9 Must-Try Restaurants in Nagoya: From Upscale French Cuisine to Local Eats

• Table of Contents
• HAKKO Cuisine Around Nagoya: A Producer of Miso, Soy Sauce, and Mirin!
• 1. French Kappou Sasa: French Cuisine + Multi-Course Small-Portion Dining
• 2.Le coeuryuzu: French Cuisine
• 3.HANROK: French Cuisine
• 4.Okute Yamamotoya: Miso Nikomi Udon
• 5.Okazaki Kakukyu Hatcho Village: Miso Katsu and Miso Nikomi Udon
• 6.Japanese cuisine Kobanten: Hitsumabushi (Grilled Eel Over Rice)
• 7.Itto: Japanese Cuisine
• 8.CHOUWA OMUSUBI: Onigiri (Rice Balls)
• 9.Chitamaezushi Sakaba no Sennosuke: Sushi
• Try HAKKO Cuisine Near Nagoya

HAKKO Cuisine Around Nagoya: A Producer of Miso, Soy Sauce, and Mirin!

Nagoya is known as a city with a deeply rooted fermented food culture, including miso, soy sauce, sake, and Akazu red vinegar. From traditional Japanese cuisine to modern French cuisine incorporating the umami of HAKKO (fermentation), Nagoya boasts a diverse array of restaurants, popular among tourists and food lovers alike. The dishes, which utilize local ingredients and fermentation culture, highlight the delicious flavors of the ingredients, making for an unforgettable experience. This article introduces a curated list of recommended restaurants you should visit around Nagoya, categorized by genre.

Learn more about HAKKO in Nagoya

1. French Kappou Sasa: French Cuisine + Multi-Course Small-Portion Dining

This hidden French restaurant in Nagoya City offers a multi-course meal featuring small specialty dishes crafted by the chef using fermented seasonings and ingredients from the three prefectures of Aichi, Gifu, and Mie. Guests can savor dishes that bring out the full flavor of each ingredient through simple yet careful preparation.

FRENCH KAPPOU SASA

Uchiyama 2-6-9, Chikusa Ward, Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture, 464-0075

We have gathered a selection of delicious ingredients that have been grown with plenty of love in Aichi, Gifu, and Mie. By visiting the production regions and hearing directly from the producers, we hope to convey the significance of creating dishes here and now. Please enjoy our borderless cuisine based on French culinary techniques.

2.Le coeuryuzu: French Cuisine

This reservation-only French restaurant in Tokoname is renowned for its Omakase Course that makes use of local seasonal ingredients and fermentation culture. At its seaside location, you can enjoy the chef's creative cuisine.

Le coeuryuzu

3-143-1 Kumanocho, Tokoname, Aichi, 479-0817

Located about 35 minutes by train from Chubu Centrair International Airport, Le Coeuryuzu is a reservation-only French restaurant in Tokoname, Aichi Prefecture, where you can enjoy an omakase meal that showcases local seasonal ingredients and fermentation culture. Enjoy the chef's exquisite cuisine and warm hospitality near the sea.

3.HANROK: French Cuisine

This restaurant was renovated from a former mansion built around 1889. Enjoy creative French cuisine that utilizes fermented seasonings and spend an extraordinary time in the elegance of a historic building. Reservations are required, so we recommend making a reservation beforehand according to your travel plans.

HANROK

475-0873 1-7 Nakamuracho, Handa City, Aichi Prefecture

Believed to have been built in 1889, this is the former residence of the Nakano Hanroku family, who prospered in the shipping and brewing industries and contributed to the local area for generations. In a historic and tasteful space that can only be found in this location, you can experience beautiful French solution cuisine using ingredients and fermented seasonings from Chita Peninsula, Aichi Prefecture, with the hospitality that only HANROK can provide. Chita Bijin Soba is grown under the concept of "beautifying people and the environment", using recycled food compost on fallow land on Chita Peninsula, Aichi Prefecture, and the sight of the soba in bloom is beautiful, and it is CHITABIJIN's initiative to have everyone enjoy the delicious soba harvested there.

