Makiyaki Kakehashi — Restaurant in Karuizawa

I was very impressed overall. The decor is simple yet elegant, focusing your attention on the wood-burning grill. The ingredients are top notch, cooked simply but very well. A lot of thought and attention has gone into selecting the cooking vessels, presentation platters, preparation implements and serving dishes. The owner is young, but he is by no means a a novice in the kitchen. He knows where his products come from in depth and knows how to extract the best from them, he is exacting in his knife cuts, he’s clearly studied soup and sauce making, he has great plating technique, and he prepares simple yet composed dishes. From start to end, everything was great. He’s also selects nice wines to compliment the meal, rather than overpower it. On service, the owner is hospitable and attentive. He strikes up conversation easily and makes all of his guest feel seen and involved. But at the same time, he doesn’t force conversation unnecessarily or where it is unwanted. It’s a long meal, clocking in at around 2.5 hours, so be ready for that. Part of the reason for this is that he’s working solo at the moment. Getting good and reliable help in Karuizawa is tough, but he’s doing the best he can. If you’re in a rush, this isn’t your place, but I personally think the time is well spent. Karuizawa is, after all, about slow...

The best Kappo Omakase I have had and the best meal in our Japan trip. One of a few restaurants that I genuinely love every dish and the price is considered reasonable for the ingredients used. There are 10 courses plus boiled rice at the end. The chef sourced ingredients mainly from Nagano and seafood from fish market in Tokyo, and is an expert at grilling ingredients, using apple tree wood from Nagano as fuel adding a unique smoky flavor. Our most favorites are as follows: Grilled spring fish Shime saba on sticky rice Shiro Madai sashimi Uni on white aparagus Unagi don Milk ice cream with smoky fragrance

The staff and the chef told us very enjoyable stories about ingredients and gave useful recommendations about Karuizawa and Nagano. We had a lot of fun and enjoyed dining here very much. Will definitely go back in our next trip...

All I can say is that this was one of the best omakase dinner we had for a while. We have been to many but this is now our number one. Where to begin… from the amazing wine selection to the intimate chef table seating arrangement. The food was absolutely fantastic and we loved how all was prepared right in front of us. It was especially amazing to see how the chef smoked certain elements of the dishes right in front of us. Our favourite dish was the ‘nagano sushi’ made out of monkfish liver. See pictures. I definitely recommend trying this restaurant. Thank you Chef for the...