Ao -2nd- — Restaurant in Takasaki

This very small restaurant was a great find on our last day in Takasaki. Google Maps took us down small roads and smaller laneways and there it was, on the second floor.

We live in Melbourne, Australia, where the large and established Italian community offers excellent restaurant meals. But this one Japanese chef here, in his tiny kitchen and with no assistants, can rival them all. His Italian dishes are top-quality, with subtle flavours, perfect seasoning, fresh ingredients, and refined plating. Faultless!

We chose to eat course by course: the green salad (wonderful vinaigrette dressing), olives stuffed with minced pork then rolled in egg and breadcrumbs and deep-fried, chef's recommended pasta peperoncino - al dente spaghetti in aglio and olio with a hint of chilli - Hungarian duck breast with side vegetables, and house-made cheesecake. If we had not been full, we would have ordered it all again, it was all so good!

The chef himself is wonderful. He is friendly and fun and manages to keep smiling even when under pressure to serve several customers at once. He does not compromise on taste or presentation, and all the dishes we saw him serving others looked as delicious as ours were.

Highly recommended. And it stays open late, which is a bonus....

Kawada-San, the owner of AO, is an excellent chef. His carbonara pasta, beef skirt steak and lemon sauce pasta were so delicious. We even came back the second night for more. It was by chance that we discovered this hidden gem of a restaurant. Kawada-san was super friendly and so hardworking. He made us feel welcome and at home. AO is located on the 2nd floor, it was not a big place but it was cozy enough to fit a few people. I would highly recommend AO - 2nd-floor in Takasaki. If you want quality Italian food and a super friendly chef and owner, come to this place! The prices were extremely reasonable too. We would love to see you in London Mr. Kawada! We have tried many Italian restaurants in Japan and we...

We came during the Autumn holidays, it was in a small alley. I believe the chef is the owner and it is a boutique pasta store, pasta was made...