Local Guide
From horse meat specialty restaurants to standing bars. 5 recommended dinner spots in Kumamoto City

Kumamoto, embraced by the magnificent sea and fertile land, is a treasure trove of "delicious" food. Tasting the unique ingredients of this land will make your trip even more fulfilling. We have carefully selected five popular restaurants for dinner where you can enjoy a variety of gourmet foods that make the most of the ingredients Kumamoto is famous for, such as Kumamoto's red beef, local delicacy horse sashimi, and seasonal vegetables. You can choose from lively restaurants with open kitchens, private rooms for a quiet meal, or standing bars for a quick and casual drink, depending on your mood, the number of people in your party, or the occasion.

Unusual but typical Kumamoto, 100% Kumamoto rare horse meat churrasco.

The
The "Pure Kumamoto Koga Ranch's Special Horse Meat Fillet" 4,950 yen (150g), "Cold Ratatouille" 740 yen, etc.

This Restaurant is a renovated Western-style building from the Taisho and early Showa eras. A terrace seating is provided in the courtyard surrounded by the historic building to create a relaxing space. The restaurant offers a variety of international cuisine, including Brazilian churrasco (meat dish), Mexican food such as tacos, and Peruvian ceviche (marinated seafood). Among them, the "pure Kumamoto Koga Ranch special horse meat" served with churrasco is a must-try. You can enjoy it as it is, of course, but if you eat it with your favorite vegetables from the "Grilled Vegetables & DELI Salad Plate" in homemade tacos, you will be enveloped in a mouthful of happiness all at once.

The name of the restaurant is a double meaning of "terrace" and "illuminate.

The first floor has a counter, tables, and a terrace, and the second floor also has tables.
The first floor has a counter, tables, and a terrace, and the second floor also has tables.

TERRACE wines, a stand-up bar and store selling natura wines, is located next to the Restaurant space across from the terrace, open from 1:00 p.m., and with prices starting at 500 yen per glass, it is the perfect place for a lunchtime drink or a light pre-dinner drink.
The name "Terrace" comes from the restaurant's terrace surrounded by trees. In addition, it also expresses the restaurant's desire to "be a bright spot in Kumamoto after the earthquake. Surrounding everyone with international cuisine born in Kumamoto will naturally bring smiles and energy to your faces.

Local Guide Comment
Carpaccio is also recommended on the horse meat menu. Be sure to check out the ajillo and risotto served in Aso lava rock bowls. Reservations are better if you wish to sit at a table.
TERRACE
  • Address 3-38 Suido-cho, Chuo-ku, Kumamoto City, Kumamoto Prefecture MAP
  • Direction 5 minutes walk from "Suido-cho" streetcar stop.
  • Business Hours 18:00 - 24:00 (Churrasco L.O. 22:00, other food L.O. 23:30)
  • Closed No holidays
  • TEL 096-245-7518
  • Parking None

Delicious flavor that melts in your mouth. The blissful taste of high quality horse sashimi!

The
The "Four Kinds of Special Horse Meat" is 5,200 yen, and the "Liver Sashimi" is 2,080 yen (limited quantities only).

This restaurant specializes in horse meat dishes, and has gained a strong following among horse meat lovers because it offers high quality horse meat that the owner purchases through his own routes and offers fresh sashimi that has been carefully prepared. Kumamoto's horse sashimi is not only red meat, but also a variety of other parts of the meat. The "Special Four Kinds of Horse Sashimi" is an assortment of red meat (fillet), marbled meat (ribs), and meat of the stomach (belly) and mane (claw). Dipped in sweet Kyushu soy sauce, the meat melts in the mouth. The restaurant also stocks "liver sashimi," which is difficult to provide on a consistent basis, on a daily basis.

Enjoy the luxury of time in a private room without worrying about your surroundings.

All private rooms are equipped with a sunken kotatsu, so you can relax with your feet under the floor.
All private rooms are equipped with a sunken kotatsu, so you can relax with your feet under the floor.