4.Okute Yamamotoya: Miso Nikomi Udon

Okute Yamamotoya is a long-established restaurant founded in 1925. They serve miso nikomi udon, a Nagoya specialty. Their soup consists of a Hatcho miso base blended with white miso and other ingredients paired with firm, handmade noodles. This is a bowl that visitors should definitely try.

Okute Yamamotoya

464-0854 5-9-2 Okute, Chikusa Ward, Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture

Yamamotoya is a long-established misonikomi udon restaurant that has been loved by many people in and around Nagoya since it was founded in 1925 in Osu, Nagoya. It continues to preserve the traditional taste of Nagoya that has been passed down since the Taisho era. The fermented seasoning miso is made from Hatcho miso from a long-established miso brewery, and is blended with several other types of miso, including the local specialty white miso, using a unique method, and then slowly simmered until it becomes glossy. This exquisite gourmet dish combines the dashi stock carefully prepared for the stewed udon noodles early every morning with the udon noodles, which are all handmade and well-mixed with the miso, giving them a unique texture. A day at Yamamotoya begins with the chefs preparing miso while thinking of their customers. They start early in the morning, before the sun has even risen, and work with the miso, dashi stock, and other ingredients they have procured, feeling the humidity of the day's weather and the difference in the moisture content of the ingredients. Then, they cook the ingredients slowly and carefully, thinking about the guests who will be visiting that day. This is a tradition that has been passed down through five generations of Yamamotoya since the Taisho era. Please come to Okute Yamamotoya to enjoy this traditional taste.

5.Okazaki Kakukyu Hatcho Village: Miso Katsu and Miso Nikomi Udon

This restaurant is run by Kakukyu Hatcho Miso, a Hatcho miso brewery. The Yuba Tempura Miso Nikomi Udon and Miso Katsu Set Meal are especially popular. These carefully crafted dishes, created by a brewery that knows Hatcho miso inside and out, are a must-try while sightseeing in Nagoya.

Okazaki Kakukyu Hatcho Village (Restaurant directly operated by K...

69 Hacchocho, Okazaki City, Aichi Prefecture, 444-0925

This restaurant is operated by Kakukyu Hatcho Miso, the brewery of Hatcho miso. It's located on the Kakukyu premises, so you can stop by after a factory tour. Why not try some of the carefully prepared dishes made by a brewery that knows everything about Hatcho miso?

6.Japanese cuisine Kobanten: Hitsumabushi (Grilled Eel Over Rice)

A Japanese restaurant in Hekinan that serves Nagoya cuisine. The restaurant serves dishes that utilize fermented seasonings unique to Mikawa, such as tamari soy sauce and mirin, as well as fish from Mikawa Bay and locally produced vegetables. Their charcoal-grilled eel is particularly exquisite.

Japanese cuisine Kobanten

447-0872 256 Genji Shinmeicho , Hekinan City, Aichi Prefecture Prefect...

A restaurant with delicious Mikawa food and charcoal-grilled eel. The Mikawa region is blessed with seafood and vegetables that are unique to Mikawa Bay. It is also a production area with many breweries that have a unique brewing culture, such as mirin, soy sauce, and soybean miso. By connecting with fishers, farmers, and seasoning producers, we continue to challenge ourselves through new creative dishes while preserving local flavors. The owner, who has trained as a chef outside of Hekinan, has a deep understanding of the local ingredients. His dishes, which showcase local ingredients, are profoundly delicious and impressive. We offer the flavors of Mikawa's four seasons using our tradition since our founding in 1919. These techniques have been cultivated by our chefs and incorporate new sensibilities.

7.Itto: Japanese Cuisine

This famous Japanese restaurant is located in Sakuzuka, Hekinan. With the theme of "flavors you can only experience in this place," the restaurant focuses on local ingredients from south Mikawa and fermented seasonings unique to the area, such as Hatcho miso and white soy sauce. The menu changes seasonally, so you'll discover something new every time you visit. The restaurant has also been featured in the Michelin Guide.

