Osteria Alberto — Restaurant in Kanazawa

We've been traveling in Japan with our 13 yr old Grandson. Being from Canada, by our fifth day here, we were all looking for more familiar food. This restaurant did not disappoint. Our Grandson was disappointed that pizza isn't available in the evening so he nervously selected the Carbonara which has great reviews. It was beyond wonderful. My husband, who orders Gnocchi whenever he can, said this was the best he's ever had. That is high praise. For under $110.00 (Can Funds) we had a salad, two mains, three desserts, coke and three alcoholic drinks. We reserved over the phone, using google translate, text to speech with success. The young man serving us also used Google to communicate and we enjoyed how pleasant he was. The Menu also features grilled meats, which also looked very nice. The chef has a calm demeanor and appears very comfortable in his kitchen. He had our meal prepared in good time. Seating here seems more abundant than at several other places we've tried here and includes bar seating overlooking the cooking space along with three tables seating 4. There is also an upstairs area and a small room at the front .If you are looking for extra frills and garnishes, you won't find it here. This is more "home cooking". The Carbonara was for two. Some of you might find the portions modest but we were happy to have room for the tiramisu! The only thing I missed, (and again this could just be a cultural whine on my part), was crusty bread and olive oil for dipping, as an accompaniment to the salad. Do give this...

I have been here several times over the last few years and each time have enjoyed excellent, high-quality, well-presented, and delicious food. The menu is extensive with a decent variety of dishes to suit most tastes. The wine list and choice of beers is also good. For those people giving low reviews for being turned away - this place does get very busy, so don't expect service as a walk-in if you haven't booked in advance: It may appear that there are spaces to sit and eat, but these are often reserved seats. I would recommend going at slightly off peak times, though it will likely still be busy. Personally, I love the counter seating towards the back of the restaurant - you can watch the meat turning on the spits and anticipate how delicious it's going to be! Will definitely...

We were discriminated against and given a lot of side eyes. Although people were still sort of friendly we were given the English menu without the pizzas menus because allegedly they weren't serving pizzas. Right after we saw the waiter serving pizzas to another table...

The staff didn't speak English but there was this regular that helped us communicate and suggested we do a buffet menu for 3000 yen where we would be served, pizza, pasta, and a lot of other stuff. The food was very good I have to admit but the quantity was laughable we clearly were not welcome and they wanted us out as soon as possible. I think we were scammed.

If you are a tourist...