Restaurant & Inn Atsushi -Kanazawa-

Guests praised the attentive, multilingual staff who accommodated dietary needs and offered a warm welcome. The location near the castle and Kenrokuen garden was a highlight, with convenient parking.

This is a hidden gem of Kanazawa. It's a tiny traditional inn run by the fabulous Fedora, a stunning Russian goth and her partner. The food is amazing and Fedora is a great host. You might need to book, though, as it's a tiny place and popular with this in the know. It is tucked away in a residential area not far from the castle but it was one of the highlights of our trip. We stumbled on it by accident as we were wandering around the streets near our apartment. Worth finding.

We had dinner at Atsushi on our first night in Kanazawa and I have to say the meal was outstanding. I’ve eaten a lot of sashimi and sushi in my time, but even so, the quality, flavours, and attention to detail by Feodor and Atsushi puts it up with my favourite meals ever. Mrs Ex-Punk and myself shared a Crab Miso soup and a sashimi plate as starters, both of which were delicious. We followed these with three sushi plates - Green Tiger Rolls (prawn tempura, avocado, cucumber and spicy tuna), Spider Rolls (crispy fried soft shelled crab, flying fish roe, cucumber, mayo) , and Spicy Tuna Scallop Rolls (Spicy tuna, scallop, chilli). The portions were generous, so we paced ourselves, which also meant that the delicious flavours stayed on our palates a little longer. The wines by the glass available perfectly complemented the wonderful food. The restaurant is beautifully designed to complement the lovely old building it is in, which is in a quiet backstreet right next to the castle and Kenroku-en Garden. Co-owner Feodor was delightful throughout and even helped us improve our colloquial Japanese. So all we can say is arigatō gozaimasu.