Savor Omi Beef and Ayu Cuisine! 11 Popular Restaurants to Enjoy Shiga’s Signature Local Food
Centered around Lake Biwa, Shiga is home to rich nature, history, and culture.
Alongside famous spots such as Enryaku-ji Temple on Mount Hiei, Hikone Castle, and the canal district of Omihachiman, the prefecture also offers a wide range of local specialties.
Among the best known are traditional favorites such as Omi beef, duck hot pot, ayu cuisine, and grilled mackerel somen.
This article introduces a carefully selected list of Shiga’s signature dishes and popular restaurants.
Stop by during your trip and experience the charms of Shiga with all five senses.
Shiga’s Signature Local Foods
Centered around Lake Biwa, the largest lake in Japan, Shiga is blessed with abundant nature and water resources.
It offers a lineup of signature dishes you should definitely try when visiting, including Omi beef, duck hot pot, ayu cuisine, and grilled mackerel somen.
Among them, Omi beef is especially famous nationwide. It is known for its finely marbled texture and elegant flavor, and can be enjoyed in a variety of dishes such as steak, sukiyaki, and shabu-shabu.
Duck hot pot, a beloved winter dish, is prized for the perfect harmony of rich duck flavor and savory broth.
Ayu cuisine, one of the best-known blessings of Lake Biwa, is prepared in many ways, from salt-grilled and simmered sweet to sushi, and is a dish that symbolizes the local food culture.
Grilled mackerel somen is another unique local specialty of Shiga, made by simmering grilled mackerel and somen noodles in a sweet and savory sauce, offering a simple yet deeply satisfying flavor.
Sushi made with fish from Lake Biwa and other local ingredients is also not to be missed.
Trying these local specialties during your trip around Shiga is a great way to feel the area’s natural bounty up close.
Be sure to enjoy the flavors of Shiga, shaped by the climate and history of this lake country, during your visit.
Where to Try Local Specialties: 11 Popular Restaurants in Shiga
Many travelers want to try Shiga’s signature dishes, but may not know which restaurants to choose.
This article introduces 11 especially popular restaurants, carefully selected from among the many places where you can enjoy Shiga’s local specialties.
Use this list as a guide and fully experience Shiga’s food culture.
1. Okaki Honten
Okaki Honten is an Omi beef restaurant located in Ryuo Town, Shiga Prefecture. It was founded in 1839 by the first-generation owner, Shoshichi, as a cattle and horse dealer.
At the main restaurant, Omi beef is served using a wide range of cooking methods, including simmering, grilling, and searing.
The menu is extensive, with set meals, sushi, hitsumabushi, and yakiniku. Especially popular are the Yakiniku Set Meal, featuring flavorful offcuts stir-fried with vegetables in a special sauce, and Jimi, a grilled meat set served in a wooden box with three different cuts.
2. Omi Niku Sennaritei Kyara
Omi Niku Sennaritei Kyara is a specialty restaurant dedicated to Omi beef, located along Yume Kyobashi Castle Road.
In the kura storehouse special room, said to date back to the Edo period (1603–1867), one special kaiseki course called Ichigo Ichie is available for just one group of up to 10 guests per day.
The signature menu item is Cha-shabu, made with kombu broth infused with Asamiya tea from Shiga Prefecture. The light tea aroma brings out the concentrated umami of the Omi beef.
3. Sennaritei Hachimanbori Branch
Sennaritei Hachimanbori Branch is operated by Sennaritei Fudo, an Omi beef specialty shop with 80 years of history.
It is a spot with both a retail shop and a restaurant.
One of its most popular menu items is the Sukiyaki Nabe Sampo Yoshi Gozen, which lets diners enjoy an Omi beef hot pot and nigiri sushi in one meal.
Other options include the Sukiyaki Nabe Gozen, Yakiniku Gozen, Steak Gozen, and Sirloin Steak Don.
4. Omi Beef Morishima Omihachiman Main Store
Omi beef is counted among Japan’s three great wagyu brands. Omi Beef Morishima Omihachiman Main Store is a long-established restaurant that has worked with Omi beef for Approx. 142 years.
What clearly sets it apart from other restaurants serving Omi beef is that it uses cattle raised with great care over Approx. two and a half years on its own ranch.
The beautifully marbled beef has an elegant appearance, and once you take a bite, its melt-in-your-mouth texture and sweet juices spread across your palate with every chew.
