A 10-minute drive from JR Kumamoto Station, antica locanda MIYAMOTO sits in Shinyashiki District adjacent to the city center. This former residential area for principal retainers of the Hosokawa family is lush and verdant with the Shirakawa River (a first-class river whose source is inscribed on the list of 100 famed mineral waters in Aso) running through it. Located on the first floor of a building close to Shinyashiki Park, the restaurant welcomes guests with an impressive entrance with a stone brick wall and a wooden sign. Facing the courtyard, the dining room in the semi-basement is designed for you to enjoy the greenery of the garden, and feel as if you were in a mountain hut deep in a forest.
The restaurant, antica locanda MIYAMOTO, is helmed by Chef Kenshin Miyamoto, who started studying culinary arts under his father at his restaurant, went to Italy to hone his skills at the age of 19, and returned to Japan to work as manager of his father’s restaurant before he opened Ristorante MIYAMOTO, the direct ancestor of antica locanda MIYAMOTO, in 2002. Then, in 2021, he relocated his restaurant to the current location.
The menu of antica locanda MIYAMOTO features local ingredients, especially Kumamoto Akaushi beef cooked on a wood-fire. The beef is raised by former faculty members of Tokai University and prepared with help from Sakaeya in Shiga. In addition to the beef, homemade charcuteries, vegetables directly delivered from local farmers, and wild sweetfish from the Kuma River are incorporated into the menu. With a cultivation limit of 700 meters above sea level and a mild climate that enables year-round agricultural production, Kumamoto is one of the largest agricultural prefectures in Japan, recognized for its high-quality agricultural products. In order to give them wider publicity, Chef Miyamoto was busily engaged in registering Kumamoto in the Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System (GIAHS). His efforts were rewarded in 2013, when the Kumamoto-Aso region became the third in Japan to be included in the GIAHS list.
Then, in 2016, Kumamoto was hit by devastating earthquakes, which triggered the addition of wood-fire dishes to the menu of antica locanda MIYAMOTO. Without electricity and gas, Chef Miyamoto grilled vegetables on charcoal embers and was surprised at the result. Since then, he has squarely faced the life force of vegetables and the foundations of cookery. At the time of relocation, he took this as an opportunity to embark on a journey to explore the essence of cookery through wood-fire dishes.
The wine list mainly includes Italian labels but also offers Japanese wines, especially from Kumamoto and Miyazaki (Tsuno and Katsuki) in Kyushu. The drink menu also suggests wine or liquor pairings. In addition, the non-alcoholic drink menu offers oolong and herbal teas featuring tea leaves from Kumamoto and wild herbs from Aso, respectively.
The restaurant has a main dining room with 10 seats as well as an eight-seat private room. The interior is a combination of stone and wood, inspired from mountain huts in Tirol, where Chef Miyamoto lived for two years during his apprenticeship. The restaurant caters for family meals and celebrations and even for babies on Sundays. Enjoy delicious dishes in a relaxing setting that fits the restaurant’s name, locanda, which means “inn” in Italian and reflects the chef’s desire to make guests feel at home.
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* The availability of this webpage does not guarantee that the restaurant presented provides services in English, unless otherwise stated. Please be aware that English services may also depend on staff availability at the restaurant.
Access
10 minutes by taxi from Kumamoto Station