Itto

447-0874 1-16 Sakuzukacho, Hekinan City, Aichi Prefecture

We use local ingredients and seasonings from Minami Mikawa, Aichi Prefecture. Our dishes are created from a seasonally changing menu that offers exclusive flavors only found in this location. We craft classic Japanese cuisine fused with the local food culture to concoct one-of-a-kind flavors. We have also been featured in the Michelin Guide.

8.CHOUWA OMUSUBI: Onigiri (Rice Balls)

This shop is housed in a renovated traditional Japanese house that is over 150 years old based around the concept of "digestive-friendly rice balls." They are particular about their ingredients and fermented seasonings, and their brown rice-based dishes are popular with health-conscious diners. It is located near the Tokoname Pottery Footpath, a popular tourist spot, so be sure to visit while exploring the pottery.

CHOUWA OMUSUBI

479-0836 4-113 Tokoname City, Aichi Prefecture Sakae Town

Based on the concept of "rice balls that soothe the intestines," this rice ball shop uses special local ingredients such as fermented seasonings and malt. We recommend the special enzyme brown rice. This takeout restaurant opened in December 2024 and operates inside a renovated 100-year-old house. This is due to the owner's desire to preserve the beautiful old architecture and culture.

9.Chitamaezushi Sakaba no Sennosuke: Sushi

Chitamaezushi Sakaba no Sennosuke is a restaurant bar that serves sushi and Japanese cuisine. A distinctive feature of Sennosuke's sushi is the rice seasoned with Akazu red vinegar locally produced in Handa. The vinegar is called Akazu for its beautiful, deep amber color and has a full-bodied mellow flavor. One dish we highly recommend is sushi served with a generous cut of otoro (fatty tuna). Experience the smooth, melt-in-your-mouth texture and the impressive flavor brought by the sweetness and umami of the fat.

Chitamaezushi Sakaba no Sennosuke

Clacity Handa 2F, 155-3 Hirokojicho, Handa, Aichi, 475-0857　

Chitamaezushi Sakaba no Sennosuke is a culinary tavern offering authentic Japanese cuisine with a focus on sushi. A notable feature of Sennosuke’s sushi is the use of red vinegared rice. For the vinegar, they use Mizkan Yamabuki produced in Handa through a traditional brewing method passed down since the Edo period. This method yields pure vinegar made solely from aged sake lees. Due to its beautiful deep amber color, it is referred to as “red vinegar” and has a rich, mellow flavor. The sushi served at Sennosuke exquisitely balances the umami of fresh fish with the gentle flavor of this red vinegared rice. Among their offerings, we highly recommend trying sushi generously topped with fatty tuna (otoro). Experience the melt-in-your-mouth smoothness and the incredible flavor created by the balance of sweetness and umami from the fat. For lunch, we recommend a course featuring a sushi platter accompanied by obanzai (traditional side dishes) and miso soup. Additionally, you can enjoy dishes made with generous servings of fresh seafood, such as seafood bowls and sashimi. For dinner, you can choose from options like the “Taisho Omakase Course” with all-you-can-drink alcohol, or various banquet courses perfect for group gatherings. At Sennosuke, you can also enjoy a variety of thoughtfully chosen Japanese sake, including the finest sake from the Chita Peninsula, that complement the flavors of Japanese cuisine. The interior offers a calm, Japanese-style atmosphere, making it a perfect place to create memorable Japanese dining experiences with friends or travel companions. Seating options include tables, counter seats, barrier-free seats, and banquet seating, ensuring comfort for all guests. At Sennosuke, indulge in the bounty of the sea and exquisite sake from the Chita Peninsula.

Try HAKKO Cuisine Near Nagoya

The Nagoya area offers a diverse range of gourmet experiences that combine HAKKO (fermented) seasonings with local ingredients. From upscale French cuisine to traditional miso katsu, sushi, and rice balls snacks, each restaurant offers a unique experience and flavors you can’t find anywhere else. Be sure to try out your favorite genres tailored to your travel schedule.