Mikado — Restaurant in Takayama

We visited this cozy family restaurant on our first night in Takayama, and it was such a lovely experience. Tucked near the city center, the place has a warm, homely vibe, making it perfect for a hearty meal to kick off our trip.

The food was absolutely delicious, and what made it even more special was that you get to cook certain dishes yourself, adding a fun, interactive element to the dining experience. The meat was incredibly soft and tender, but what really surprised me was how much I enjoyed the brinjal side dish—despite not being a fan of brinjal! It was so good, I ended up finishing the whole thing.

The portion sizes were decent, though I did feel a bit hungry afterward. Luckily, adding a few extra side dishes would easily fix that!

If you're ever in Takayama, I highly recommend dropping by this restaurant. You won’t be...

Happened upon this restaurant on my way to a more popular Hida beef-serving restaurant joint further up the same major Takayama street. It was empty however it looked well-presented, so after a quick Google search confirming that it had a decent rating, I walked in. Mikado is a modest venue but the food was so good and the service homely. A few locals started to walk in after I was sat down too, and the place quickly became quite busy. I ordered the 2000 yen Hida beef set along with a local Hida craft beer. The beef was tender and came with a charcoal grill, hoba miso, rice, pickled vegetables, miso soup and tofu. Of particular enjoyment was cooking the hoba miso on the grill and having it with the Hida beef and the rice. It was a hearty meal and I was full for the rest of...

Very good hida beef lunch experience at Mikado.

We got the set meal with the soy bean paste on the leaf. It was very good as well as fun and easy to cook your portion of beef on the small grill that came on the platter. I enjoy the experience of doing this but I'd rather have the chef do it for me and cook it to perfection (personal preference, no impact to my rating).

Service is quick and easy as the menu is bilingual in Japanese and English. The staff is kind and helpful.

Would recommend as a place for the traditional hida beef with soybean...