At Sobakiri Hatae, you can enjoy fresh, seasonal fish and tempura, and round out your meal with a bowl of soba. Every morning, owner Shinji Hatae heads to the Yanagibashi Market to procure the fresh ingredients for his tempura. Each piece of sizzling, crispy tempura is brought to your table as soon as it’s ready and should be enjoyed while it’s still hot. Choose salt, lemon or tangy tempura sauce for your seasoning. Hatae-san recommends you try some sake with your tempura. The chic interior is quiet, and Hatae-san times the tempura to the pace at which you eat, making this a great spot for a leisurely date. The handmade soba uses pure buckwheat flour. You can choose from two styles: a coarse-ground whole grain soba or a higher grade soba that contains more germ. A pinch of wasabi in your dipping sauce adds just the right kick to the aromatic soba.
Menu: Tenzaru ¥3,600 (6 kinds of tempura + cold soba), ¥5,800 (10 kinds of tempura + cold soba), cold soba ¥1,100, soba with duck and green onions ¥2,500, specialty platter ¥2,500~, sake ¥600~¥1,500, champagne/glass ¥1,400, Perrier ¥500
* Visa and Mastercard accepted / No smoking / Reservations available
Originally published in Fukuoka Now Magazine (fn224, August 2017)
