Exploring Kanazawa is hungry work with all that walking and sightseeing as you tick off the top things to do in the city. Luckily enough, the city has delicious options waiting to be explored. Whatever your budget, you’ll be able to enjoy delicious wholesome meals and other Japanese specialties. With plenty of fresh seafood sourced from the nearby Japan Sea and influences from international cuisine.
Menya Taiga
Menya Taiga is one of the friendliest ramen restaurants in the whole of Kanazawa. This small traditional restaurant serves three types of ramen and is the perfect place to grab a bowl of deliciousness. You can choose between regular miso, black miso, or red miso. The original is the best if you’re looking for an authentic bowl, the red is spicy and the black has the addition of squid ink for extra flavor. Although this isn’t the healthiest of meal options, the restaurant adds a nice touch by giving you a shot glass of vegetable juice to sustain your blood sugar levels.
English address: HMH2+GW Kanazawa
Kuroya
This is a tiny izakaya that offers sake and local seafood. The seafood is always fresh and tasty and pairs so well with the sake on offer. It’s a great place to start your food adventure with it being located near Kanazawa Station and they’re both excellent. It’s a great place to try the izakaya experience and the English menu really helps with ordering.
English address: 2-6-2 Hon-machi
Coil
Looking for something more unusual to do while you’re exploring Kanazawa, how about rolling your own sushi at Coil. This fun restaurant adds a contemporary touch to the traditional hosomaki sushi. You can customize your own dinner and then roll it yourself too. The potential fillings list has everything from simple fresh salmon to camembert, as well as jellyfish if you’re feeling adventurous. You can choose to have either five, six, or eight filling options for your meal, which comes with a tempura nest and four pre-prepped seaweed sheets ready to roll. There’s also a tea ceremony counter with ten teas, including the local specialty twig tea. It’s a great experience for the whole family to enjoy.
English address: 1-1 Fukuromachi, Kanazawa, Ishikawa 920-0909, Japan
Cottage
While this might not seem like a very Japanese restaurant, it’s the perfect place to visit if you’re looking for some creature comforts like pasta. Cottage plates up bowls of fresh homemade pasta and fresh-from-the-oven pizza in a friendly restaurant. The owners make you feel like you’re at home and if you visit at lunchtime you’ll likely see Tony busy making pasta behind the counter. If you’re visiting Kanazawa on a budget then make the most of lunchtime where you can enjoy a dish for the special lunch price. The pizzas are equally good and there are all sorts of vegetarian options available if you ask.
English address: 2-chōme-8 Katamachi, Kanazawa, Ishikawa
Morimorizushi Kanazawa Ekimae-ten
This hi-tech kaiten or conveyor belt sushi restaurant on the Forus Kanazawa Restaurant Floor is a fantastic place to fill up on sushi for a reasonable price. You can order all your favorites from the iPads in front of you or simply grab the small plates off the conveyor. There is also a non-conveyor belt restaurant in the same building if you prefer to sit down for a less hi-tech lunch or dinner.
English address: 6F Kanazawa Forus, 3-1 Horikawashin-machi
Seimensho
What could be better after a busy day of exploring Kanazawa than enjoying a warming bowl of curry udon topped with crispy tempura vegetables? Seimensho is the go-to evening meal that your tired legs deserve. The restaurant focuses on quality, with great attention paid to the toppings, the tea, and each element in your homemade noodles. Seimensho uses local ingredients and fresh seasonal vegetables, so you can be sure you’re trying the best that Kanazawa has to offer. There are also non-curry options available, such as chicken, if you need a protein hit. The portions are great so you won’t be left hungry whichever you choose.
English address: 1 Chome-1-18 Katamachi, Kanazawa
Omicho Market
This popular market not only sells fresh produce and seafood but serves it too. The day’s goods come in from the night’s fishing boats and are sold within hours of leaving the water. But this market goes far beyond just selling the ingredients, it is also a great place to get a meal while you browse the merchandise. Try fresh fruit and vegetables, locally grown and freshly harvested, while you pick a main dish. You’ll be able to find broiled eel and scallops, grilled prawns, and raw oysters. It’s a great way to sample a bit of both the local cuisine and the local culture among locals.
Cafe Dumbo
In need of a sweet pick-me-up or a little sugar rush? If you’re down by the Samurai District, then you’ve got to stop by Cafe Dumbo. The cafe serves up a variety of tasty treats from homemade cakes to freshly ground specialty coffee. It’s the perfect place to grab a coffee and a bite to eat before heading off to explore more of the top things to do in Kanazawa. A local’s favorite to try when you’re at Cafe Dumbo is a slice of Chestnut butter cake, it’s the best.
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