Located at Rokumaimachi intersection, a 10-minute walk from JR Kanazawa Station in Ishikawa Prefecture, Machiya Kaiseki Rocca is a Japanese restaurant helmed by Chef Kazunori Miyata.
Chef Miyata was apprenticed at KYOTO KITCHO Arashiyama for 16 years and promoted to Chef at the Toyako location in Hokkaido, where he prepared dinner for world leaders at the G8 Summit in 2008. After working there for three years, he moved to Kanazawa and opened Machiya Kaiseki Rocca in 2011. His exquisite dishes featuring local ingredients from Hokuriku attracted foodies and won him stars right away. The restaurant’s name “Rocca” (which means “the flower of Roku” in Japanese) represents the chef’s desire to make the restaurant like a flower of Rokumaimachi. ”Rocca” is also associated with “Rikka,” a synonym for snow, which covers Kanazawa throughout the wintertime. That is why a snow crystal is used as the logo of the restaurant.
As he says that “ingredients are the main players in this restaurant,” the chef visits Omicho Market, a hub of food culture in Kanazawa, every morning to pick up the best quality ingredients of the day. Bringing out the full flavors and aromas of these carefully selected ingredients, Japanese Pilaf Rice is one of the signature dishes at Rocca. Another popular dish is Corn Rice (available from July to September), cooked in corn broth and served with corn prepared in three different ways: boiled, pasted, and grilled to golden perfection. In addition, Clam Broth Soup features broth made from three varieties of clams (orient, corbicula, and littleneck), homemade kudzu tofu made from yam, and bamboo shoots. It is topped with Japanese mitsuba herb, salted cherry blossoms, and young Japanese pepper leaves to celebrate the arrival of spring. Moreover, Deep-fried Cherry Salmon Coated with Brown Rice, served with seasonal onion potage soup, is also worth trying. The sake list features local brands from the three prefectures of Hokuriku, including Kachikoma from Toyama and Kokuryu from Fukui, as well as the restaurant’s original Junmai Ginjo sake called “Rocca,” to enhance the local color.
Renovated from an over-century-old sake brewery house in so-called Kanazawa machiya style (style of a merchant’s house), the restaurant’s façade is marked by a cedar ball to pay a tribute to the original brewery. The lacquerware, including Wajima and Yamanaka from Ishikawa Prefecture, and ceramic dishware with an antique feel match well with the historic interior of the restaurant. Sit on one of the eight counter chairs, and you can enjoy watching the chef’s fine culinary skills while chatting with him. In addition, there are two tables (one with two chairs and the other with four chairs) and a raised tatami floor (seating up to six guests) to serve various occasions, ranging from hosting guests from overseas to family gatherings, dinner with friends, and dates. So why not discover the local flavors of Hokuriku at Machiya Kaiseki Rocca?
