German wine bar Riesling offers very affordable wines and good, solid German food. The wine list features eighteen wines by the bottle, most of them in the Y4,500-6,000 range, and seven or eight by the glass. Erdinger weissbier is their draft beer. Among the wine-friendly snacks here, the zwiebelkuchen - a tart made with caramelized onions, bacon, cheese, eggs and cream - is highly.... [Continue reading]

Sobameshi is a unique local dish that originated in the Nagata district of Kobe in the 1950s, and it's one of the specialties of this shop. The name describes a mix of yakisoba (fried wheat noodles) and yaki-meshi (fried rice), which are chopped up and prepared together on an iron grill along with beef tendon, shredded cabbage and seasonings. It's eaten with an okonomiyaki-style sauce,.... [Continue reading]

Treat yourself to a coffee adventure at the tastefully minimalist Ogawa Coffee Laboratory, where you can select any of 19 different single-origin beans and blends. The theme of the shop is "Experience-based Bean Salon," so go ahead, give the beans a sniff! You can choose from pour-over (hot only), espresso variations (hot or iced), or Aeropress treatment for whatever beans you select. .... [Continue reading]

Blue Bottle's central-Kobe branch, designed by Tokyo's Schemata Architects, is a gorgeous spot in which to enjoy a coffee break. It's got a chicly minimalist concrete-and-wood decor, high ceilings, and lots and lots of space. The soundtrack is upbeat and modern without being intrusive. The coffee is reliably good. They offer a range of espresso drinks, including something called a.... [Continue reading]

Twenty-two different hamburgers are served at this American-themed burger joint, with some unusual variations like Cream of Spinach Mushroom Burger, Guacamole Cream-Cheese Burger, and the Niagara Burger - a cheese-lover's treat with toppings of Parmesan, Mozzarella, Gorgonzola and Boursin. The Special Smoked Bacon Burger showcases the shop's excellent home-smoked bacon, garnished with.... [Continue reading]

The excellent gourmet burgers here are made with domestic Japanese beef and premium topping ingredients, and come in three sizes - mini (shown in the photo), regular and double. They pour well-selected craft beers and cider from five taps, and there's also a handful of canned beers and ciders to explore in the beer fridge. The shop is open all day long, so you can pop in for a late lunch.... [Continue reading]