Enjoy Hitachi Beef, Monkfish Hot Pot, and More! 11 Popular Restaurants in Ibaraki

“Hitachi Beef Cuisine Hitachino” is located in a setting with a view of Mt. Tsukuba. It is a restaurant where you can fully enjoy authentic Hitachi Beef.
The signature dish is “charcoal-grilled Hitachi Beef,” slowly grilled over charcoal. Graded A4 and A5, Hitachi Beef is tender and known for its moderate marbling and deep umami flavor.
To bring out that flavor to the fullest, the style at “Hitachi Beef Cuisine Hitachino” is to season it simply with salt and pepper.

“Shimofuri Beef Steak Sen” is located near the Tsukuba Shimohirooka intersection.
It is a steak specialty restaurant serving carefully selected “Hitachi Beef.” Its commitment is to use locally sourced ingredients.
In addition to four types of course meals, the menu includes steaks available from 100g and hamburg steaks.
There is also a kids’ lunch for children age 12 and under only. The weekday lunch menu is extensive, with items such as hashed beef rice and omurice.

“Restaurant Iijima” is a directly operated restaurant of “Niku no Iijima,” a Hitachi Beef specialty shop based in Mito, Ibaraki Prefecture.
The restaurant serves high-quality Ibaraki-produced “Hitachi Beef,” known for its excellent balance of rich lean flavor and marbling.
It offers a wide-ranging menu centered on set meals and course meals.
Among the most popular dishes are “Hitachi Beef steak,” “beef stew,” and “hamburg steak.”

Located in Mito City, Ibaraki Prefecture, “Oishii Niku no Restaurant Yume Roman” is a Western-style restaurant within walking distance of JR Joban Line Akatsuka Station.
It serves carefully selected steaks and hamburg steaks. The restaurant’s specialty is its “Hitachi Beef blend hamburg steak.”
Made with 100% domestic beef of A4 rank or higher, it is prepared using the restaurant’s own method to bring out the meat’s flavor to the fullest, creating a texture similar to steak.

“Mito Sansui” has long preserved the tradition of Ibaraki’s local dish, “monkfish hot pot.” In 2023, it was selected as one of Mito’s long-established restaurants that should be preserved for future generations.
The restaurant’s signature dish is “monkfish hot pot.” It is seasoned with a secret roasted miso blended with ankimo into a soy sauce-based broth.
It is known for its distinctive savory aroma and rich flavor.

“Shokusai Taishin” is a Japanese restaurant in Kitaibaraki Otsu Port specializing in seafood dishes and monkfish. The owner personally purchases seafood from Otsu Port and Nakoso Port to serve it fresh.
A popular menu item, “dobu-ni,” is a concentrated dish simmered without water, using only the moisture from vegetables and monkfish.
There is also “monkfish hot pot,” with a creamy, easy-to-enjoy miso-based flavor.

Here you can enjoy seasonal Japanese cuisine, including the restaurant’s signature fugu and monkfish dishes. Ingredients are mainly sourced from Ibaraki.
It operates as a Japanese café during the day and a kappo restaurant at night. Each offers courses where you can enjoy its signature fugu and monkfish dishes.
During the day, the lunch menu item “Kisaku Gozen Wakakusa,” featuring rice balls and obanzai made with seasonal ingredients, is also popular.

“Nabe Kappo Ryokan Sakuraya Honten” is located in Oarai Town, Higashiibaraki District, Ibaraki Prefecture. It is known as a renowned establishment serving seasonal local fish from Ibaraki and Ibaraki specialties with kappo culinary techniques.
The restaurant prides itself on carefully prepared dishes that make the most of the ingredients’ natural flavors.
Its signature “monkfish hot pot” is served only during the winter season, from November to March.
The plump meat and rich ankimo dissolve into the broth, creating a flavor that warms the body.

“Koushiya Hitachi Ekimae Branch” serves seafood dishes made with local fresh fish.
It is popular for offering local fresh fish directly purchased from Ose Fishing Port and Kuji Fishing Port in Hitachi City, Ibaraki Prefecture, at reasonable prices.
One standout is the “natural pufferfish sashimi” landed off the Hitachi coast, known for its distinctive elasticity and refined sweetness.
There is also the premium course “Fugu & Hitachi Beef,” where you can fully enjoy Hitachi cuisine.

“Kaisendonburi-tei” is attached to “Oarai Seafood Market.” Its lineup features seafood rice bowl dishes you would expect from a diner near a fishing port.
Leading the menu is the tuna rice bowl with thick-cut tuna. The soft and fluffy kama-age whitebait rice bowl is also irresistible, and the sea urchin and salmon roe rice bowl lets you luxuriously compare popular toppings, making for a diverse selection.

“POTATO LABO” is located in Hitachinaka City, Ibaraki Prefecture. It is a specialty shop for sweet potato desserts that opened in 2022.
Its focus is on bringing out the full flavor of sweet potatoes, a local specialty of Hitachinaka City.
It pursues quality in every detail, from selecting sweet potatoes to production methods and the people who make the sweets.