Kanazawa Dining Kizahashi — Restaurant in Kanazawa

Kizahashi is the all-day, fine dining restaurant on the first floor of the Sanraku Hotel. They offer buffet breakfast (4000 yen or $27), buffet lunch (4400 or $30), and prix-fixe dinners (11,000 yen or ~$75 for the least expensive course). I went for breakfast and dinner, but I reviewed the breakfast in my Sanraku Hotel review, so this one covers just the dinner.

I normally don’t eat lunch/dinner at hotel restaurants, but I didn’t feel like wandering around Kanazawa at night during a snowstorm, so I requested the front desk to make reservations for me upon check-in. The reservation policy is a bit convoluted - the restaurant serves dinner from 5:30 PM - 9:30 PM, but the last seating is at 8:00 PM. There is no a la carte menu, so you need to choose your prix-fixe course at the time of reservation. If you want one of their special seasonal menus (e.g. winter crab menu), you need to choose either the 5:30 PM or 6:00 PM seating. You can also make reservations through the TableCheck site/app which I found is one of the easier dining reservation site/apps for foreigners.

The restaurant is sleek and modern, but with distinctly Japanese aesthetics. Due to the lack of tourists due to the misconception that Kanazawa is closed due to the 1/1 earthquake, the restaurant was almost empty - perhaps 8 other diners in a restaurant that seats 88. If you are looking for a lively experience, this is definitely not the place for you. It’s a subdued, up-scale, and refined venue where you can focus and appreciate the food. In the first part of the night, a violinist walked around playing various songs, and he was replaced later by a pianist, so you won’t be sitting in complete silence.

I decided to splurge and order the 8 course “Kusa” menu (20,000 yen or ~ $137). It was a parade of exquisite dishes that showcased local ingredients using both Japanese and French cooking styles. Although the most visually stunning dish was the Wagyū steak wrapped in gold leaf, I appreciated the various fish courses that showcased the abundant natural resources of the Hokuriku area the most. The amuse bouche was especially fun to eat as local nodoguro (blackthroat sea perch), eel, buri (adult yellowtail), and fugu (pufferfish) were each paired with its own condiment…one of which was caviar. Some people may be turned off by the sudden shift from Japanese to French styles, but I found the food to be consistently delicious.

As expected, the service was very professional and polished. The courses came out well-paced, and I neither felt rushed nor waiting for the next course.

My only disappointment was the wine list is the same as the list from the bar and is pretty limited for a fine...

アフタヌーンティー。 ランチとして食べた。 ひとりから注文可能。5000円。 90分制のフリードリンク。 紅茶はロンネフェルト。 ティーバッグのもの。だいたい1杯ちょいくらいの量。 飲みたいと思っていたお茶が在庫切れで別のものになってたのがちょっと残念だった。 フードはどれもおいしかった。

メニューは公式から。 【11月12月～冬のフルーツとセイボリー】 Savoury 蟹と根セロリのモンブラン仕立て 生ハムとカマンベールチーズのホットサンドウィッチ カリフラワーとイベリコベーコンの クワトロフロマージュキッシュ 能登豚のポトフ ドフィノアグラタン Pastries プチシュークロカン マカロンショコラ グランマニエガナッシュ 温かい抹茶ショコラ ベリールージュショコラタルト ムースショコラ 抹茶のフォンダンショコラ ガトーショコラとオリーブのマリアージュ ショコラ...

Breakfast is not suited for European tastes. All bread available is sweet American styles. Good...