I went to the seasonal restaurant "Chu" that I had been interested in. The store is located about 10 minutes walk from the new train station at Toyohashi Station. It's a small Japanese-style restaurant with delicious dishes.
Once, there was a restaurant called “Matsuko”. I visited it back in the past. It’s been over a year since the name of the restaurant changed to “Chuza”. It took me quite a while before I finally made the long-awaited first visit.
This is a restaurant located within walking distance of Toyohashi Station. Unfortunately, it was raining on that day, so I had to take the bus. The nearest bus stop is only 2 minutes' walk away from our location, which made it very convenient. We arrived just before 6 p.m., the opening time, and reserved a counter seat. Although we arrived about 5 minutes early, we were able to enter the store smoothly.
The interior is a comfortable space with a counter where six people can sit comfortably, along with two small seats below. Let’s enjoy dishes made with seasonal ingredients and drinks at a corner of the counter.
【주문한 음식 및 술】
《料理》
◇ヒゲタラの昆布締め刺身
◇だし巻き玉子(ハーフ)
◇ヤングコーン蒸し焼き(ハーフ)
◇旬野菜の天ぷら
＊옥수수
＊アスパラ
＊カボチャ
＊ナス
＊オクラ
＊大葉
◇お通し（鯵の南蛮漬け）
《お酒》
◇Honshu No.1 - Pure Japonica Cider, Strong Astringent Flavor
◇酔鯨 特別純米酒
◇麓井 美酒 辛口
◇ビール中瓶
First, while enjoying beer, we carefully read the menu to plan out the flow of events for that day. Incidentally, the bottle beer options were either Asahi or Kirin.
Among the appetizers, there was a half-sized soy cake wrapped in broth. As an individual, I found this to be a very helpful service, so I didn’t hesitate to order it. The soy cake prepared by the owner, who has undergone training in renowned Japanese cuisine, was truly delicious. The flavor of the broth was exquisite and delightful.
We switched from beer to Japanese sake, and there were indeed a selection of carefully chosen premium sake varieties available. In the sake menu, some items were marked as “one cup plus one glass”. I asked the owner about this, and he told me that they served it in 120ml sizes. It’s a great service where you can compare different brands of sake. But if possible, I would have preferred to see prices reduced even further when serving half a cup instead of one cup. As for cold sake, due to storage limitations, the main option is a four-cup bottle. However, they are also considering creating space to accommodate larger one-jin bottles in the future.
I ordered a grilled young corn dish during the short peak season. When I asked the owner how many pieces were needed, they said 4 pieces. So I asked if it would be fine to have half that number, which is 2 pieces. They readily agreed to my request. It was a privilege to receive such kindness from them, even as a regular customer or a first-time visitor. The tempura made with summer vegetables offered a wide variety of dishes, allowing us to fully enjoy the season's produce.
In the end, I ordered a hot sake and enjoyed it paired with a kombu-fillig sashimi made using hige-tara. The texture was just right, and the umami of the kombu was excellent. The owner told me that hige-tara is a valuable fish caught in the Tokaido Bay, also known as “yoroi itachi-wa.” It’s considered a high-quality fish in the Kanto region. He mentioned that he has connections with the fish market in Hamamatsu, and occasionally they get rare and high-quality fish. Having good fish available depends on the trust-building relationship with middlemen.
I was truly enjoying the process of comparing the selfishly ordered dishes with the alcoholic beverages. For just five thousand yen, it was a reasonable price, and I was very satisfied. I had pleasant conversations with three customers who were there with me. As someone who enjoys drinking, my stay of about two hours was a testament to the comfortable atmosphere in the restaurant. The restaurant is open until 2 AM, so I found the customer base during late hours quite intriguing.
I reviewed this website and saw that it was labeled as "Japanese-style small restaurant". However, my first impression is...
It seemed like a Japanese-style restaurant that offers authentic Japanese cuisine in a casual dining atmosphere, at a reasonable price.
I was about to finish my order and ask the owner about the origin of the name "Chū". But I drank too much and forgot about it. I was deeply impressed by the dishes made with delicious seasonal ingredients, as well as the owner's generous and considerate nature. I fell in love with this wonderful restaurant, and I can't wait to visit there again♪
