Steak Miya (aka Steak & Hamburg) is a chain of meat restaurants all over Japan. I never stopped by the Tsuruga, Fukui, shop before, despite passing by hundreds of times. So finally some friends and I decided to check it out to see how it compares to other meat restaurants like Ikinari! Steak or other regular family restaurants like Coco’s or Tomato & Onion.

The whole menu seems a bit pricey, but nonetheless, it’s the norm here in Japan. For example, here is 225g (8 oz) of hamburg steak and 75g (2.6 oz) of grilled steak that go for 1890￥ ($17 USD). Honestly, I was a bit worried because Ikinari is a bit cheaper than that…

But since they also offer a rather cool salad, soup, and drink bar (not alcohol), we thought we’d try it anyway. I ordered ? and the salad and soup bar for ?. The hamburg patty was pretty juicy and the steak was surprisingly succulent, soft, and delicious. Unfortunately, it was tiny. The soup and salad bar had a solid selection of options and everything was fresh. The killers were the sauce options… especially the gravy. We were all surprised at how legitimately tasty and rich it was!

I definitely had a nice meal with my friends there. If this was my only option in town, I’d come back, but unfortunately, there are other choices in Tsuruga that might be better worth the visit.

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I’ve been mocked for my reviews and writing style, but I’m just going to own it…

On our second food stop in Nagoya, we went to Pizzeria Braceria CESARI!, an Italian restaurant among a shopping street full of other foreign shops. I was surprised to see this was a Michelin Guide restaurant. My friends definitely made a good choice to come here.

Their lunch special, consisting of an appetizer, main, and dessert, was very reasonable at 1500¥ ($14 USD) although a few alternate options add a bit to the cost.

They first brought us some lovely, freshly baked bread.

My friends ordered the day’s Yellowtail Carpaccio salad and Chezari Oyster appetizers for themselves.

I opted for the Prosciutto Salad with 12-month cured ham and it was absolutely deliciously soft, salty, and divine.

It’s a good thing I liked it because I ordered the Prosciutto pizza for 650¥ more. My friends also decided on the Margherita and Chisato (4 cheese and honey) pizzas. From our cool little outdoor seating, we could see the kitchen staff preparing our hand-tossed pizzas, the delicious smell wafting out from the open door. The Margherita was the first to arrive and it was the “lightest” taste of the three. The other two arrived shortly after. All three pizzas were thin, flavorful, and quite reasonably sized.

After trying all three, I’d say the Margherita pizza was more the appetizer since it had a lighter flavor profile. My savory, salty, rich ham would be more of a main dish with the sweet and salty 4-cheese pizza more akin to a dessert.

I was glad I was hungry because I had to finish the leftovers. Oh, what a shame I had to consume the majority of all this deliciousness!

To top it off, we were offered a range of desserts. My friends ordered the mango and berry gelato and I opted for lemon dessert. Without a doubt, they were extremely delicious and a great finish to our plentiful meal.

I also want to note the extremely pleasant service we got from the staff, particularly our awesome waiter who did his best to speak English to us whenever possible. The whole experience really justifies their inclusion in the coveted Michelin Guide.

Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps.

Steak and Hamburg (ステーキ宮ステーキ&ハンバーグレストラン) in Tsuruga, Fukui

Pizzeria Braceria CESARI!! (ピッツェリアブラチェリアチェザリ‼) in Nagoya, Aichi