Tansada Heritage Machiya

The chef brings out the best in seasonal ingredients to conjure simple, tasty fare. Early morning market visits, part of his daily routine, furnish the ingredients that inspire ideas for his kitchen. Pasta of sweetfish and crab, simmered in their own broth, express the candid flavours of the season. Wines that bring out the flavours of each dish are part of the appeal of Vena. Ask the sommelier about the house’s range of finely aged wines.

The house began life as a travelling fishmonger, carrying fish from Wakasa Bay to scattered markets, then gradually transitioned into a restaurant. The sixth-generation head, Motokazu Nakamura, took over the reins having been the only one entrusted with the craft he learned at his father’s side. For the white miso zoni, he only uses water drawn from a well on the premises to dissolve the miso. Sake-grilled tilefish is doused in sake multiple times, piling flavour on top of flavour. The chef tends the kitchen with his son, who trained abroad, passing skills and spirit from one generation to the

The owner and chef are a picture of brisk motion behind the counter. Offerings range from simple fare to more elaborate dishes, so everyone can choose something they fancy. Soups of ground vegetables and fruit mark each season. Potato salad is served Mirei-style: adding cucumber pickled in rice bran. Nama-fu (a steamed mixture of wheat gluten and rice flour) baked with blue cheese shows the house’s playful side. When a single dish is prepared, the owner asks if we’d like him to split it for us—a considerate touch.

The chef is an earnest devotee of everything that makes a restaurant great, thanks to careful study of ingredients, culinary technique and attention to every customer. Recipes are tested over and over to get the flavour just right. Knowing that the taste of dashi soup stock changes over time, the chef patiently rests his stock to draw out the flavour. While known to refer to traditional methods, alternations between new and old are a signature of Nakamitsu’s menus.

The colour scheme speaks of immaculate purity. The white interior is refreshing; the blank spaces left in the arrangements bring clarity of focus. Eager to share the attractions of his hometown with the world, the chef largely gets his ingredients from Shimane Prefecture. Seafood arrives from former classmates; fruit from farmers for his desserts. The style is Italian-based cuisine made with Japanese foodstuffs, bringing the delicious taste of quality ingredients to the fore.

This creative cuisine reflects the chef’s gastronomic journey. Spanish and French techniques find application in recipes from Okinawa, where the chef was born and raised. A tapa named ‘Ryukyubon’ is one example. This version of a dish from the Ryukyu royal court is arranged on Yachimun pottery and served on a Ryukyu lacquer tray. Purees and sauces form tracks drizzled atop asado grilled over wood or charcoal in a stone oven.

The name is short for ‘yakitori no saki’, meaning ‘the future of yakitori’, and a harbinger of things to come in the yakitori world is just what Torisaki aims to be. Using brand-name chicken from Fukushima, the chef and his team grill skewers of chicken over a high flame. A chicken skewer combining liver with chochin has become a signature item thanks to the affinity between the cuts used. The atmosphere of the machiya interior is nostalgic; the sight of the cooks in their twisted headbands a cheerful welcome.