"Musaian Ikeda" is located in an elegant, stand-alone house with a glass facade that has been built to be surrounded by the greenery of Karuizawa, a place full of quality vegetables; a place that is nurtured by the abundance of nature.
The owner-chef Masaaki Ikeda’s aspiration to become a chef was influenced by his father’s love of eating out. After graduating the National École Culinaire and the French cooking school Escoffier, Ikeda trained in France for 6 months. Returning to Japan, he honed his skills working in French restaurants in Tokyo and Yokohama, then went on to work at "Musai-an," the sister-restaurant of Hermitage de Tamura in Karuizawa. After serving for seven years as the chef, he opened "Musai-an Ikeda," a restaurant that bears his own name, in the same resort town.
Bright colors are brought to the plate by ingredients that have been carefully selected by Ikeda, who places great importance on interacting with the producers. Particularly impressive is the generous amounts of Karuizawa vegetables used by the restaurant. Chef Ikeda is particular about using Kitaakari variety of potatoes from Kudo farm in Komoro for the chilled Kitaakari potato potage, which is a specialty dish. He adds truffles and consomme ice to the Kitaakari soup, bringing the dish a greater range of texture and fragrance. Each dish is finished lightly, so you can really sense the vitality of the ingredients. Another characteristic of the restaurant is the way that it casually incorporates a Japanese sensibility into things like the ingredients, seasonings, and cooking methods. "Musai-an Ikeda" stocks Japanee sake made in Nagano Prefecture and shochu, in addition to wine. This is French food that is easy to get used to, and elderly customers will also enjoy eating here. "Musai-an Ikeda" also attracts many customers from outside the prefecture.
Inside the restaurant, guests will find that time passes quietly in this space surrounded by natural light and greenery. Both the counter and table seating is available. Handmade items such as the tables and chairs by the Kiso-based artist Yoshiyuki Hannya and plates and chopstick holders created by ceramic artists add warmth to this stylish interior. Through the food served, "Musai-an Ikeda" allows customers to feel the sentiments of producers and the charms of this place called Nagano. We invited you to visit the restaurant with a sense of calm, so that you may enjoy flavors unique to this restaurant.
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*The availability of this webpage does not guarantee that the restaurant presented provides services in English unless otherwise stated. Please be aware that English services may also depend on staff availability at the restaurant.
【Access】
A 20-minute walk from NakaKaruizawa Station, Exit South(Shinano Tetsudo)
