10 Best Local Restaurants in Sendai

Umami Tasuke is said to be the originator of Sendai’s famous grilled beef tongue delicacy. Sticking to the teachings of the restaurant’s founder, Keishiro Sano, they serve beef tongue seasoned only with salt. They also stick to their original policy of slicing meat with a kitchen knife rather than using any machine.

In 1948, not long after the war, Keishiro Sano decided to focus on serving beef tongue as a unique ingredient that other restaurants would struggle to imitate, and so he opened a dedicated beef tongue restaurant in the city centre. Ever since then, Umami Tasuke has been drawing the crowds thanks to its exquisitely salted beef tongue.

Sendai Asaichi Morning Market is a permanent market near Sendai Station. It has about 70 shops selling fresh ingredients.

Sendai Asaichi started out as an open-air market formed in 1945 in front of Sendai Station, with its streets lined with stalls after the city was devastated by an air raid during the Pacific War. Thanks to Tohoku’s bountiful oceans, mountains, and plains, various local products from all over Miyagi Prefecture are brought to the Morning Market, ranging from Sendai strawberries in the spring to Sendai parsley and Sendai Chinese cabbage in the winter, and from silver salmon in the spring to oysters in the winter. It's definitely worth a visit first thing in the morning.

Located at the entrance to the Nakakecho Shopping Arcade in front of the West Exit of Sendai Station, Kuranosho Sohonten is an izakaya (Japanese-style pub) that has been in business for 30 years. As soon as you enter, you’ll be greeted by a large irori (traditional Japanese fireplace) more than 2 metres wide.

The counter seats surrounding the fireplace are the pick of the bunch. While watching seafood, meat, and vegetables being cooked right in front of you, why not take your time and savour some sommelier-selected local sake from Miyagi and the Tohoku region? Popular dishes include irori-yaki (charcoal-grilled foods), motsuni (offal stew) cooked with Sendai miso, and dashimaki tamago (rolled omelette made with soup stock). This pub chain has 2 more branches in Sendai: Ichibancho Honten and Kakyoindori Honten.

Mia Angela Ichibancho is part of an Italian restaurant chain that features fresh ingredients from Hokkaido. Focused on the concept of local production for local consumption, they serve main dishes using Hokkaido meat and seafood, and brick oven-baked pizzas using Hokkaido wheat.

The stylish Italy-inspired interior is neither too formal nor too casual, so you can kick back and relax as you enjoy a slice of the dolce vita. Mia Angela has 2 more branches in Sendai: Sendai Station East Exit and Nagamachi South.

Gyutan Sumiyaki Rikyu Sendai Station Shop is part of the famous Rikyu chain of restaurants specialising in beef tongue, a delicacy of Sendai. You’ll find it on the aptly-named “Beef Tongue Street” on the 2nd floor ("3F" in Japanese terms) of Sendai Station.

Beef tongue carefully prepared by skilled artisans is grilled quickly over charcoal. The popular beef tongue set meal features grilled beef tongue, oxtail soup, rice cooked with barley, nanban miso (chilli-infused miso), and oshinko (pickles). Order the ajikurabe teishoku taste-and-compare set meal if you want to try salt-flavoured and miso-flavoured beef tongue. There’s also an option to sagari, the root portion of beef tongue. The curries, stews, and beef tongue sausages are also delicious.

With its nostalgic ambience, Ramen Suehiro Honten is a long-running hole-in-the-wall Chinese restaurant. In fact, it was opened way back in 1931.

The ramen served here uses home-made noodles. The clear soup, with its delicious light flavour, is popular for taking diners back in time to a simpler age. Located right in the middle of the city of Sendai, it’s popular with shoppers and business travellers from other prefectures and is packed with customers regardless of the time of day. In addition to noodles such as ramen and tanmen (stir-fried meat and vegetable ramen), rice dishes such as chahan (stir-fried rice) and mapo set meals (rice with Sichuan-style spicy tofu) are also popular. If you visit in the summer, try the summer-exclusive ryofumen (cold ramen noodles).

Tsukasa is a beef tongue restaurant that has 4 locations in Sendai City and an international branch in Los Angeles. Beef tongue is carefully prepared and aged before being quickly grilled using the powerful heat of oak charcoal from Iwate Prefecture.

Tsukasa has a great reputation thanks to only using the tender parts of the finest Australian branded beef, so unsurprisingly it’s always packed with customers. And they keep coming back for the juicy beef tongue, with its soft yet crispy texture.

Senrei Zushi is a sushi restaurant that has 2 locations in Sendai Station, one on the ground floor (“1F Store”) and the other one on the 2nd floor (“3F Store”), which are popular with locals, tourists, and business travellers alike.

These restaurants are run by a fishmonger, so the ingredients are incredibly fresh. Around 40 types of fresh ingredients purchased that very morning are served here. At lunchtime, the ground floor branch offers hearty rice ball dishes of the day that are very popular. At night, you can enjoy local sake and seasonal local fish. At the restaurant on the 2nd floor, the only option is to eat while standing. If you don't have much time, this is a great way to sample some authentic sushi. The Senrei Zushi chain also has locations in Mitsui Outlet Park Sendai Port and Kokubuncho.

Kappo Tempura Santaro is a kappo (Japanese-style cooking) restaurant that’s been in business for 45 years. Here you can enjoy live shrimp and other seasonal items deep-fried right in front of you, not to mention delicious Sendai beef.

The Sendai beef sukiyaki (thin slices of beef cooked in a heavy iron pan with various vegetables and tofu) and Sendai beef shabu-shabu (a Japanese hotpot dish of thinly sliced meat and vegetables boiled in water and served with dipping sauces) are melt-in-the-mouth delicious, served with home-made sauce. The vibes here are peaceful thanks to the Japanese-style house ambience and the exceptionally beautiful garden you can see from the window. As well as a tempura counter overlooking the courtyard, the restaurant has private and semi-private rooms where you can enjoy meals quietly. In winter, the menu features a seasonal multi-course meal featuring puffer fish straight from Shimonoseki.

Gyu-Kaku is the yakiniku (grilled meat) restaurant chain that has the most branches in Japan. Gyu-Kaku Kokubuncho is just one of the chain’s restaurants in Sendai. In fact, there are 3 more locations around Sendai City.

"Providing delicious and cheap foods, and good service and atmosphere" is Gyu-Kaku's motto, and you can't really argue with that. Purchasing meat in bulk enables Gyu-Kaku to provide its meat at affordable prices, making it a popular choice for people of all ages. As well as a la carte dishes featuring beef, pork, and chicken, Gyu-Kaku also has all-you-can-eat options that include grilled meat, side dishes, and desserts, so it’s ideal if you’re eating out as a hungry family.