Tsubajin — Restaurant in Kanazawa

Tsubajin is an amazing destination restaurant.

It's located on a busy road in the temple district of Kanazawa, but once inside you are transported back in time. The restaurant was opened in 1752 and is the oldest in Kanazawa, but the building itself is even older.

To begin, the service is stellar - from the greeting at the front to the goodbye at the end. It is really a special place to experience the best of Japanese hospitality (aka omotenashi). We had an early reservation on Christmas Eve and the place was not busy. We were so fortunate to be seated in the Koharu-an room which is where Bashō held his haiku gatherings…that is like eating where Wordsworth or Baudelaire or Rumi wrote their poetry...this occurred before Tsubajin was founded, but I still get goosebumps thinking about it.

The meal itself was a parade of beautiful dishes that focused on using the freshest local ingredients. Personally, I think that Ishikawa (specifically Kaga) cuisine is at its best in the winter - because that means it’s crab/buri/fugu/etc season! I loved how they left the blue tag on the crab to ensure that it was locally caught too - not surprisingly, the crab was the highlight of our meal. Each course was not just delicious, it was carefully presented on some gorgeous ceramic and lacquerware dishes. Our wonderful server took the time to explain each course and explained to us how many of the serving dishes were historic (as in from the Meiji era) and were used seasonally. To be fair, the food may not be to everyone’s tastes as you really have to love seafood and Japanese cuisine in general. But if you do, then you are in for a truly fantastic experience.

We got the most expensive tasting course for ¥38,500 (~$245) - given the ambiance, the history, the service, and the food, we thought it was a bargain. Drinks were separate, but for history nerds/foodies like us, it was worth every penny.

Reservations can be made via TableCheck which is nice for people without a Japanese cell phone number - just make sure to confirm the reservation when they contact...

We arrived here via public transport as this place is within 5-10 mins walk from the Samurai district of Kanazawa. The manager and 2 other staff already waited for us at the entrance. We were ushered into our dining room which is called "The Plum Room". The building itself is more than 300 years old and the current owner is the 16th generation of this historic restaurant. There are 20 dining rooms in this restaurant including (I think) 2 special rooms used for Japanese tea ceremony. We ordered a 10 course Japanese menu (see photos for reference) and wow, we were thoroughly impressed. The waitress made her own matcha tea for us after our desserts and it was this final touch that summarises Japanese spirit of otomenashi and culinary perfection.

In terms of reservations, this place is always busy but with a bit of luck you can reserve on their main website. Pricey at nearly ¥60000 for 2 people but you pay for the experience.

If i were to give a Michelin award to the owner and the professional staff of this restaurant, I believe they deserve 3...

What a beautiful experience! It’s truly the best food experience we had in Japan. Located in a 300 years old traditional Japanese building, we were welcome by the staff in 👘 and warm hospitality. The whole experience deserves a 3 Michelin star ⭐️, the food is not only delicious but also exquisitely displayed with seasonal fresh ingredients. The cuisine is not just food, they are like poetry of the seasons in front of you. The room itself is so beautiful decorated and authentic too, it makes you feel like travel back in time. Highly...