Kappo Shinsuke

The 8-seat counter at this Nagoya kappo restaurant is one of the best places in the city to watch expert Japanese cooking up close. There’s a feeling of great intimacy and immediacy at play when the chef whips up a dish from scratch, before passing it over to you right away. This Kyoto-trained kappo maestro is a native of Gifu prefecture, and he serves up a taste of his home by using vegetables grown at his own family house. To accompany them, you’ll find any number of delicious seasonal seafood, including sweetfish, freshwater oysters, unagi (eel), and sea bream. If you have any specific requests or requirements for your meal, feel free to voice them when making your reservation. There’s nothing overly ostentatious in the presentation of the dishes. Instead, the chef displays great humility, and deferral to the natural flavors and textures of his ingredients, which he believes should be the stars of the show.