10 Great Restaurants in Sendai

Rintaro is a Japanese restaurant located in Sendai’s Ichibancho arcade shopping district. Here you can enjoy delicately cooked Japanese cuisine featuring fresh seafood landed in Sanriku, Sendai beef, and seasonal vegetables.

The menu options at lunchtime are very reasonably priced, and at night you can order omakase (chef's choice) dinner courses that combine traditional techniques with modern arrangement. A sake sommelier qualified as a sake advisor recommends local sake varieties from all over the country, including seasonal and rare sake. Of course, other drinks are also available. The interior of this restaurant combines the gentle texture of wood with beautiful glass, creating a stylish and refined ambience.

Ichimuan is a Japanese restaurant located on the 37th floor of the Westin Sendai. It’s produced by Yugyoan Tankuma Kitamise, a long-established restaurant in Kyoto.

Here you can enjoy seasonal Kyoto cuisine made with ingredients from Sendai, Tankuma Kitamise's special suppon marunabe (soft‐shelled turtle hot pot), and teppanyaki (dishes grilled on an iron plate) featuring Sendai beef and fresh seafood, on top of which there are great views looking out over the city. If you want to enjoy a leisurely meal with your friends or family, you can ask to use a private room.

Hayase is a Japanese teppanyaki restaurant located in Hotel Metropolitan Sendai. Its interior design is based on the clear waters of the Hirose River, the symbol of Sendai.

Not only can you enjoy authentic kaiseki cuisine (a traditional multi-course banquet) that brings out the finest flavours of the Tohoku region, but you can also opt to sit at the teppanyaki counter and try the highest-ranked Sendai beef and fresh seafood landed in Sanriku, which will be cooked right in front of you. You can also look forward to tasting unique local sake from Tohoku's 6 prefectures. Oh and don’t miss the Hayase-no Yoichi (Hasase's night market) option that allows you to choose your favourite seasonal seafood and vegetables and have them cooked whichever way you like. Halal dishes are also available (reservation required).

Sushi Yui enjoys a particularly high reputation among the sushi restaurants in seafood-rich Sendai. Every sushi topping is carefully prepared by the chef.

The only option is an omakase (chef's choice) course with sake also chosen by the chef. Amuse-bouches and nigiri-zushi (hand-rolled sushi) are served alternately. Akasu (red vinegar) is used for the nigiri-zushi. Some of the toppings are left to sit for a few days to enhance their flavour, and every piece is carefully prepared in turn. Scotch whiskey is even used as a seasoning for some toppings.

Nestled quietly on a back alley is the intriguingly names Japanese Cuisine e. (e period). The building looks really modern, featuring white walls and double doors.

The only option is a multi-course meal. There’s real finesse on show in dishes making the best use of seasonal ingredients to delight your eyes and palate. When ingredients from Miyagi aren’t available, only the finest, carefully selected ingredients from all over the country are used. The owner previously worked as a chef at a popular French restaurant in Sendai after training at a famous Japanese restaurant in Tokyo. His techniques are reflected in stunning dishes that blend Japanese and Western cuisine.

Hanaita is a Japanese restaurant located in Sendai’s Ichibancho shopping district. The highly skilled chef was rigorously trained in Ningyo-cho, Tokyo.

Since its founding, Hanaita has always been particular about using natural and organically grown ingredients, and they never use any additives in their soup stock or seasoning. They also use plenty of seasonal ingredients grown in Tohoku's rich natural environment in such a way that really brings out the taste of the individual ingredients. They also have a wide selection of sake perfectly suited to their dishes. As you enjoy the calm Japanese-style atmosphere, you can feel the beautiful changes of the seasons from the seasonal ingredients.

Beef Tongue Cuisine Kaku Electric Power Building Shop belongs to the Kaku chain that has opened beef tongue restaurants since 1988.

It’s believed that people in Sendai began to eat beef tongue in the late 1940s, after World War II. Grilled beef tongue was the main dish to begin with, but Kaku introduced beef tongue sashimi (sliced raw meat) and beef tongue tataki (minced meat) to the menu for the first time. Gradually, as the restaurant's reputation spread, more and more people came to eat beef tongue from inside and outside the prefecture. The curry and kakuni (stewed diced beef) are also popular. You can also visit the Vlandome Main Shop, Mitsukoshi-mae Shop, and the direct sales shop for takeaway only.

Kotora Sendai Ekimae Shop is a yakiniku (grilled meat) restaurant that’s also an official seller of Yamagata Prefecture's famous Yonezawa branded beef. The highest grade Yonezawa beef produced in the Yonezawa area is served here with a Yonezawa beef purchase certificate, with the beef delivered directly from Yamagata.

The menu includes multi-course meals that you can order even if you’re dining alone, and a recommended platter that’s a safe bet. Special couple's seats overlooking Sendai Station are popular for dates and meals with friends. The chic, dark interior makes this a perfect spot to relax and enjoy the highest quality Japanese beef.

CRAFTSMAN Sendai is a restaurant where you can taste various types of craft beer together with Italian cuisine that uses local ingredients from Tohoku.

Up to 31 types of carefully selected craft beer are served fresh from barrels collected from all over the world, mainly from Japan and the United States. They also have a good selection of New World wines. The Italian cuisine here is based on the concept of local production for local consumption, and the results speak for themselves. The dishes bring out the taste of fresh seasonal seafood and vegetables collected from all over the Tohoku region.

Tanya Zenjiro Sendai Station Ekimae Honten is the main restaurant of a Sendai beef tongue restaurant chain. It's a modern Japanese restaurant with an unpretentious atmosphere where you can enjoy a variety of beef tongue dishes together with local sake from Miyagi Prefecture.

To serve the most delicious beef tongue in Sendai, all the steps including selecting the beef tongue, salting, marinating and maturing are done manually by professionals who want customers to enjoy this classic Sendai dish. Rice cooked with barley, which is usually served with grilled beef tongue, is given a new twist by roasting the barley beforehand. The set menu and curries are also popular.