Kanazawa Setsuri

4-5 Takaokamachi

Kanazawa

Ishikawa 920-0864

Japan

BY NEAL MARTIN | APRIL 11, 2024

The Food:

Grilled squid with dashi, Japanese basil

Baby spring fish [ayu] with Tosazu vinegar sauce

Red sea bream, rice and caviar

Savory egg custard with matsutake, lily bulb and Bottarga sherbet

Pike conger [hamo], shirakami awabitake mushroom, lemon, asparagus, pickled plum paste served in Wajima lacquerware

Light smoked wild caught tuna, Botan shrimp from Shinminato with submerged Shijo flower

Long-tooth grouper, Neon flying squid, bottarga Sudachi citrus fruit with Hokkaido shima shrimp

Abalone with steamed Kombu in a dashi broth

Stewed and shallow-fried Kamon aubergine with horseradish.

Noto beef, pike conger and leek

Nukazuke: mizunasu, kiwi and yellow courgette

Somen with sea urchin in Kaga cucumber, shredded okra

Beef curry

Yamanashi watermelon, local peach, Shine moscato with Earl Grey jelly and gold leaf

The Wine:

2017 Vincent Bachelet Chassagne-Montrachet Village   89

Kanazawa lies on Japan’s northern coastline, a little more than a couple of hours on the bullet train from Tokyo. Kanazawa is well worth the trip for two main reasons. Firstly, you can tour the famous Kenroku-en, considered one of Japan’s three most beautiful national gardens, draped over 11.4 idyllic hectares in the center of the city, featuring tranquil ponds, tea houses and obligatory pagodas or two. Secondly, Kanazawa boasts a smorgasbord of fabulous places to dine. The gustatory highlight during my entire stay in Japan was not in Tokyo or Kyoto but in this city. The first night, I booked two seats at the Michelin-starred Kanazawa Setsuri, which, by chance, was located just a five-minute walk from my hotel. One advantage of moving out of the Tokyo metropolis is that it’s far easier to get around and reach destinations. Like many places, the restaurant is located in a plain two-story building, so discrete that I spent several minutes searching on Google Maps before realizing I was standing outside its front door.

I wanted to convey the anonymity of many restaurants in Japan. Consider that behind this door lies one of Kanazawa’s notable chefs. We stood outside for several minutes before working out that this was the destination.

The interior is your typical Japanese kappo restaurant, a broad term that means the chef is in close proximity to their customers. It is spartanly furnished: a small counter for seven people plus a private room. A wide-screen television hangs behind the counter depicting rotating images of clichéd Japanese landscape, which seemed a bit superfluous. Setsuri is popular with locals. On this particular evening, our fellow diners are three retired female doctors on their annual pilgrimage to Setsuri, plus a group of suited salarymen in the private room who keep disappearing outside for cigarettes, to the chagrin of the chef. There is one compulsory multi-course menu determined by what is in season and what can be found at the market that day. Yasuo Kawada came to prominence after competing in Japan’s version of Iron Chef and later TV program Jonetsu Tairiku. His previous restaurant, Kaiseki Tsuruko, was awarded two Michelin stars before closing its doors in 2018, reopening in late 2019 and duly renamed. With the famous Omicho market barely a few minutes' walk away, Kawada sources all his ingredients from the most trustworthy brokers with whom he has established long-term relationships, buying according to how he feels on the day. Kawada refreshingly shuns the solemnity of some of Japan’s chef-cum-gods, chatty and amiable, cracking jokes along the way to create a relaxed atmosphere. He’s here to entertain, not just cook.

Grilled squid with dashi, Japanese basil

Readers should note that neither Kawada nor his assistant speak English. That does not seem to prevent you from reserving a seat, though just bear that in mind and maybe see if you can go with a Japanese speaker.

It's worth it. The food is wonderful.

Baby spring fish [ayu] with Tosazu vinegar sauce

We commence with grilled squid with dashi and Japanese basil [õba]. The squid is chilled right down to act as a palate freshener. The consistency of the squid is so spot on. The flavors are so pure and, for want of a better word, energetic that it sets you up perfectly for what follows.

Red sea bream, rice and caviar

The baby spring fish [ayu] is doused with Tosazu vinegar sauce, a mixture of vinegar, soy and rice wine together with soup stock from dried bonito. As you can see from the photograph, I had to pause and admire the remarkable bowls and plates, original pieces of Kutani-ware, noted for their vivid dark hues. As usual, you eat the fish whole, from head to tail, and this example delivers just the right amount of crunch and salinity. The sauce is subtle in flavor and allows the nuanced fish to shine.

