At Sushi Ikuta, the experience is all about offering the best local fish at great value. The restaurant offers several course menus to fit your appetite and budget.

The menu typically begins with a parade of fresh sashimi, showcasing the best fresh catches like shrimp, squid, flat clams and marinated white-eye tuna. Each dish is elegantly mounted on beautiful hand-painted small plates.

The pieces of nigiri are delicate and gem-like, each worked on with specific sushi techniques. For example, the soft and moist piece of sea bream sashimi is rested for a few days to deepen its flavor and served with citrus. Marbled tuna from Toyama is aged as long as two weeks. It brings out its buttery and sweet flavor.

Cherry salmon is also matured. It’s so rich and creamy it melts in your month. Tossed with some fresh shiso leaves, seasonal oval squid is sliced into delicate thin strips so they caramelize as you chew.

The rice used at the restaurant is a Koshihikari brand from Ishikawa Prefecture that is known for its bold flavor. They mix old and new crops and season it with a mix of red and rice vinegars. The perfect rice is never too hard nor too soft. Ikuta visited many restaurants trying all sorts of sushi rice and this particular brand tasted the best to him.

In addition to the sushi, he creates beautiful seasonal dishes. The saikyo-style grilled sandfish is aromatic and flavorful, the miso on the skin is perfectly broiled. Steamed local monkfish liver is shaped into rounds and bathed under a thickened dashi sauce. Topped with grated daikon radish, green onions and perilla flower, the dish is stunning to look at.

The end of the meal is a warm soup, made with deep and rich seafood dashi. The flavorful broth soaks into your full stomach and warms your soul.

INGREDIENTS
Almost all ingredients used at Sushi Ikuta are sourced locally from areas such as Wajima, Noto, Himi, Shinminato, Nanao and Kanazawa. The chef finds the best catch of the day from fishmongers friends he trusts and has known for a long time. Even if it’s before dawn or after midnight, he’s off on a fishing boat every chance he gets.

“I’m the happiest when I get to serve a delicious dish made with the fish I caught,” he says. For sake, the restaurant favorite is Kagatobi, an Ishikawa vintage. They focus on stocking local sake for visits from outside the prefecture and abroad.