Kobe Eats - Our Favorite Foods in Kobe, Japan
Our time in Kobe was fantastic, but half the reason we enjoyed it so much was all the amazing food we were able to eat! Japan has a variety of food options, from traditional Japanese cuisine to some of the best Italian food I’ve ever had. We were able to try new and unique foods, and we’ve been daydreaming about them ever since. (I think we may have to go back to Japan for the food, alone!)
Read below for the very best meals from our trip!
Arriving in Kobe
It took us most of the day to arrive in Kobe from Tokyo, so by the time we checked into our hotel and got settled in, we were starving. We decided to try out something close by (in part because we were so hungry), and we lucked out on this restaurant literally a five minute walk from the hotel.
So Table Kobe 0330 is all about pasta and pizza with passion, and the food definitely proved it. We started off with the assorted prosciutto and salami board in order to quell our immediate hunger. It was deliciously fresh!
Onto the main course: we ordered the Homemade bolognese with Kobe beef and the Quattro Formaggi pizza to share and both were absolutely good! I had a very difficult time trying to convince Alex to let me order another bowl of pasta. (I did say we were hungry!) You could tell the ingredients were fresh and the pizza was some of the best I’ve had.
I highly recommend this place! It’s located right next to Meriken Park on the harbor, and has a cute little patio to sit on where you can watch the ships come in. It’s a perfect restaurant for the family to enjoy, and would make a great spot for date night!
Hopping Over
Alex had to work during the day most of the week, which gave Finn and I the opportunity to experience more of the area on our own. Our first attempt at lunch without Dad was at HOPSTAND.
We sat on the outside patio and enjoyed the beautiful day by the little creek that runs along the row of restaurants here. I started off with a Kobe Harborland Ale - who wouldn’t want to try the local beer here with such a scenic view?
For lunch, I ordered the Yakitori Chicken special that came with six different type of skewers. These were all very delicious, but I probably should have ordered more to go with them, as I was left still feeling a little hungry when we left.
Yakitori Skewers
This was a great little spot for anyone to enjoy, but I think it would make a perfect spot for a weekend trip with family or friends!
BEEF PLEASE
Alex met us for dinner after he finished up with work and we decided to head back to the same area to try another restaurant that had promising reviews!
Eighth Beef offers up steak and hamburgers all provided by a local butcher, and we were excited about the different options on the menu to choose from.
I wasn’t super hungry so I opted for the small hamburger, which was good but not great. I kinda was expecting more flavor, so it was a little underwhelming. Alex ordered the Diced Wagyu Beef Steak which came with a side of corn, rice, and a few condiments. He enjoyed these quite a bit (and so did Finn who wanted to share)!
Overall, the ambience was great and made up for the underwhelming food. We decided to get some gelato on our way home to fill our bellies a little more before bed.
Pasta For Two
Our second day in Kobe provided us an opportunity to explore the area some more. While walking around Mosaic (a three floor shopping center filled with all types of stores and restaurants), we came across Harbor Bread Cafe!
We were seated very quickly and offered some bread while we waited, which was very fluffy and honestly surprisingly delicious. I then ordered the spaghetti bolognese for Finn and I to share, and OH. WOW. This was very, very good! (I even tried to convince Alex to come back with us while we were still in town.)
JADE DRAGON
Once Alex got off work, we went back to Mosaic to search for somewhere to eat. After walking around for a while, we found a hole in the wall Chinese restaurant called Jade Dragon with very appetizing-looking dishes.
First up was the beef ramen, which was loaded with flavorful broth and plenty of noodles. However, the beef itself wasn’t great and I didn’t eat much of it.
We then tried shrimp dumplings, pork dumplings, and a pork bao bun - all which were very good and gone within seconds!
Overall, the meal was great! I think we’re a bit more accustomed to our Chinese food at home, so this didn’t stand out very much to us in the mix of all the other great places we enjoyed while in Kobe.
Personal Chef and Rooftop Views
On our second to last night in Kobe, we made the decision to try out one of the recommended restaurants in the hotel. Oriental Steak House had great reviews online, but didn’t list much about pricing. We knew it would be a bit more expensive (like most hotel restaurants), but we were okay with spending a little more on a truly worthy meal.
This restaurant is located at the top of the hotel, with incredible views of the harbor and overlooking the ocean. We were seated at our own private table, in front of a hibachi grill. I started off with a glass of champagne while we looked over the menu and made our selections.
Our first course was an appetizer, that quite honestly, we don’t know the name of. We know it had cheese, a pate, and crouton, but we didn’t eat much of it since we weren’t sure what it was. Next up was some type of soup, which actually had a very delicious, salty broth and very small wontons inside.
I ordered the Seafood and Kobe Filet meal, and Alex ordered a Prime Wagyu Filet. The Hibachi chef arrived to start cooking our order and provided us with an incredible view of our steaks before throwing them on the grill.
Once everything was cooked, we were served our food with caramelized onions, two types of salt, and garlic. Our food was excellent, and we were very happy with our meal and how delicious everything was. However, our meal wasn’t quite finished yet.
We were provided with another soup, but Alex and I both decided after a sip that we weren’t that interested in it. They then brought us dessert, which was a matcha cake with ice cream, and was very good, too.
Lastly, we finished the meal with a perfect cup of oolong tea which was accompanied by a crystal rock candy to sweeten it up. It was the best thing they could have brought us after all the food we just devoured, and helped to soothe our stomachs.
This meal was amazing. The food was incredible, the ambience and view were stunning, but the price tag of nearly $300.00 made this a once-in-a-lifetime event for us. While it was very good and the experience was great, we honestly don’t think it was worth the daunting price tag. We were glad we did it for the time we had in Japan (not knowing if we’ll ever be back).
Finishing Strong
Our final day we spent exploring the area once more, taking our time to go through the shops at Umie Mall. We decided to stop in the food court while we were here, as well, in order to stay in the mall longer. Alex and Finn decided on Wendy’s for lunch in order to have a more familiar meal for Finn to eat. When it came to my choice, I looked for the restaurant option with the longest line of people (which is usually an indicator that it is very good). This brought me to a delicious ramen spot, that also offered gyoza as part of their meal. These were exceptionally good!
Our dinner was a much more elevated experience, though, as Alex’s coworkers invited us out to eat on our final day in Kobe. We chose to try Kobe Harborland Sandaya - this was by far the best choice we could have made before leaving Japan.
When we entered, they had live musicians playing lightly in the corner for patrons to enjoy during their meals, which made our experience even better. After looking through the menu, we decided on the Japanese Black Beef meal that came with three additional courses: a tomato soup, salad, and dessert of fresh fruit, chocolate, and ice cream.
This was SIGNIFICANTLY better than our meal at Oriental Steak House the night before. This beef melted in your mouth like butter, and was incredibly flavorful. The sautéed vegetables that came with it were also super tasty and cooked to perfection. The best part: your steak comes out rare on a hot iron plate, allowing you to determine how long to let your beef stay on the plate until it reaches your preferred temperature.
As we walked home that night after dinner, we couldn’t believe we hadn’t discovered that restaurant sooner in the week in order to have it more than once. However, it definitely made for a sweet ending to our trip to be able to enjoy such an incredible meal.
BONUS EAT!
We also had the opportunity to visit the Nunobiki Herb Garden, and had not one, but two absolutely amazing meals while there. To read more about it, click HERE!