Tabelog ratingA former banker who spent a year on a farm-and-winery estate in Piedmont runs this six-seat counter entirely on his own, cooking a single omakase course of rustic regional Italian food. The pasta is hand-made and deliberately soft rather than al dente: pappardelle, pici, orecchiette. He cures his own bottarga (dried fish roe) for two years, bakes his own panettone and buys fish from named fishermen in Tsushima and Hitachinaka. La Stalla won a Tabelog Award Bronze in 2024, 2025 and 2026.
Nearly every reviewer praises the ingredients and the care that goes into each plate. Tsushima anago (conger eel) comes up again and again, either braised in Marsala or baked with butter or breadcrumbs. Guests also single out the Meishan-pork terrine and sausage, the soft pappardelle with lamb ragù, wild-garlic pici, a salted panna cotta with sea urchin, and rare-cooked beef rump, which is followed by an offer of seconds. Many describe the chef as warm and enjoy his storytelling at the counter.
Complaints are minor and isolated. One guest found the anago slightly overcooked and another found it lukewarm, and one noticed small bones in the eel. A pasta was once too salty, and the chef waived the charge. Some find the portions overwhelming. Others mention the length of the meal, the out-of-the-way location and how hard it is to get a seat.
There is one course, so lunch and dinner spend are the same: the listing puts both at ¥15,000–19,999, and current sittings are evenings only. Reviewers in 2024–2026 paid ¥17,600 for the course, and one paid ¥16,500 in early 2026. One bill came to ¥22,450 for the course, four glasses of wine (¥4,000) and sparkling water (¥850). A six-glass wine pairing plus a digestif brought another to ¥22,600. A regular says it rarely tops ¥20,000 unless you drink heavily.
Reviewers rate the value as exceptional. They say the wine is priced near cost, and they wonder openly how rare ingredients such as flower sansho appear at this price. The volume of food is also large.
- Booking: reservation only, with no walk-ins. Seats are often taken about three months ahead. Book via the official site (la-stalla.net) or Ikyu, because the phone (090-8101-7656) is hard to get through. Mention dislikes and allergies when booking. Regulars frown on long avoid-lists.
- Timing: the whole counter starts the course together at 19:00, so arrive on time. Allow 3–4 hours.
- Getting there: from Tsukuba Station Exit A3, take the Matsushiro Circulator Bus C15 from stop 4. Buses leave at :25 and :55 past each hour. Get off at Matsushiro 2-chome and walk 5 minutes. A taxi takes about 10 minutes. The restaurant is on the 2nd floor, up a flight of stairs.
- Parking: about 3 spaces.
- Payment: cards accepted (Visa, Mastercard, JCB, Amex, Diners). No electronic money or QR payments.
- Children: contact the restaurant directly before bringing children. Strollers are welcome.
- Seating: 6 counter seats, with no private rooms. The whole restaurant can be booked for private use.
- Smoking: non-smoking.
- Pets: dogs are allowed inside.
- Language: the chef explains dishes in Japanese. There is no evidence of English support.
