Trattoria La pent Ratcha — Restaurant in Joetsu

I have never been to this small city in Japan before and I absolutely did not expect to find Italian food this good.

I walked in wearing shorts after a 5 Hour drive from Niigata and they didn’t look at me poorly at all.

Perfectly cooked handmade pasta and tomato cream sauce with large shrimp, beautifully cooked local beef with arugula and Parmesan. High-end imported olive oil with delicious bread. Great balsamic as well.

They even make their own craft beer, which is better than most Japanese craft beer I have tried. This guy cooks.

The service was exceptional with the waiter speaking excellent English and the environment was very cool with arched concrete columns like the Parthenon. It was kind of fancy without being too fancy.

Also, I should note that as an American, it was extremely inexpensive - only ¥6000. I would’ve happily paid double...

This place exceeded my expectations!

I am going to say this is the best Italian restaurant I have ever been too. Granted, I have never been to Italy, but I have worked at a very high end Italian restaurant in the past.

I am almost certain I was served by the owner. Extremely friendly, kind, helpful and thoughtful service.

There were 5 ppl on staff with a full restaurant, approximately 50 seats. The chef's take your order, cook your food, serve you and do the dishes. This place was amazing!

The food was fabulous, I had the hand made tagliatelle. I will be going back to try the wood fired pizza.

I cannot say enough great things. The food, drinks and experience were definitely worth the money. I found it underpriced for the...

The best Italian restaurant in Japan. They use local veges and the taste so sweet and rich! Especially, eggplant and tomatoes are beyond my expectations! The pasta dish was the best I have ever had! The interior looks modern and here can accommodate a group of ppl for a party. The chef and staff gave us a warm welcome! They also have the branch in Tokyo called IL PACIOCCONE where you can have the same dishes with...