From seafood to local delicacies to the tastes of famous restaurants. The best lunch to eat in Otaru!
Otaru, embraced by the sea and mountains, is a town rich in natural blessings. There are many restaurants where you can enjoy an exquisite lunch using plenty of quality ingredients, such as fresh seafood landed at Maehama, seasonal vegetables grown in the suburbs of Yoichi Town and Niki Town, and brand-name pork. Here we introduce seven unique restaurants, including long-established gems, local delicacies, hearty seafood dishes, and stylish Western cuisine.
1Western-style restaurant Mangiare TAKINAMI
The bounty of Goshi, a treasure trove of food, condensed into a single dish.
This Restaurant is popular for its original Western-style dishes made with seafood from the mountains and the sea from Otaru and its suburbs. One of the most recommended dishes is the Shiribeshi Cotriade, a cream of seafood soup. Shiribeshi Cotriade is a local gourmet dish developed by local chef volunteers, inspired by the French regional dish "cotriade. Each restaurant offers a unique dish using ingredients such as seafood, vegetables, fruits, and dairy products from Hokkaido, all caught in the Shiribeshi region where Otaru is located. At Yoshokuya Mangiare Takinami, the specialties include homemade smoked herring and kazunoko mushrooms, basil-flavored quenelles (surimi), and more. It has a deep flavor that will make you want a glass of wine from noon on.
A late afternoon enjoyed in an interior that retains the charm of the Taisho era
Part of a Taisho-era timber-framed stone warehouse has been preserved inside the restaurant, evoking a sense of historical significance and rustic charm. From the windows, you can see a cherry tree whose branches reach out toward the restaurant; in spring, you can enjoy a leisurely meal while admiring the blossoms in full bloom.
If you have time to spare, we also recommend the paella (served for two or more), made with plenty of seafood and cooked from scratch with rice. It’s a delightful experience to wait for the paella to finish cooking while snacking on house-made prosciutto made from Yoichi’s brand-name pork and sipping wine from “OSA WINERY,” a winery in Otaru that’s been gaining attention.
Local Guide
Supporters
The lunch menu includes a wide variety of dishes such as shiribeshi cotrillard, pasta, pizza, steak, curry, and more. We also recommend the fish lunch, which includes two types of sauteed fish.
- Western-style restaurant Mangiare TAKINAMI
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2-1-16 Ironai, Otaru City, Hokkaido MAP
10 min. walk from JR Otaru Station
Lunch 11:30 AM–3:00 PM (Last Order 2:00 PM)
Dinner 5:30 PM–9:30 PM (Last Order 8:00 PM)
*Closing time may be moved up depending on crowd levels
*Lunch is served only on Tuesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays
Wednesday, Thursday
0134-33-3394
Free of charge (3 cars)
2Seafood Restaurant Sawasaki Suisan
Taste all the seafood that protrudes from the bowl!
Kaisendon, a bowl of rice topped with fresh seafood, is one of the must-try gourmet dishes when you come to Otaru. Sawasaki Suisan's "Tokusen Chirashi-don" is a hearty bowl of rice topped with seafood so large that it doesn't fit in the bowl. A variety of ingredients such as thick king crab with concentrated flavor, sweet sea urchin that melts on the tongue, thick and crispy scallops, and plump sweet shrimps are laid out so tightly that it is hard to reach the rice. The sparkling home-made salmon roe and tobiko are also beautifully presented and make for a great photo-op.
Directly managed by a fishery company, we are confident of the taste and freshness of our seafood.
Sawasaki Suisan is a fishery company originally founded in Nemuro, now based in Otaru for processing and selling seafood. The taste and freshness of their seafood go without saying, as they use fresh, not frozen, crabs that are boiled in the morning. In the counter-only restaurant, you can watch the Staff/staff members' skillful work up close, which stirs up your anticipation and appetite. The stall village "Otaru Dekunenkoji," where the restaurant is located, has an excellent location, right next to "Asakusabashi Kaen," a popular photo spot on the Otaru Canal. It is a must-stop store during your visit to Otaru.
Local Guide
Supporters
Sawazaki Suisan has three locations in Otaru’s Debari Alley, all serving the same menu.
- Seafood Restaurant Sawasaki Suisan
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- 1-1 Shikinai, Otaru City, Hokkaido MAP
- 10 min. walk from JR Otaru Sta.
- 11:00 a.m. – until sold out
- No holidays
- 0134-23-2112
- No parking (use nearby toll parking)
3Otaru Ankake Dori-Yakitori Torori An (Otaru Ankake Restaurant)
Hot and Thick. Soul food for Otaru residents!