5. Sumimoto
This long-established Nagahama restaurant boasts more than 130 years of tradition. Located in the temple town in front of Daitsu-ji Temple, known for its main hall and grand hall said to contain remains of Fushimi Castle, as well as its garden designated as a national scenic site, it is a great place to enjoy local cuisine while visiting the temple.
Dishes made with natural ingredients are available only as course meals for both lunch and dinner.
From October to March, the restaurant serves a duck hot pot course that lets you fully enjoy the rich flavor of wild duck.
6. Chimoto
Chimoto is a ryokan in Nagahama City, Shiga Prefecture, founded in 1937.
Meals are served in Japanese-style rooms, and guests can enjoy ayu in summer, and duck, Omi beef, and eel dishes in winter.
Using local seasonal ingredients, the menu is adjusted depending on ingredient availability.
The ryokan also serves A5 Omi beef sukiyaki, shabu-shabu, steak, live-grilled ayu, and eel rice bowls with its secret sauce.
Another feature is that only Omi Koshihikari rice is used.
7. Ayu Ryori Shosui
Ayu Ryori Shosui in Otsu City, Shiga Prefecture, is a specialty restaurant for ayu cuisine with views of Lake Biwa.
Its distinctive style lets diners grill live ayu themselves before eating. The style of ayu cuisine differs between summer and fall.
In summer, courses centered on salt-grilled ayu are served, with either five or three fish included. In fall, limited seasonal courses featuring roe-bearing ayu are available, letting guests enjoy ayu dishes unique to each season.
8. Oshokuji Osakedokoro Michikusa
Oshokuji Osakedokoro Michikusa is located in the Kohoku area of Nagahama City, Shiga Prefecture. It is a dining spot where you can enjoy the local dish grilled mackerel somen.
Located in the Hokkoku Kaido Shopping Street, the restaurant operates in a renovated traditional house that was registered as a national tangible cultural property in 2021.
Its signature grilled mackerel somen is available in three styles: gozen meal, set meal, or à la carte.
The gozen comes with two small side dishes, miso soup, white rice, and pickles, making it a great way to fully enjoy this local specialty.
9. Yoka-ro
This local cuisine restaurant stands along the Hokkoku Kaido, a road developed during the Edo period to connect the Kinki and Hokuriku regions.
Its signature dish is Nagahama’s famous grilled mackerel somen. The sweet and savory grilled mackerel pairs perfectly with the somen noodles seasoned with its broth.
Be sure to try this local dish that has been passed down in Nagahama for generations. There are also set menus that come with items such as grilled mackerel sushi, so choose whatever suits your taste.
10. Sushi Fumoto
Located just steps from JR Maibara Station, Sushi Fumoto is a sushi restaurant run by its second-generation owner.
It is known for carefully selected seasonal seafood from across Japan, along with à la carte dishes and course meals made with ingredients from Shiga Prefecture.
Guests can enjoy Biwamasu, a fish that lives in Lake Biwa, as well as Omi shrimp raised in the spring water flowing from Mount Ibuki.
11. Hisago Sushi
This Japanese restaurant was founded in 1960.
You can enjoy locally sourced dishes made with fish from Lake Biwa and ingredients harvested in Omihachiman. If you visit from July to September, one dish you should definitely try is Amenouo Gohan, a seasoned rice dish made with Biwamasu, a fish found only in Lake Biwa and designated as part of Shiga Prefecture’s food culture heritage. Order a course meal to enjoy a full lineup of Shiga cuisine.
FAQ about Shiga’s Food
Q
Which area in Shiga has the most restaurants?
A
The central areas of Otsu City and Kusatsu City, especially around JR Otsu Station and Kusatsu Station.
Q
Are there restaurants or spots around JR Otsu Station where I can try local specialties?
A
Yes, you’ll find specialty Omi beef restaurants, traditional Japanese restaurants serving ayu cuisine, and local eateries offering grilled mackerel somen.
Summary
We’ve introduced a carefully selected list of restaurants where you can enjoy Shiga’s signature and popular dishes.
With places like Lake Biwa, Enryaku-ji Temple on Mount Hiei, and Hikone Castle, Shiga is an area where nature, history, and culture come together, nurturing a diverse food culture.
Along with Shiga’s scenic spots and historic landmarks, enjoying its traditional flavors is one of the true pleasures of traveling here.
To make your trip through Shiga even more enjoyable and efficient, check out the article below and experience its food, nature, and history all at once.