5 recommended dinner spots in Otaru that offer more than just sushi
Otaru is famous for its sushi and seafood bowls, but that's not all there is to Otaru's cuisine. The rich bounty of the mountains and sea, creative cuisine with a twist, Western food culture unique to the old port town, and wines produced in the suburbs of Otaru are just a few of the delicacies that will attract food lovers from Japan and abroad. Many of the restaurants have reused historical buildings and offer a nostalgic atmosphere. Here is a selection of recommended restaurants that will make your dinner time an important memory of your trip.
1ISO
Otaru's rich culinary culture and originality shine through on the menu.
Standing near the Otaru Canal, this Restaurant is housed in a 115-plus year old historical building. The manager, who says, "After working outside of Hokkaido, I realized the richness of the food in Otaru, where I was born and raised," offers creative Italian cuisine using ingredients from Otaru and Hokkaido.
The "Minatomachi Kaisen Pasta" is a menu item that expresses the retro port town of Otaru with its nostalgic butter soy sauce flavor and abundant use of seafood from Hokkaido. Other original ideas, such as grapefruit-marinated "iizushi," a local Hokkaido dish made by fermenting fish with malted rice, have breathed new life into Otaru's culinary culture.
Enjoy the slow flow of time in a space that retains the footprints of our predecessors.
The restaurant's building is the former Isono Branch Warehouse, a red brick warehouse built in 1906 (Meiji 39), and the name "ISO" is a reference to the building's roots. The second floor restaurant still retains the floors, doors, and tables from the "Uminekoya" days, showing the respect for the history built by our predecessors.
The third floor is the bar floor, where you can enjoy a meal on the second floor and then move to a seat to relax and enjoy a drink or a cup of coffee. The sea breeze cools you in summer, and the wood-burning fireplace soothes you in winter, a luxury that only an adult traveler can enjoy.
2Sushi and Seasonal Cuisine of Otaru Nishizukana
Sushi and sake snacks that showcase the meticulous workmanship of our chefs
A sushi and Japanese cuisine restaurant run by a father and son on a hill a short distance from the center of Otaru City. The restaurant was selected as a Bib Gourmand in the Michelin Guide Hokkaido 2017. Although it may seem intimidating, the nigiri is reasonably priced, starting at 2,500 yen for "Kami-sei" (top-quality raw fish). Soy sauce is applied with a brush at the time of eating, which not only prevents overdipping, but also allows you to eat the nigiri smartly without tipping it over.
The set menu, which includes a variety of colorful sushi and sake snacks, is a condensed version of the charm of Nishizukana. You can enjoy the essence of Japanese cuisine with every bite, such as our signature "kipper cooked softly down to the bone".
The joy of food created by parents and children. Excellent pairings with wines from the suburbs
The master chef, who has many years of experience as a sushi chef, and the young chef, who has won a national championship in a Japanese cuisine competition, preserve the taste of "Nishizuka," which attracts gourmets from both Japan and abroad. The desire to "make the most of local ingredients at the time of the season and bring the joy of eating" has been passed down from father to son.
The young chef is in charge of selecting beverages, and will suggest the perfect drink to accompany your meal. The restaurant also offers a wide selection of wines from the Otaru area, such as Yoichi and Niki. You can enjoy to your heart's content the terroir of Japanese cuisine made with local ingredients and locally brewed wine.
- Otaru Sushi and Seasonal Cuisine Nishizuka
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4-9-14 Takashima, Otaru-shi, Hokkaido MAP
10 minutes drive from JR Otaru Station
Lunch 11:30-14:00(L.O.13:30)
Dinner 17:00-20:30(L.O.20:00)
Tuesdays
0134-34-2838
Free of charge
3Wine & Cafe Restaurant Otaru Vine
Enjoy the marriage of Hokkaido's food and wine
The restaurant has a nostalgic atmosphere and is housed in the former Hokkaido Bank Head Office, which was built in 1912. The restaurant offers Western-style cuisine made with Hokkaido's finest ingredients along with Otaru Wine and other wines from various regions of Hokkaido.
The "Bin cheese fondue" is a round French fondue with a round French bread as a bowl, which goes well with wine and looks good in a photo. Hot cheese spread with Otaru wine is served with hot vegetables and sausages. The cheese-soaked bread can be eaten in its entirety, and by the time the plate is empty, your stomach will be full and satisfied.
Relive the glory of the "Wall Street of the North" in a historic setting.
