Feeling Fine When You Dine – Discover Five Gourmet Dining Restaurants in Nagoya

Aug 29, 2023

Feeling Fine When You Dine – Discover Five Gourmet Dining Restaurants in Nagoya

One of the best things about living in Nagoya is that pretty much wherever you turn, there are decent restaurants that don’t cost an arm and a leg. In fact, should you so wish, you could probably eat out every night of the week and not break the bank.

However, while that is all fine and good, sometimes you want more than that. Be it a birthday celebration, an anniversary, or even just a hankering for the finer things in life, sometimes you want to go to somewhere that is pretty special.

But fear ye not, you connoisseurs of culinary delights, because More Than Relo has got a list of excellent fine dining restaurants for you to visit and enjoy the best quality cuisine, because do you know what? You deserve it!

Kawabun

Since around the same time as Nagoya Castle was first being built, Kawabun has been well known for its amazing cuisine. Starting out as an upmarket fishmonger, it was patronized by the culinary experts amongst the ruling Tokugawa Owari clan, and the family-run store branched out into the restaurant industry.

Today, despite the great upheaval Nagoya has seen in the past 400 years, Kawabun remains a monument to the elegance and refinement of that age – as well as that of the Meiji era, to which many of the more modernized structures pay homage. It has always been, and continues to this day, one of the most exquisite examples of classic Japan in Nagoya.

Where: 2-13-4 Marunouchi Naka-ku (map)
Website: thekawabunnagoya.com

Conca Cucina Italiana

Conca, a delightful little Italian restaurant not far from Nagoya Station, is where my wife insists we always go on big, romantic occasions, and it’s not difficult to see why. The restaurant is softly lit and tiny (only about four tables), making it the epitome of ‘intimate.’

But it is the exquisite food that makes us return time after time to sample the ever-changing menu. On our first visit, we were delighted by the whole wood pigeon, the next time it was deep-fried foie gras and anago, and once I found a new favourite in the spaghetti in a creamy sea urchin sauce. Everything is divine, particularly with the excellent wine list, which the lovely owners are only too happy to help you match to your meal. If you pop in, tell them Mark (that’s me) sent you!

Where: 2 Chome-20-28 Meieki, Nishi Ward, Nagoya (map)
Website: www.conca0615.com

La Pêche

I am yet to visit La Pêche in Kamimaezu, but it comes highly recommended by a friend who brings his wife there for every celebration that calls for a top dining experience. A French-style bistro, La Pêche has an impressively extensive menu that is constantly updated, so you can often find something new to try.

Extremely popular with French food lovers, La Pêche is often fully booked, so it pays to reserve tables well in advance, but should you be successful, I am informed that you should definitely try the bouillabaisse Marseillaise, and the tiramisu is to die for. It really is a ‘peach’ of a dining experience!

Where: Nagoya, Naka Ward, Osu, 4 Chome−13−46 Wistoria 1F (map)
Website: lapeche.gorp.jp

Hilton Genji

Of course, when it comes to Hotels, The Hilton is globally renowned for its excellence, and in Nagoya, the Hilton Genji restaurant is no different. Featuring kaiseki, a traditional Japanese course menu, at Genji you will find the best Japanese dishes prepared with only the finest, locally-sourced, seasonal ingredients. One of the standout dishes is the Ise-ebi [spiny lobster] that comes from the Ise bay in Mie Prefecture, and if it is unagi [eel] season, you are in for a real treat. Once you have selected your course, what better than to pair it with one (or more) of the exquisite sake choices that they have on offer?

Where: 1 Chome-3-3 Sakae, Naka Ward, Nagoya (map)
Website: nagoya.hiltonjapan.co.jp/restaurants

Nikuya Setsugekka

Unless it’s the 1960’s, back home, a steak dinner is not exactly what comes to mind when you think of fine dining, but that’s because back home we aren’t talking A5-grade wagyu. Nikuya Setsugekka’s owner, Tanaka-san, was born into this world. His grandfather raised cattle, his father was a butcher, and he himself began carving beef as a ten-year-old child. It was around that age that he dreamed of opening his very own restaurant.

This Michelin Starred restaurant is one of 18 that Tanaka opened, reflecting his unique vision of Japanese yakiniku meshed with a world view. With traditional techniques bringing together original dishes, this is Japanese steak of the highest of quality.

Where: 4-6-23 Meieki, Nakamura-Ku, Nagoya-shi, Aichi 3rd Horiuchi Building B1F (map)
Website: nikuyasetugekka.jp

---

Image: via https://www.thekawabunnagoya.com/en/kawabun/restaurant/kaiseki/
Image: via https://www.instagram.com/p/CrYQMMuPRM-/
Image: via https://gurunavi.com/en/nbs4000/ph/food/rst/ – Modified
Image: via https://nagoya.hiltonjapan.co.jp/restaurants/genji_kaiseki?utm_source=google&utm_medium=map&utm_content=top
Image: by http://nikuyasetugekka.jp/#section-5