Delicious local food and a great space. 5 Matsumoto lunch options to choose wisely
The atmospheric areas of Matsumoto City, such as the seasonal scenery of the beautiful Metoba River and the Nakamachi Street with its rows of earthen storehouses, are popular tourist destinations and offer a wide variety of restaurants for lunch. Many restaurants and cafes offer meals in spaces where the old and new intersect, such as renovated historic buildings so as not to ruin the scenery. Here are some of the most satisfying lunch restaurants in the area, both in terms of space and taste.
1moi moi
Renovated from a warehouse built in 1926, it is a café by day and an izakaya by night. The lunch menu focuses on Japanese cuisine and soup curry.
The popular "daily special obanzai set meal" includes a main dish, two side dishes, rice, and miso soup. The menu changes daily, so you will have to wait until you visit to find out what it includes. The side dishes are made with beans and vegetables, and are both nutritionally balanced and hearty. The menu is popular among women because it is healthy and full of vegetables.
Inside the warehouse is a stylish bar-like space
The exterior of the building is a warehouse itself. The interior of the building, which blends in with the Matsumoto cityscape, has an open atrium that makes use of the old beams and pillars. On the second floor, with its impressive beam ceiling and attic-like space, there is also a small area for seating where you can stretch out your legs and relax.
In the evening, the menu focuses on teppanyaki. The Kansai-style okonomiyaki, made with plenty of yams to give it a fluffy texture, is a must-try dish. In addition, there is a full izakaya menu including a la carte dishes.
2Takefudo Matsumoto Nakamachi
Chikufudo, located on Nakamachi-dori, a street lined with warehouses, is a long-established chestnut confectionary store with its main store in Obuse-machi, famous for its chestnuts since the Edo period. At the Matsumoto Nakamachi branch, customers are treated to local cuisine and sweet treats that make lavish use of chestnuts. Only Obuse chestnuts and superior domestic chestnuts are used in the menu. The menu features dishes rich in local flavor, such as wild vegetables and river fish.
The most popular Dining Area dish is the "Yamaya Set Meal. The set meal includes chestnut rice cooked with chestnuts, wild vegetables, rainbow trout stewed in sweetened soy sauce, and mukago dressed with walnuts. The rice with chestnuts has a natural sweetness that is only possible with high-quality chestnuts, and the texture of the elastic glutinous rice gives it an elegant taste. In addition, the flavorful miso soup, made every morning by carefully shaving bonito flakes to make dashi broth, will soak into your soul.
Matsumoto's folk crafts are displayed in the restaurant.
Passing through the store and courtyard, you will find the Dining Area. The dining area is decorated with Matsumoto folk craft furniture and Matsumoto oshie hina dolls, creating a relaxing and cozy atmosphere.
After dinner, you can pick out delicious chestnut confections as souvenirs at the store. Chestnut confections made from 100% domestic chestnuts are so popular that you will be at a loss to choose the right one. We recommend the "Dorayaki Yama," with its soft, moist crust filled with sweet chestnut grain bean paste, and the "Kurizasa," a chestnut water jelly made with high-quality agar without kudzu (available only from April 10 to September). The impact of the chestnuts is no less than that of Chikufudo's representative confections, "Chestnut Yokan" and "Chestnut Kanoko," and the luxurious and satisfying taste is addictive.
- Takefudo Matsumoto Nakamachi
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3-4-20 Chuo, Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture MAP
15 minutes walk from Matsumoto Station
Take a bus from Matsumoto Station, Town Sneaker East Course, and get off at Hakari Shiryokan-mae (Hakari Museum).
Sales 9:00-18:00
Food and drink 10:00-18:00 (L.O. 30 minutes before closing)
*Open until 19:00 from July to October
Wednesdays in January and February, and New Year's Day
0263-36-1102
5 units in store, etc.
3obsolete western-style restaurant Okinadoh
Okina-do opened in 1933 as Matsumoto's second oldest coffee shop. Since its establishment, the menu has been loved by local regulars and tourists alike, and mainly features Western-style dishes made with hashed and curry sauces.
A recommended lunch is the "Recommended Pork Steak" made with pork from the Misawa Farm in Azumino. The steak is thick enough to be cooked to perfection, crispy and savory on the outside and moist and tender on the inside. The fruity pineapple sauce goes well with it.
Another long-seller is the menu item using the rich hashed meat sauce, which is simmered for five days. The "Volga Rice," in particular, is a dish that invites nostalgia for the combination of omelette rice, chicken cutlet, and hashed meat sauce.
The restaurant also offers a variety of other exquisite dishes, such as homemade pudding made with milk from Matsuda Dairy in Omachi, which will make you swoon at the thought of both meals and desserts.