Ankake Yakisoba (fried noodles with starchy sauce) is one of Otaru's local delicacies. In the 1950s, the Chinese restaurant "Umezuki" in Otaru City started serving "Gomoku Ankake Yakisoba" (fried noodles with starchy sauce), which became popular among Otaru citizens and is said to have become a standard menu item at a wide variety of restaurants. Torori An's ankake yakisoba is a hearty dish containing more than 10 kinds of seafood, meat, and vegetables. The rich red bean paste is well mixed with the thin, grilled noodles, making the chopsticks go faster and faster. Half-and-half yakisoba and either fried rice or white rice is also available, making it popular with those who want to try a variety of flavors.
Directly operated by a long-established noodle maker that focuses on local favorites.
Torori An is directly operated by Abe Seimen, a noodle manufacturing company that has been in Otaru City for over 70 years. Although it is located in a residential area far from the center of Otaru City, it is crowded with many local customers every day. The secret behind the popularity of the noodles is that they have been improved to meet the tastes of Otaru residents. The noodles are made with Otaru's delicious water, and the craftsmen fine-tune the noodles daily according to the temperature and humidity. The noodles used for yakisoba are thin, cold-aged noodles with the firmness Otaru residents are said to prefer. The noodles are known for their deliciousness, which can only be achieved by directly operating a noodle manufacturing company, and are popular not only for their ankake yakisoba, but also for their ankake ramen and special ramen.
Local Guide
Supporters
Locals often eat ankake yakisoba (fried noodles with starchy sauce) at home. It is available at souvenir stores and supermarkets in Otaru City.
- Otaru Ankake Restaurant YORORORIAN
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- 5-7-23 Sakura, Otaru City, Hokkaido MAP
- 8 min. drive from JR Otaru Chikko Station
- Lunch 11:00-15:00, Dinner 17:00-20:00 (L.O.19:30)
Saturday, Sunday, Holidays 11:00-19:30 (L.O.O.) - Tuesdays
- 0134-54-8287
- Free of charge
4Le Catrium Canal Street
Enjoy fresh local vegetables and brand-name pork in one dish.
This Restaurant is owned by a popular confectionery store in Otaru, and you can enjoy a panoramic view of the Otaru Canal as you pass through the pastry corner on the first floor and go up to the second floor. The "One Plate Main Lunch" is a main course of meat dishes such as roast pork from Kitajima Pork, a brand-name pork from Yoichi, accompanied by about 10 kinds of seasonal vegetables, mostly from the suburbs. Bread from Otaru's popular boulangerie "Eg Vive" and homemade quiche are also served, allowing you to fully enjoy the bounty of the local area in this dish.
A gem of a cake that bears the pride of the fourth generation of a long-established parlor
"Le Quatrième" means "fourth generation" in French. The shop was named this because the owner-chef is the fourth-generation owner of "Misono," an ice cream parlor in Otaru that is said to have been the first to sell ice cream in Hokkaido during the Taisho era.
The cakes displayed in the showcase on the first floor can be added to a lunch set for an additional charge.The signature cake, “Quatrième,” features four layers: two types of chocolate mousse, a ganache made with walnuts and macarons, and sponge cake. The distinct flavors of the different chocolates create a complex harmony, resulting in a delicious taste that leaves you wanting more.
Local Guide
Supporters
There are only a few restaurants in Otaru City, other than hotels, where you can dine while enjoying a view of the Otaru Canal. This blessed location is also the owner's passion.
- Le Catrium Canal Street
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- 2-3-1 Shikinai, Otaru-shi, Hokkaido MAP
- 10 min. walk from JR Otaru Station
- 12:00-17:00
- Tuesdays and Wednesdays
- 0134-27-7124
- No parking (use nearby toll parking)
5Otaru Soba-noodle restaurant, Nabuhan
A luxurious bowl of soba noodles with the flavor of sea urchin and the aroma of buckwheat noodles
Otaru Soba Restaurant Soba Han is a long-established buckwheat noodle store established in 1954 and loved by the locals. The "Undan-tomizushi Soba" is a luxurious dish of warm Soba with egg and steamed sea urchin on top. The use of steamed sea urchin, rather than raw, gives the dish a rich sweetness, and the umami of the sea urchin dissolved in the broth gives it a deep and rich flavor. Soba noodles are available in two varieties: "jimono ko-men," made from 100% buckwheat flour produced in Hokkaido, which has a distinctive aroma and smooth texture, and "nama-ko-men," a traditional blend of Sarashina buckwheat flour produced in Hokkaido and from abroad.
