Badalone (3.92 Tabelog) Hanamki, Iwate Prefecture Tohoku

Nestled in the heart of Iwate prefecture is an Italian Japanese restaurant, Badalone. Ran by husband and wife duo, Masayusa the chef and Mie the sommelier. I had a very enjoyable meal in an isolated town far away from the streets of Tokyo I wanted to share my experience asap.

The menu features at its heart, the bountiful resources of Iwate. The couple source all their ingredients but the olive oil from their local prefecture and they try to honour the ingredients best they can.

When I first arrived i was greeted by the couple, and quickly sat down where they showed me the menu written in japanese and english that they prepared specially for me along with detailed translated explanations about each course when served. They clearly want each guest to have a deeper understanding of the dishes. Luckily I speak Japanese and they were joyfully narrated where each ingredient comes from, showing me pictures of the source and also giving explanation about the Iwate region.

The food was delicious, I don’t recall having a piece of chicken as juicy and as crispy as the one they served. The pasta and risotto dishes used local substitutes, with pasta made infront of me using buck wheat flour giving it a soba feel and the rice being japanese grain farmed via traditional duck method. The drink options also didn’t let me down, Mie sourced drinks which paired really well with the dishes and even offered their own blend of tea and wine grape mixtures.

The course ran me up ¥15,000 with drinks totalling ¥4,000. The meal lasted around 1 hour 45 minutes, they were very accomodating me needing to catch a specific train time. I would recommend making the trek to Badalone for someone who wants to not only experience delicious food and wine but also enjoy an entire region which is often overlooked in Japan. I do think my experience was enhanced with my ability to speak japanese, the couple knows very basic english but they will try their best to communicate.