Retro atmosphere from the time of the establishment
The building is exactly as it was when the restaurant was founded. Although it has been repeatedly repaired, the interior, with its ceramic lampshades, tables, and other furnishings that have been used for many years, creates a nostalgic atmosphere. Stepping into the restaurant, one feels as if stepping back in time to the Showa period with the background music of jazz and classical music. The second-floor seats offer a wonderful view of the nearby Otowa River, and you can enjoy the seasonal changes from the window.
- An outmoded Western-style restaurant, Okinadoh
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- 2-4-10 Chuo, Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture MAP
- 10 minutes walk from Matsumoto Station
- Weekdays and Saturdays, Lunch 11:00-15:30 (L.O.15:00)
Dinner 17:30 - 21:00 (L.O. 20:00)
Sundays and holidays 11:00-18:30 (L.O.18:00) - 2nd and 4th Wednesday of the month, December 29-31
- 0263-32-0975
- Pay parking (1 hour free in designated parking lot when spending 2,000 yen or more)
4creperie monkava
The restaurant specializes in galettes made from 100% Shinshu buckwheat flour and cider, a sparkling apple liquor. Each galette is baked to order according to the traditional recipe from Brittany, France, where the galette is made.
Vegetables paired with the galette are as locally grown as possible, such as mushrooms from Shinshu. It is also topped with a fried egg and Swiss gruyere cheese, among other things. Despite being larger than it looks, the healthy and gentle flavor makes it easy to eat without feeling guilty, so most women finish the dish. For those who can't get enough, try the dessert crepe made with flour from Shinshu. The marriage of homemade salted caramel sauce and vanilla ice cream is a taste of happiness that will make you swoon.
Tasting galette and cider together is the Brittany way!
With deep blue walls and white doors, the color scheme of the restaurant reminds one of a private home in Brittany, and the brown furniture creates a chic and mature atmosphere. 18 seats only, the restaurant fills up quickly at lunch time. It is recommended to make a reservation before visiting, even for lunch.
The organic French cider served at Creperie Moncaba is rare and hard to find. There is also a Shinshu cider made from 100% Fuji apples produced in Azumino, so you can compare and enjoy the difference. Why not try an elegant lunchtime experience by tasting galette and cider together, just as they are made in Japan?
- creperie monkava
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- 1F Maison Drotus, 2-3-20 Ote, Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture MAP
- 8 minutes walk from Matsumoto Station
- Lunch 11:30-14:30 (L.O.)
Dinner 18:00 - 21:30 (L.O.) - Monday *Closed on Tuesdays
- 0263-88-7188
- Free of charge (3 cars)
5hikariya higashi hikariya nishi
The Restaurant is housed in the renovated main building and storehouse of Hikariya, a prestigious merchant house built in 1887 (Meiji 20). Although there was a possibility of demolition at one point, the current owner turned the main building into a Japanese restaurant, Hikariya Higashi, in 2007 (Heisei 19). The storehouse was reopened as Hikariya Nish, a "natural French" restaurant. Visitors can dine in a sophisticated yet nostalgic and relaxed atmosphere.
Hikariya Higashi offers authentic KAI Local Flavors using local ingredients. The same taste can be enjoyed at lunch with KAI Local Flavors, a set meal using Shinshu Wagyu beef, or the famous Sanzoku-yaki set meal. Recommended for lunch is the "Marubako Zen Soba with Jyuwari Soba," a three-tiered round boxed jyushi (a traditional Japanese-style stewed and simmered dish), tempura, and sashimi, served with Jyuwari Soba made from Shinshu buckwheat flour. Each dish is carefully prepared and has an elegant and deep flavor. The traditional beauty of the Japanese space, designated as a Tangible Cultural Property of Japan, adds to the elegance of the lunch.
Enjoy natural French cuisine at Hikariyanishi.
Hikariyanishi offers "Nature French" cuisine based on local production for local consumption, prepared by a chef who is a leading expert in macrobiotic cuisine. For lunch, we offer a course meal starting with an amuse that expresses the nature of Shinshu. The dishes are not only tasty but also visually beautiful, and will make your heart flutter.
- Hikariya Higashi-Hikariya Nish
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- 4-7-14 Ote, Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture MAP
- 15 minutes walk from Matsumoto Station
- From Matsumoto Station, take a bus (Town Sneaker East Course) and get off at Hakari Shiryokan-mae (Hakari Museum). 3 min. walk from Hakari Shiryokan-mae bus stop.
- Lunch 11:30-14:30 (L.O.13:30)
Dinner 17:30-22:00 (L.O.21:00)
Nish] Lunch 11:30 - 14:30 (L.O.13:30)
Dinner 18:00-22:00 (L.O.21:00) - Wednesday
- Higashi 0263-38-0068/Reservation only 050-3196-2211
Nishi 0263-38-0186/Reservation only 050-3196-9444 - Hikariya's private parking lot (free of charge)
Local Guide who was in charge of this article
- Yuka Niimoto Active daughter
