visit Gensai!

3.Matsunoya/松迺家

Matsunoya is a traditional high-end Japanese restaurant which is directly connected to Sannomiya station.

Established in 1917,this kaiseki restaurant has been loved by many celebrities including Michal Jackson,Ray Charles and Yasunari Kawabata etc.

The owner-chef trained at Kitcho, one of the most famous restaurants in Japan,and became independent and opened Matsunoya.

There are 4 lunch set meals and 4 Kaiseki dinner courses.

The lunch set called “Service-Zen” includes appetizers,tempura,soup and dessert costs only 2,500 yen(Excluded tax).

At the kaiseki dinner, seasonable dishes are served one after another including sashimi,tempura and Kamameshi(Japanese rice pilaf cooked in an iron pot).

If you are looking to eat Wagyu beef steak, there is Wagyu steak Kaiseki course for 8,500yen(Excluded tax).

Each dish is well prepared and tasty!

Here is a video of Matsunoya in Japanese.




Next,let’s go to the reasonable Japanese restaurant that there is a chef trained in Uemura!

4.Ryoriya Kudo/りょうり屋 くどう

Ryoriya Kudo is Michelin one starred restaurant that serves the authentic Japanese foods.

The owner chef Kudo trained at Uemura and became independent and opened this restaurant.

They offer 3 Omakase courses(Chef’s selection) at 6,000yen,7,500yen and 9,000 yen.

The courses consist of 9-10 items including hassun(assorted seasonable dishes),sashimi,stewed dish,grilled dish ,donabe-gohan(rice cooked in a pot) and dessert.

I recommend you to choose 7,500yen or 9,000 yen course if you want to have meat dishes.

The dishes are daily special made with selected seasonal ingredients by the chef.

Their seafood dishes vary depending on the catch of the day.

The chef don’t use expensive ingredients but he creates the dishes by making the best use of good ingredients.

It’s simple yet very tasty.

I highly recommend this restaurant for those who want to enjoy authentic Japanese foods at reasonable prices.

It’s very popular restaurant so you should reserve a table early.

5.Shigematsu/しげ松

Shigematsu is Michelin one starred restaurant has been established since 1982.

They offer a wide variety of courses including Omakase,crab hot pot and fugu(Pufferfish) hot pot between 10,000 yen and 40,000 yen.

The chef has appeared on popular cooking battle variety program called “Ryori no Tetsujin” (Iron Chef) before.

The chef’s skillful technique draws out the best flavors from every ingredient and he create the beautiful dishes decorated like an art.

The dishes are high quality but expensive so people in Kobe use this restaurant for special occasions such as anniversaries or birthdays.

This restaurant is for those who aren’t concerned about the price, more about the quality.

Summary

Top 5 best Japanese restaurants in Kobe

1. Uemura・・・Uemura is Michelin two starred kappoh style restaurant in Kobe.
2. Gensai・・・The restaurant has received two Michelin stars 5 years in a row since 2011.
3. Matsunoya・・・Matsunoya is a traditional high-end Japanese restaurant which is directly connected to Sannomiya station.
4. Ryoriya Kudo・・・The owner chef Kudo trained at Uemura and became independent and opened this restaurant.
5. Shigematsu・・・Shigematsu is Michelin one starred restaurant has been established since 1982.

I hope you’ll enjoy authentic Japanese dishes in Kobe!

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