食堂 あお — Restaurant in Kumano

A fantastic dining experience in an intimate dining space, located close to Kumanoshi JR station. We sat at the woodbench counter, allowing the owner and his staff to choose from the menu for us; and they prepared small exquisite seafood dishes accompanied by selected Japanese sake.

The sea-to-table food philosophy is immediately evident: The ingredients are locally-sourced from the staff who kayak into the bay daily for the catch-of-day (red snapper, snow crabs, and the like). The condiments on the bench-top include a local craft salt made from seawater and no additives (you can visit the Iwato Salt Factory in Ise City, in Mie Prefecture); and yuzu green peppers grown only in the Mukai area (you can visit the Owasemukai Farm of ​​Oji City, also in Mie).

There is an obvious care and love of cuisine, and a warmth to the dining room space, with the sake cups and Japanese ceramics being part of that design. The owner/s, who have spent time previously in New Zealand, seem to be pioneers and are undoubtedly understated ambassadors in food culture here in Kumano and the region.

This is a dining experience to definitely visit when you...

This place was an absolute gem in Kumano. The whole dining experience from start to finish was top drawer. Intimate dining area and atmosphere coupled with incredible and the freshest food from the local area. The sashimi was outstandingly delicious as the owner/chef catches the fishes himself in the morning from the sea!

We opted for the course meal whereby they chose what they had for the day to be served for the meal. No regrets with that, and I highly recommend it as everything they served was worthy of the highest praise. All the ingredients were put together wholeheartedly and focused on Kumamo's produce. Sauces, pickles, and even the ice cream were all made in-house with the highest attention to detail by the chef.

Service was also friendly and warm as they shared about each dish with passion. I do not regret saying that this was the best meal I had on my Japan trip and even better when compared to what some Michelin restaurants offer back in Singapore.

I can not recommend this place enough and was lucky to have been able to secure seats here. Do make advance reservations as they only seat about 12pax for dinner if I...

Ao's interior decoration is superb, focussed on lots of wood, earthy ceramics, and fresh ingredients lined up at the edge of the counter. In case you get a seat there, you can watch the chef cutting up raw fish, grilling mountain vegetables over coals, and carefully picking plates and dishes for his next dish. We opted for the omakase menu, sparing us the difficulty of actually choosing what to eat. Over the span of the next two hours, one perfect dish after the other appeared in front of us, all arranged like little artworks, decorated with elegant maple twigs and handmade pottery. It's difficult to determine what course we liked the best, although it is easy to admit this is the best meal we've had since arriving in Tokyo four months ago. The fact that most of the fish, including the eel, and the crabs are all caught by the chef is of course incredible. The homemade ice cream was particularly nice, with actual pieces of mango inside of it. Amazing restaurant. Will be sad to eat anywhere else...