The restaurant also has a counter, but the owner wants customers to relax in a private room with their workmates or family members without worrying about their surroundings.
In addition to horse sashimi, the restaurant also offers a variety of other ways to enjoy horse meat, such as stone-roasted horse meat, steak, and horse nigiri (rice ball), which will bring new tastes to your palate. Local dishes that go well with sake, such as "Hitomoji Gururuma" (Hitomoji, a kind of leek, served with vinegared miso) and "Karashi Hasune" (mustard lotus root) are also available, reminding diners of the richness of Kumamoto's food culture.

Local Guide Comment
The restaurant offers high quality domestic horse meat. For lunch, we recommend the horse meat bowl. There is a main restaurant "Shunjo Goto" along Shimodori arcade, where you can enjoy fresh fish shipped directly from Amakusa. Both of these restaurants are sure to wow food connoisseurs who visit from all over Japan.
Kumamoto Horse Meat Specialty Goto Annex
  • Address DART Building 1F, 2-11 Tetori-honcho, Chuo-ku, Kumamoto City, Kumamoto Prefecture MAP
  • Direction 2 minutes walk from Tori-machi-suji streetcar line
  • Business Hours 11:30-14:30 (L.O.14:00), 18:00-23:00 (L.O.22:30)
  • Closed Sunday
  • TEL 096-325-7223
  • Parking None

A special time to enjoy a course of seasonal local products.

Appetizers and takimiawase (a combination of cooked food and appetizers) of the 6,600 yen course. The contents and number of dishes change depending on the season. The dishes are carefully selected by Kumamoto artists to complement the cuisine.
Appetizers and takimiawase (a combination of cooked food and appetizers) of the 6,600 yen course. The contents and number of dishes change depending on the season. The dishes are carefully selected by Kumamoto artists to complement the cuisine.

The restaurant opened in 2009 after renovating a building that was originally a ryokan (Japanese inn). The restaurant offers highly creative cuisine that makes the most of Kumamoto's seasonal ingredients. A la carte dishes are also available, but for a taste of the season, a course meal is recommended. The contents and number of dishes change depending on the season, but the 6,600 yen course includes about 9 dishes from appetizers to sweet dishes. For example, the soy milk bavarois, cooked seasonal vegetables, and rice in an earthenware pot with chirimen sansho and manganji togarashi (red pepper), each dish is imbued with a sense of the season, and the texture, aroma, and taste of each ingredient will delight you.

Freshly cooked rice in an earthenware pot made from home-grown rice to end the course.

Earthen pot rice included in the 6,600 yen course. If you can't finish it, they will make onigiri (rice balls) for you to take home.
Earthen pot rice included in the 6,600 yen course. If you can't finish it, they will make onigiri (rice balls) for you to take home.

They are particular about directly purchasing ingredients that they fall in love with the taste and sympathize with the attitude of the producers. The rice "Minami Nishiki" served at the restaurant is grown by Staff/staff members themselves at their own farm with great care. The chef's extremely simple idea of "making delicious food even more delicious" can be felt in each dish. The restaurant offers a wide selection of Kumamoto-produced sake and shochu, as well as wines from around the world to pair with the cuisine.

Local Guide Comment
The restaurant is located on Kaminoura-dori, an area where many buildings and warehouses over 100 years old still remain. The course menu changes monthly, and one can sense the restaurant's thorough attention to the season. Staff/staff members are also full of respect for local food and producers.
Rurian
  • Address 5-21 Minamitsuboi-cho, Chuo-ku, Kumamoto City, Kumamoto Prefecture 2F MAP
  • Direction 3 minutes walk from Kumamoto Dentetsu Fujisakimiya-mae Station
  • Business Hours 17:30-23:00 (L.O.22:00)
  • Closed Closed on Tuesdays and irregular holidays
  • TEL 096-352-8174
  • Parking None
  • Memo Reservations required by the day before for course meals.

A casual toast with obanzai (traditional Japanese snacks) at a standing bar.

The
The "Local Set" is 1,200 yen, and the very popular "Bubbly Sour" is 550 yen each (lemon and white peach).

