Owan Fu

The meal begins with a bowl: lift the lid and a gentle plume of dashi steam rises to greet you. This opening bowl, reflected in the name 御椀 ふぅ, lets the ingredients’ mellow umami unfold with each sip, easing you into the meal. Though set in a building away from the city’s bustle, the restaurant has a calm, quiet atmosphere inside; counter seats and private rooms offer a relaxed setting for a meal.

At the heart of the menu is the head chef’s omakase course, shaped by the day’s ingredients and the season. A carefully prepared assortment of appetisers is followed by fresh sashimi sourced from Toyosu and fragrant grilled dishes, served at an unhurried pace. To finish, there may be fluffy rice cooked in a clay pot or dashi chazuke topped with fragrant grilled saba heshiko. These closing dishes carry the deep, satisfying flavours of Japanese cuisine to the end of the meal.

Aizu sake and regional dishes to savour with a drink

A broad selection of local sake, centred on Aizuwakamatsu, adds another dimension to the meal. The lineup includes celebrated Fukushima sake such as Hiroki and Sharaku. Choosing a glass to accompany the clean sweetness of sashimi or the lingering notes of dashi is part of the pleasure. The à la carte dishes include Aizu horse sashimi with a rich umami flavour, grilled Fukui mackerel heshiko and Niigata salmon sake-zuke—savory choices that invite another drink.

There are drinks beyond sake, too: the Minamiaizu-wari combines Minamiaizu rice shochu called Nekka with Nangō tomato juice, while the umeboshi sour is made with large Aizu Takada plums. At dinner, à la carte orders are available with a course or after 9 pm. That makes 御椀 ふぅ an option both for a meal to linger over and for a later stop to unwind over drinks and small plates.