Robata Shoya

Great to see the fresh produce being used, all arrayed around the kitchen/grill area. What you see is what you get! We had enormous fresh oysters at 630yen each......cheaper and sweeter than those in Omicho market (in Kanazawa) we had just experienced. The grilled scallops in butter and shoyu were a...lso superb, while the generous plate of sashimi was of a great standard. All washed down with some excellent nihonshu which was surprisingly affordable. Highly recommended for seafood lovers. We came again the following night and were not disappointed.

Visited July 2022

This was recommended by our hotel and they booked counter seats there which was probably necessary as it was busy. In front of the counter between us and the chef and his cooking area, was an array of vegetables, scallops and fish. All were plated and sitting on ice but they didn’t look too fresh ...and when you have the menu in one hand and these in view in front of you, it definitely affects your choice. We ordered grilled chicken and hida beef which were made from very poor quality cuts but the Caesar salad was excellent. The wasabi greens dish was tasteless, the tempura was more bamboo than greens and the fried chicken good as was the baked garlic. Service was fine but it didn’t do it for us I’m afraid. I hope you have better luck.

Visited March 2019

We had dinner here on an overnight stop in Matsumoto. My partner found it on a web site and we wandered in, got a table upstairs, ordered up some food and were very favourably impressed. Service was not the most efficient in the world (it was pretty busy), but we ate really well for what was a ver...y reasonable price.

Visited May 2018

Robata refers to a wide range of choices grilled on the spot and handed to you (if you're seated at the counter) on a long handled wood paddle. The options are on display in front of the grilling area and the customer can simply to point to what they would liked prepared. Tables are an option and En...glish menus available. All types of options are available: meat, fish, tofu, vegetables, yakitori, grilled rice cakes, etc. etc. Juices, teas, beer, wine, mixed drinks, and sake are the options.

Visited April 2017

We were there on a Monday so pretty quiet an not smokey (lots of aircon in any event). There are several churlish remarks in earlier reviews. OK, the staff don't speak English (why should they - we don't speak Japanese), but we still enjoyed a good laugh with waitress while trying to work out what ...we needed to order (there's a menu in English). Also, it's quite possible that some reviewers interpret Japanese humbleness and efforts to satisfy as unfriendly, I don't think that's fair - they are simply very concerned if they are unable to help. Anyway, back to the food - after a freebie starter (a largeish tasty piece of marinated fish) it's simple, quick and honest fresh food BBQ'd in front of you (try to get the seats in front of the grill). The food is mainly fish and veg and is on display prior to cooking so you can inspect the quality for yourself. Having said that, there's also chicken cooked in various ways, duck and liver. Two of us shared 6 courses (ample) and the bill was ¥5,000. We had been searching for a different restaurant, but couldn't find it so we visited this place on spec and I'm pleased to say we left full and happy!

Visited October 2016