The area around the restaurant was once known as "Wall Street of the North," lined with trading companies and banks from the late Meiji period to the early Showa period. The exterior of the store is almost exactly as it was when it was the former Hokkaido Bank's head office, and some of the flooring and walls from those days still remain. Diagonally across the street is the former Otaru Branch of the Bank of Japan (now open to the public as a financial museum). Many of the regular customers request a seat by the window to enjoy the view of the street and reminisce about the old days.
After enjoying a meal in a space that is steeped in the history of Otaru as a commercial city, we recommend shopping at the wine store attached to the restaurant. The shop offers more than 100 kinds of wines carefully selected from all over Hokkaido.
- Wine & Cafe Restaurant Otaru Vine
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- 1-8-6 Shikinai, Otaru-shi, Hokkaido MAP
- 10 min. walk from JR Otaru Station
- Restaurant 11:30-20:00 (L.O.19:00) Shop 11:00-20:00
- Restaurant only on Wednesdays
- 0134-24-2800
- Affiliated Parking available
Exterior construction underway until early December 2022
4Raku-ten
A famous back-alley restaurant where elaborate seasonal delicacies are served.
This izakaya is tucked away in the back alley of the Otaru Miyako-dori Shopping Street, an arcade near Otaru Station. You can enjoy beautifully creative Japanese cuisine using seasonal ingredients from Otaru and the surrounding area as well as other parts of Hokkaido, along with natural wines and Japanese sake.
The strength of RakuTen lies in the quality of the ingredients that the owner, who grew up in the area, obtains in cooperation with producers. The owner's creative hands sublimate vegetables for high-end restaurants from nearby farmers, fresh gibier directly from hunters, and other ingredients into a masterpiece of cuisine. The "venison tataki," a concentrated dish of iron-rich Ezo sika deer meat, is a treat only available during the fall and winter hunting seasons.
Enjoy fine sake in a space with the warmth of a family
The father left his job to start the restaurant, and now the second generation couple runs the restaurant. The daughter who used to play at the restaurant as a child is now a mother and helps out at the restaurant with her children. Although the restaurant is listed in the "Michelin Guide Hokkaido 2017" Bib Gourmand list, it does not feel intimidating because it is an at-home family-run business.
There are tables for groups to relax at, but if you are visiting with one or two people, be sure to sit at the counter. The friendly and talkative owner, proprietress, and local regulars will surely add color to your tipsy moment.
- Rakuten
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- 2-13-7 Inaho, Otaru-shi, Hokkaido MAP
- 6 min. walk from JR Otaru Sta.
- 18:00-23:00 (L.O. 22:30)
- Mon.
- 0134-22-6336
- None
- Ramen Nicochan
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5Western Cuisine and Candles Otaru Muse
Popular for its authentic Western cuisine carefully prepared from scratch using only the finest ingredients.
This Western-style restaurant was opened in 2009 by the owners, who met in Kyoto and moved to Otaru, the place of their dreams. The No. 1 popular dish, "Stewed Hamburger Steak," is made with beef and pork from Kuromatsunai and grilled to plumpness to lock in the flavor, and its signature demi-glace sauce, which has been continuously added and aged for years, is a dish that can be enjoyed.
The restaurant also offers a variety of other dishes such as omelette rice, pasta, and roast pork cutlet, as well as an extensive plate menu with an assortment of different flavors. The key to the delicious taste is the meticulous and painstaking work that goes into every dish: no food processor is used, and all sauces and dressings are homemade.
Healing space with candlelight and pleasant music
Open the antique English door and you are greeted by a calm space with burgundy walls and soft lighting that casts shadows. The candles that add warmth to the table are made by the wife, who also works as a candle artist. The candles are on display and for sale, and you can even "keep the candles" and have your own candles lit each time you visit.
The owner and his wife also have a deep knowledge of music and hold live performances by musicians from inside and outside of Hokkaido as well as from overseas on an irregular basis. Many fans visit "Muse" for a moment to be healed by candlelight and let their hearts be entertained by music.
- Western Cuisine and Candles Otaru Muse
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- 1-11-7 Inaho, Otaru-shi, Hokkaido MAP
- 7 min. walk from JR Otaru Sta.
- Lunch 11:00-14:30 (L.O. 14:00), Dinner 17:00-21:00 (L.O. 20:00)
Dinner reservations can be extended until 22:00. - Mondays (open if Monday is a national holiday, closed the following day)
- 0134-31-6300
- Free of charge