Savory egg custard with matsutake, lily bulb and Bottarga sherbet

The next dish is served on a small shell-like plate comprising red sea bream, rice and caviar. Very subtle in flavor, the caviar lends just the right amount of salinity. Hot on its heels, a bowl of savory egg custard is served with matsutake mushrooms, lily bulb and Bottarga sherbet and then, pike conger [hamo] from Seto Naikai (the inland body of water that separates the islands of Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu). This came with Shirakami Awabitake mushroom, a mixture of Trumpet mushroom and Chinese Abalone mushroom foraged from Akita in northern Japan, lemon sourced from Hiroshima and asparagus from Nagano with a pickled plum paste. This is all presented in Wajima lacquerware from Ishikawa. Divine.

Light smoked wild caught tuna, Botan shrimp from Shinminato with submerged Shijo flower

The next dish consists of lightly-smoked wild-caught tuna and Botan shrimp from Shinminato, a rare species now only found off the coast of southern Japan. It comes with Shijõ flowers set in clear jelly, optional lime and wasabi on the side. This just needs a light drizzling of lime because the succulent shrimps explode with flavor once popped into the mouth. Kawada then serves long-tooth grouper [known as “ara” in Kyushu, where it is a highly prized fish], and Neon Flying squid, a species that, as the name suggests, can actually fly using a kind of jet propulsion. This had been left in the fridge for two days. It comes with a slice of bottarga Sudachi, a Japanese native citrus fruit and Shima shrimp from Hokkaido that Kawada meunièrs in a Japanese style. The shrimp is exceptionally sweet with a slightly gooey texture that effortlessly partners with the Sudachi.

Long-tooth grouper, Neon flying squid, bottarga Sudachi citrus fruit with Hokkaido shima shrimp

The abalone comes from the Noto peninsular and is presented in an oyster shell with steamed Kombu, which is edible kelp, and a light dashi broth. The abalone is very tender and flavorsome. The kelp imparts salinity and texture, while a small Shiso leaf lends a touch of pepperiness.

Abalone with steamed Kombu in a dashi broth

After a shallow-fried Kamon aubergine sourced from Kyoto, the sukiyaki dish contains thinly sliced beef from Noto, pike conger and small leeks from Kujõ. The beef has a natural richness and melt-in-your-mouth consistency, blending perfectly with the pike conger and giving a bite by the leeks. It is a perfect combination.

Noto beef, pike conger and leek

The next dish is a trip back in time. The small bowl of pickled vegetables and fruit, known as nukazuke, derives from 17th century Japan when food was preserved by fermenting them in rice bran [nuka]. Ours had been fermented over three days and comprised of kiwi fruit, yellow courgette and mizunasu. This translates as “water eggplant” and comes from Senshu in the southern extremity of the Osaka prefecture. As its name suggests, it tends to contain higher water content and is sweeter than regular eggplant, to the point where many people eat it raw.

Somen with sea urchin in Kaga cucumber, shredded okra

The somen noodles arrive in a hollowed-out Kaga cucumber, in the middle of which is sea urchin topped with shredded okra. The noodles are cooled and refreshing. The sea urchin has perfect consistency and is delicately lifted by the okra.

Beef curry

Kawada has a trick up his sleeve, a bit of a joke, serving what might be considered a basic beef curry dish. The beef had been frozen and then stewed over three days. I’ve devoured Japanese curry countless times, though none had such an impact of flavor, every mouthful savored. I could have polished off three or four bowls. To finish, Yamanashi watermelon with locally-picked peach with Earl Grey jelly and gold leaf.

Yamanashi watermelon, local peach, Shine moscato with Earl Grey jelly and gold leaf

The one downside of such restaurants, even those with a Michelin star like Kanazawa Setsuri, is that wines are often given short shrift. This is understandable. With such a small number of covers, few can afford or risk stocking a vast range of wines, notwithstanding there just isn’t the space. We select the 2017 Chassagne-Montrachet from Vincent Bachelet, an unfamiliar grower but hailing from a vintage where the Burgundy whites excelled. It fits the occasion perfectly. Orchard fruit and light resin scents appear on a nose that is quite immediate, simple, yet focused. The palate delivers the weight one expects from this appellation. The cooler vintage heightens the acidity, and pineapple and lime come through on the unpretentious finish.

It is easy to see why Kanazawa Setsuri is a popular local haunt. Sure, the food is absolutely top-notch, in a different league to what I find in the UK, even at exalted prices. The precision here is breathtaking. But what I really appreciate is the bonhomie of Kawada San and his assistant. They made it a dinner that was “fun." I just wish my Japanese was better so that I could have understood the wisecracks that had our doctor friends in stitches. Prices are very reasonable compared to overseas, partly because of the weak Japanese yen, sitting at just over ¥20,000 per person.

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