Ajidokoro Takasaki

Almost every Kanazawa native has heard of Ajidokoro Takasaki. It’s an institution in the already formidable array of seafood restaurants throughout the city. Just west of Kenroku-en Gardens, the restaurant has been delighting visitors for more than 50 years, the majority of which have been at its current location. And naturally, as a restaurant with such a long history, its menu has slowly grown over the years; more than 100 items are available on its a la carte menu, from bite-sized firefly squid (hotaru-ika) to grilled Kaga vegetables. But as with most Kanazawa restaurants, blackthroat seaperch, or nodoguro, is one of the highlights of the restaurant — but this fish is valued possibly nowhere more so than at Ajidokoro Takasaki. Only nodoguro that are at least 500 g in weight are used in the restaurant — this guarantees that the fish’s flesh is as firm as possible and the oil content is wonderfully high. It’s an explosion of flavor in the mouth, and a very satisfying mouthfeel. Arguably the best way to eat fatty fish like nodoguro is with sake, which is why Ajidokoro Takasaki has it in spades. More than 20 types of sake are on regular rotation in the restaurant, most of which hail from Ishikawa breweries. For a little bit of variety, though, the restaurant also features a healthy selection from Hokuriku’s best as well, like a miniature hall of fame of sake brewers in Niigata and Toyama. Enjoy all these at the various seating types offered at Ajidokoro Takasaki — though the counter seats are always the first to be reserved, offering a front-row seat to the expert skills of owner-chef Takasaki Masatake and his two other chefs Hirai Kiyotake and Daimon Akihisa, the latter of whom has worked at Ajidokoro Takasaki for almost 20 years. In spite of the combined expertise of these three men, the restaurant is also known not just for its food, but also its hospitality, with a dedicated floor manager and several attentive staff always on hand to assist guests in anything they may need.