The stylish interior of this standing bar with its white, black, and silver color scheme is eye-catching. As the name suggests, you can enjoy a variety of drinks with Obanzai, and the restaurant is crowded every night with many people visiting to drink alone or to finish off a meal.
The showcase in front of the counter displays the day's obanzai. Prices are reasonable, ranging from 100 to 500 yen. There are also some Kumamoto-like dishes such as the "Local Set" that includes horse sashimi and horse meat croquettes.

A place to relax in the city where you can recharge your phone and your mind.

The later it gets, the more crowded the restaurant becomes with people visiting for the second or third time.
The later it gets, the more crowded the restaurant becomes with people visiting for the second or third time.

The casualness of having a quick drink and meeting the customers next to you is one of the best parts of a standing bar. The counter drawers in the restaurant are equipped with everything you need to eat and drink, including hand towels, chopsticks, and toothpicks, as well as a cord to charge your smartphone. Each counter is also equipped with an electrical outlet, so you can charge your phone while enjoying your drinks. It is an oasis-like restaurant that is so comfortable that you will want to stop by whenever you pass by.

Local Guide Comment
The "Bubbly Series" of sours filled with frozen fruit look cute and exciting. The number of standing bars has been gradually increasing in Kumamoto City in recent years, so why not enjoy a drink at one of them?
OBANZAI
  • Address 1-4-26 Shimodori, Chuo-ku, Kumamoto City, Kumamoto Prefecture MAP
  • Direction 3 min. walk from "Kumamoto Castle/Shiyakusho-mae" or "Hanabatacho" streetcar stop.
  • Business Hours 17:00 - 1:00, Friday, Saturday, the day before national holidays - 2:00, Sunday 15:00 - 23:00
  • Closed No holidays
  • TEL 080-7987-1164
  • Parking None

Moist and juicy Kumamoto red beef served on a hot ceramic plate

Grilled Kumamoto red beef on a ceramic plate
Grilled Kumamoto red beef on a ceramic plate" is 3,160 yen. Served with Japonais sauce.

This izakaya offers a variety of Kumamoto's nourishment and local cuisine. We offer local and creative dishes using Kumamoto's proud ingredients, such as horse meat dishes and Kumamoto red beef. The most recommended dish is the "To-eba-yaki" (grilled on a ceramic plate). Pork loin from Kyushu and young chicken are grilled on a ceramic plate with high heat storage capacity imported from Takatsuki City, Osaka. The juicy flavor of the ingredients can be enjoyed as it is by grilling them on the hot ceramic plate. If you enjoy sake with your meal, we recommend pairing it with a refreshing rice shochu or Kuma shochu.

Tasteful interior of a 100 year old private house.

Table seating on the first floor. There is also a glass-enclosed terrace in the back, as well as private rooms.
Table seating on the first floor. There is also a glass-enclosed terrace in the back, as well as private rooms.

The restaurant warmly welcomes guests to its atmospheric setting in a renovated 100-year-old private home. The restaurant, which has carefully preserved the atmosphere as it was when it was built, consists of table seating on the first floor and spacious sunken kotatsu seating on the second floor. Local regulars often use the restaurant for banquets and other events.
Direction is also very convenient, as the restaurant is located just off Densha-dori, a street where streetcars run. On the other hand, the premises are surrounded by a quiet atmosphere that makes it hard to believe that you are in a downtown area, making it a great place to visit when you want to enjoy a leisurely meal.

Local Guide Comment
At lunch time, you can enjoy Kumamoto's local cuisine and specialties in set menus and set menus.
Shunsai Cuisine Residence Hachigou-tei
  • Address 5-41 Kamidori-machi, Chuo-ku, Kumamoto City, Kumamoto Prefecture MAP
  • Direction 3 min. walk from "Suido-cho" streetcar stop.
  • Business hours 11:30-14:30 (L.O. 13:30), 17:00-24:00 (L.O. food 22:00, drinks 23:00)
  • Closed No holidays
  • TEL 096-324-8505
  • Parking None

MAP

Hoshino Resorts facilities nearby
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The information in this article is current as of the date of the update. Please check before visiting as they are subject to change.