RISTORANTE CANOFILO

Since opening its doors in 2002 under its old name Ristorante Terzina, Ristorante Canofilo has become a top-of-the-mind pick for authentic Italian cuisine in Sapporo — the kind that manages to balance between the warmth of home-cooked dishes with the plates meant to go with a glass of sommelier-approved wines. The comfortable style attached to Italian cuisine the restaurant is courtesy of chef Ogawa Satoshi, who’s expanding his culinary focus to present a complete tableau of Italian offerings from seafood and red meats to freshly made pasta. The ethos is mirrored in its new name: "Canofilo," a term coined by Ogawa, embodies a harmonious blend of love and food, reflecting the melodic way in which ingredients come together on the plate. In the kitchen, Ogawa would select ingredients with a focus on Hokkaido-grown and Italian-flown ingredients, such as truffles, polpette and artisanal cheese, so that familiar local flavors are enhanced with unexpected touches. The prix fixe menus, offered at different price points for lunch and dinner, follow an omakase-style format, ensuring that no two meals are ever the same. Past dishes have creatively merged regionality with innovation, featuring delights like tagliolini with squid and asparagus in a rich tomato sauce, or a main course of flounder paired with sweet potatoes and butterbur soup. Tucked in a local neighborhood near the narrow Sosei River, Ristorante Canfilo’s space is as charming as its cooking. The white tablecloths that sit with silverware may say more about the kind of crowd or dining experience the venue wants to focus on, yet there’s still a sense of ease flowing across the dining space.