Top Restaurants in Niigata
Top 10 restaurants in Niigata, Japan
Discover the best restaurant in Niigata, Japan including Tonkatsu Taro, Suzakayasoba, Benkei, Pia Bandai, Tomizushi Niigata station, Matsuriya Niigata station south, Bunsuido Cake shop, Echigo Nagaoka Kojimaya CoCoLo Main Bldg., Kojimaya Sohonten Keno, Kaisenya Negibozu, Kako Asahiyama
Things to do in Niigata
1. Tonkatsu Taro
Overall Ratings
4 based on 47 reviews
Reviewed By Michiel P - Den Haag
This was the top rated Japanese restaurant in Niigata, so it seemed the obvious choice while staying there for a week. To my surprise the restaurant does mainly breaded then fried pork cutlets, so basically it's a schnitzel restaurant. The food that was served surely tasted very well, but I can get a schnitzel also back home. My advise: if you're craving a schnitzel go to this place. If you're looking for Japanese food this place isn't it.
2. Suzakayasoba
Overall Ratings
4 based on 104 reviews
3. Benkei, Pia Bandai
Overall Ratings
4 based on 179 reviews
Reviewed By Rumples - Tucson, Arizona
I recently ate lunch here and considered the sushi to be extremely fresh, flavorful and well prepared. In fact, I rank it in the top 5 percent of sushi I have consumed during decades of visiting Japan. This is a conveyor-belt restaurant, where the sushi rides around the serving area, giving customers the opportunity to select what they want to eat from the belt in front of them.
Obviously English-speaking, I received a handout with photos of fish and their English names. This helped me to ensure I got what I wanted. It also assisted the helpful young Japanese man sitting next to me to point out what he considered to be the best fish of the day (salmon). I noted that he often ordered directly from one of the sushi chefs and ignored what was on the belt, so I did the same a couple of times. At one point, i started to pick up a dish from the belt, and the chef took it from me, placing a plate of the same type of sushi, which he had just made, in my hands. His motto must be fresher is better. Though the restaurant was completely full with a long wait line, two of the sushi chefs kept tabs on me, ensuring that I had the best experience possible.
A middle-aged Japanese couple replaced the helpful young man. They saw my English handout and started to work with me on mastering the fish names in Japanese.
The two chefs got involved and my lunch included a fun language lesson.
Sushi cost depends on the color of the plate it is on. The customer piles up the empty plates and a server makes note of the plate colors at the end of the meal and presents the bill, which is taken to the cashier. Each plate price is presented on the belt and in the Seating area, so there are no surprises. And each plate holds two pieces of sushi. The total for my five plates was Y1684, which I consider to be quite reasonable for Japan.
A possible drawback to this delightful restaurant is that a non-Japanese speaker may have difficulty learning what the daily specials are. The handout sheet does not include these and no one I interacted with spoke English. But there are more than enough obvious choices.
Benkei is located at the Pia Bandai Market. The restaurant's name is not listed in English, but it is in the row of shops that includes the fish market and is the only conveyor-belt eatery in the area. Pia Bandai is a stop on the Niigata city bus loop route.
4. Tomizushi Niigata station
Overall Ratings
4 based on 64 reviews
Reviewed By Badwolfys - Hong kong
Read trip advisor and went--thanks to the staff who charged us the wrong amount ... chased after us outside the store and fumbled around for 10 minutes, we missed the train, waited an extra 40 minutes, and consequently the fireworks. I really didn't care what the final amount was. They undercharged us. But get the price right the first time. Really not happy.
5. Matsuriya Niigata station south
Overall Ratings
4 based on 32 reviews
6. Bunsuido Cake shop
Overall Ratings
4 based on 23 reviews
Reviewed By ディープ産駒 - Tokyo, Japan
ＪＲ弥彦駅と弥彦神社の間にあるお菓子やさんです。
何でも、テレビに出て人気になったとのことでした。
名物はパンダ焼き、確かにパンダの形をしていました。
1人２個までとのこと。
白パンダ焼きは130円。小倉アンコと枝豆アンコが人気。
確かにもちもちしていて美味しかったです。
でも、全国第１位かな？
ごちそうさまでした。
7. Echigo Nagaoka Kojimaya CoCoLo Main Bldg.
Overall Ratings
4 based on 50 reviews
Reviewed By Sean Seungwon J - Basel, Switzerland
Conveniently located in Niigata station nearby Shinkansen entry. I could have local Niigata food, hegy soba and tare Katsu, despite busy schedule.
8. Kojimaya Sohonten Keno
Overall Ratings
4 based on 25 reviews
Reviewed By NineDragons - Ichikawa, Japan
This Kojimaya is a very busy restaurant. It also means that the food is very good.
Most of the meal is set around Hegi Soba, a kind of noodle that is produced in Nagaoka area. Wheat noodle mixed with a bit of Fu-nori. Quite different from soba.
Service is very efficient for this busy restaurant so everything moves on smoothly. Well organized.
I would recommend to visit any of the Kojimaya restaurants when you are travelling through Niigata. A must place to eat.
9. Kaisenya Negibozu
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 54 reviews
10. Kako Asahiyama
Overall Ratings
4 based on 41 reviews
Reviewed By Higuma2017 - Vechta, Germany
This was an amazing tasting experience. Great sake to accompany an excellent selection of dishes. Particularly excited about the house appetisers, especially the goma tofu. What a piece of concentrated pleasure! Great sashimi, fried oysters (too bad they don't have nama oysters, the greatest defect here). Their cheeses and smoked daikon are super exquisite, a tasting adventure. The Niigata pork was the lowest point: weak taste and tough. But overall excellent service and the most pleasant dinner. You pay for it.