Adult enjoyment in a space that holds the memory of prosperity
Behind the curtain lies a stately space that has been relocated and repurposed from a prosperous merchant's mansion, the stone warehouse of a wealthy merchant, and a historic ryotei (Japanese-style restaurant). The restaurant's unwavering elegance and hospitality, which never makes you feel as if you are on a high threshold, is one of the reasons why people love Yubahan.
The restaurant offers a wide variety of soba noodles as well as sake and sake snacks, making it the perfect place for a lunchtime drink. Sipping a cup of sake while savoring the atmosphere of prosperity and enjoying aromatic buckwheat noodles is a pleasure reserved for sophisticated adults. Lines are inevitable at lunchtime, but they are well worth the wait.
Local Guide
Supporters
The menu includes not only the menu but also the history of the restaurant and a column about soba noodles. The columns are very comprehensive, so you can spend your waiting time without being bored even when the restaurant is crowded.
- Otaru, Soba Noodle Shop, Nabuhan
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- 2-19-14 Inaho, Otaru City, Hokkaido, Shizuya-dori MAP
- 4 min. walk from JR Otaru Station
- 11:15 AM–2:30 PM, 5:00 PM–8:00 PM
- Tuesdays and Wednesdays, January 1–4
- 0134-33-1212
- Free of charge
6Aotsuka Shokudo Guesthouse
Enjoy the bounty of Otaru's sea in a dynamic charcoal grill
The restaurant was opened in 1955 by the previous owner, a fisherman, near the Shukutsu fishing port. It is a popular restaurant that is constantly visited not only by locals, but also by people from Sapporo and other parts of Hokkaido and abroad. The freshness of the sashimi, fresh sea urchin, and kaisen-don (seafood rice bowl) goes without saying, but what really brings out the bounty of the sea in Shukutsu, which prospered from herring fishing, is a dish of herring so large that it protrudes from the plate and is grilled over charcoal. The skin is crispy and fragrant, and the meat is plump and thick with concentrated flavor.
Enjoy the specialty of Hamayaki with your eyes and taste buds.
Aozuka Shokudo’s charcoal-grilled dishes are prepared in the “hamayaki” style, where charcoal is lit right in front of the restaurant to grill seafood. Veteran grill masters draw on their many years of experience to cook the food to perfection.Inside the restaurant, the aromatic scent of grilled scallops, blue clams, and Atka mackerel wafts through the air, whetting your appetite. The friendly, down-to-earth service typical of a seaside diner is a delight and is sure to make for a wonderful travel memory.
Local Guide
Supporters
This is a popular restaurant with a long line of customers from the moment it opens. It is recommended to make a reservation in advance.
- Minshuku Aozuka Shokudo
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- 3-210 Shukuzu, Otaru City, Hokkaido MAP
- 12 minutes drive from JR Otaru Station
- 10:00 a.m.–7:00 p.m. (Last order: 6:00 p.m.)
- Closed on weekends and holidays
- 0134-22-8034
- Free of charge
7N.CREA
A variety of seasonal dishes brimming with the bounty of our own farm
A hidden gem of a restaurant quietly nestled in a residential neighborhood in Hariusu-cho, Otaru. Here, you can enjoy a menu featuring vegetables harvested from the restaurant’s own garden on the premises, as well as locally sourced seasonal ingredients.The popular croissant sandwiches feature bread from “Quatre Feuilles,” a popular bakery in Zenibako, Otaru. Their toasty aroma and fluffy texture are truly irresistible. The lunch set comes with a generous portion of fresh salad and a drink, leaving you thoroughly satisfied. With an extensive menu featuring pasta, à la carte dishes, and desserts, you’ll be spoiled for choice.
A moment of warmth in a sophisticated space
The exterior of the restaurant is American style with an impressive gable roof. Upon entering the restaurant, the eye is drawn to the exotic lighting that adorns the white-based space, the one-of-a-kind tables and chairs, and the owner's meticulous attention to detail.
In season, vegetables from the owner's own farm and local products from within and outside of Hokkaido are sold at the Marche. Local musicians are invited to hold monthly live performances, and sometimes a mobile van selling handmade goods comes by.
Local Guide
Supporters
During events such as live concerts, it is recommended to check the notice on the website in advance as the restaurant may be closed for private parties or change its hours of operation.
Local Guide who was in charge of this article
OMO5 Otaru
Otaru, Hokkaido
A boutique hotel in a renovated historical building. You can enjoy a retro trip to Otaru.
Access by bus Approx. 9 min. walk from JR Otaru Sta.
- Example of Accommodation Rates
- 1 person per night From 6,000 yen