Mikage Public Hall Restaurant

Mikage Public Hall Restaurant. Isn’t that a kind of cool name for a restaurant? I have had such a particularly unfounded interest in this Western-style restaurant ever since I learned of its existence, so I went to the restaurant one day during lunch time. When I actually went there, I was surprised at how nice the atmosphere was. Kobe City is so kind to include such a restaurant in the city facilities. I envy those who live around here… I will now introduce what kind of restaurant it was, so please continue reading this article until the end…

Even though it is attached to a community center, the atmosphere and food are of the quality of a luxury hotel…Mikage Public Hall Restaurant is a restaurant like this

As the name suggests, Mikage Public Hall Restaurant is a Western-style restaurant located inside Mikage Public Hall, a public facility operated by Kobe City. When one hears the words “public hall,” one imagines an ordinary concrete building with no decoration, but that is indeed the case in Kobe, where the building has the appearance of a European-style building. The history of this public hall dates back to prewar 1933, and it has been renovated after the war up to the present. In the past, it was used as a wedding hall, and at the time of the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake, it was also used as an evacuation center, making it an indispensable place for local residents.

Mikage Public Hall Restaurant has been located on the basement floor of the building since 1933, the same year the public hall was built. The restaurant’s first chef, who had worked his way up to head of the department at the Rihga Royal Hotel in Osaka, seemed to fit in very well with the use of the public hall as a wedding hall. The restaurant still retains traces of its wedding hall days, with a retro yet sophisticated atmosphere, massive furnishings by an old-time designer, and classical music playing in the background, making guests feel as if they are in a traditional, high-class restaurant. Although located in a public facility, the atmosphere and food are of the quality of a luxury hotel. This is the kind of restaurant that I would like to leave to future generations, not just to use, but in the same state as it is now…

Advance reservations are required for orders of three or more servings… How was the popular menu item at Mikage Kokaido Restaurant, Kuroge Wagyu Beef Cutlet (made in Japan), when I actually tried it?

Let me introduce the popular menu item I ordered at Mikage Public Hall Restaurant that day: Kuroge Wagyu Beef Cutlet (made in Japan). The price is 1,750 yen, including tax, for a single item. Add rice and soup, and the total price is 2,200 yen, plus 450 yen tax included…

After about 15 minutes of waiting, the soup included in the set arrived. The soup is a mildly sweet and tasty vegetable potage to warm up my cold body, and just as I was finishing the soup…

Beef cutlet of Japanese black beef was brought to the table. The beef cutlet is about 100 grams. Although the volume of the beef cutlet is undeniably lower than that of tonkatsu, you can eat a beef cutlet made of Japanese black beef for only about 2,000 yen. I must be thankful for that.

But aside from that, this beef cutlet is actually a very difficult menu item to eat. It is probably because they can only serve a limited number of it. Although the menu does not say “limited quantity,” it does say, “Please order no more than two servings of Beef Cutlet. If you want more than two servings, please make a reservation”. In fact, I once visited the restaurant around 11:30 a.m. and found that they had already sold out of beef cutlets 30 minutes after the opening time. Perhaps it is better to make reservations in advance even for orders of two meals or less.

Looking at the cross section, it looks like two pieces of thinly sliced Japanese black beef meat are piled on top of each other, coated with a batter, and deep-fried. The meat was light and lean with little fat. The meat is tender as expected, but the batter that wraps the outside is thick and quite hard. So, overall, the hardness of the batter prevailed, giving it a crispy texture.

The demi-glace sauce on this beef cutlet is right up my personal alley. In addition to the richness of the sauce, the fruity acidity of the tomatoes and the mellow aroma of the red wine can be felt somewhat moderately, but the tomatoes and red wine do not fight with each other at all and are in perfect harmony. Therefore, there are no sharp edges at all, and the rich acidity and aroma spread through the mouth and nose. This demi-glace sauce is definitely one of the top three sauces in my memory. The sauce left on the plate is not to be eaten with rice or bread, but rather, it makes me want to lick it off without leaving a single drop.

こんな感じの御影公会堂食堂の人気メニュー・黒毛和牛のビフカツ（国産）、連日売り切れ必至なのがよくわかる完成度でした。特にデミグラスソースの出来がヤバくって、近くに住んでいたらリピート間違いなしだったしょうね。このデミグラスソースを使った他の料理も今度試してみたいなぁ…でも、このお店にはハンバーグないんですね、残念。でもオムライスもハヤシライスも美味しそうだったし、きっと何回行っても楽しめる洋食店だと思います。

This is how Mikage Public Hall Restaurant‘s popular menu, Kuroge Wagyu Beef Cutlet (made in Japan), was so perfect that I could understand why it is inevitably sold out every day. The demi-glace sauce was especially good, and if I lived nearby, I would definitely repeat my visit. I would like to try other dishes using this demi-glace sauce next time…but this restaurant doesn’t have hamburgers, unfortunately. But the omelette rice and hashed rice also looked delicious, and I am sure you will enjoy this Western-style restaurant no matter how many times you go there.

Examples of other menu items at Mikage Public Hall Restaurant (all single items, prices include tax)

• Set A (soup, beef stew, fried shrimp, salad, rice, coffee) 2,200 yen
• Beef stew with salad: 1,800 yen
• Fried shrimp 1350 yen
• Pork loin cutlet (made in Japan ) 1,350 yen
• Hayashi rice 1150 yen
• Beef curry 970 yen
• Omelette rice 950 yen

Aim for the 100th anniversary of the establishment! And hopefully even after that… Access to Mikage Kokaido Shokudo is a 5-minute walk from the nearest station, Ishiyagawa Station on the Hanshin Railway.

Mikage Public Hall Restaurant was founded in 1933, so it will celebrate its 100th anniversary in eight years. I hope that the restaurant will continue to operate with that goal in mind. And afterwards if possible… Personally, I think this restaurant is no longer just a restaurant, but a cultural heritage of the community.

Now, here are the details of the restaurant…

P.S. If you are looking for delicious beef cutlet in Kobe, please stop by this article below…