Kisanuki: Japanese Counter Course with Clay-Pot Rice

Chef Kisanuki ran the kitchen at Kataori, one of Kanazawa's most celebrated restaurants, before opening this house restaurant in April 2025 just upriver on the Asano River. There is a single evening seating at a white-wood counter for seven. The course opens with tea of Noto shiitake steeped in mountain spring water. It ends with four or five rice dishes from the clay pot, scaled to your appetite: tamago-kake gohan with whipped egg white, zuke-don and ume-dashi chazuke. Plates come on Kutani porcelain and Wajima lacquer.

Almost every reviewer singles out the dashi. The pheasant broth from the chef's native Miyazaki has been called the best soup of the year more than once. Seasonal highlights recur in the reviews: warm ayu sushi in summer, matsutake hot pot in autumn and kobako crab in winter. Diners also praise the hairy-crab rice and the gold sesame toasted at the counter. The young team's service is consistently described as warm and polished.

Criticism is minor. One diner rated value only average at ¥44,100. Another felt Kataori still handles similar dishes with more gravitas. The real complaint is access: one reviewer summed it up as "new customers: impossible."

It is dinner only, with no à la carte, so no individual dish prices are documented. In 2025–2026 reviewers paid around ¥33,000–36,300 for the set course, and roughly ¥39,000–49,000 in total with drinks. One paid ¥48,700; another paid ¥43,400 after six small drinks. There is no lunch service.

Most reviewers score value at 4.5–5. They point to the length of the course, often 18–20 items, and to Hokuriku seafood of a quality they say is hard to find at this price.

• Getting there: about 10 minutes by car or taxi from Kanazawa Station; Hokutetsu Kanazawa Station is about 2 km away.
• Booking: reservation only, no walk-ins. Seats are effectively closed to newcomers, so watch OMAKASE for rare cancellations.
• Seating time: one seating at 17:00 (some reviews say 17:30), lasting about 2–2.5 hours.
• Payment: credit cards accepted; electronic money and QR code payments are not accepted.
• Seats: 7 counter seats, no private rooms; the whole restaurant can be booked for private use.
• Drinks: sake, shochu, wine and cocktails.
• Smoking: non-smoking.
• Parking: none.
• Recognition: Tabelog Award 2026 Silver.