Experience Fresh Game French Cuisine at hunters kitchen Roku in Nishinomiya

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Just a three-minute walk from Hanshin Nishinomiya Station, hunters kitchen Roku (Nishinomiya City) serves fresh venison and wild boar sourced from the foothills of northern Nishinomiya as game dishes with minimal gaminess. In addition to classic wine pairings, you can also enjoy combinations inspired by Nishinomiya’s sake-brewing heritage, making this restaurant feel truly deserving of the name “Nishinomiya Game.”

Deer taxidermy and a wine bottle shaped like a hunting gun (far right)

Opening the door by a deer-antler handle leads you into a space adorned with deer taxidermy and deer-themed ornaments that hint at the world of game cuisine. A display of wine bottles designed to resemble hunting rifles further raises anticipation for the meal ahead.

The restaurant’s standout feature is its on-site game processing area. By quickly handling the freshly caught venison and wild boar, they keep the unique odors of game meat under control. During our visit, we toured part of the facility and saw first-hand how carefully and thoroughly the ingredients are managed before becoming dishes. It was a vivid reminder of the weight behind “receiving an entire life” on our plates.

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Venison served on a turnip purée with apricot and port sauce, finished with Maldon salt. In the background is the chef’s original blended sake for the “Game French Course,” ¥11,000 (reservation required; dishes vary based on the day’s ingredients)

The lean venison is cooked at a low temperature for a tender finish. There is no gaminess—just delicate wild notes, a rich sweet sauce, and a gentle saltiness that together highlight the meat’s subtle umami.

While red wine is a classic partner for venison, the location of Nishinomiya also invites attention to sake pairings. The chef has sampled beverages from multiple breweries and blended four different sakes using assemblage techniques to create “Roku,” a sake designed to complement game cuisine.

As a first-time venison eater, I was completely won over.

Wild boar served in a natural wood dish with red wine

Presented on a natural camphor wood plate, the roasted wild boar reveals its richness with every bite. The slightly bitter citrus sauce and freshly cracked black pepper elegantly elevate the meat’s bold character.

Drawing on the bounty of the wild, the dish also brings a sense of vitality. Despite its rich flavor, the high-protein, low-fat meat leaves a surprisingly light finish.

For me, this dish changed the impression so much that I now prefer game when eating meat.

Head chef Watarishima

The Nishinomiya-born head chef, who gained experience in various food and beverage fields, places great importance on the stories behind ingredients and always wanted to work with game meat. Meeting the owner, an active hunter, made this restaurant possible.

He says the most rewarding moments are seeing guests who once avoided game take a bite and exclaim, “I had no idea it was this good.”

Besides the wooden dishes for wild boar, the counter and tables are made from single slabs of camphor wood. Camphor is a symbolic tree of Nishinomiya, and its use speaks to the restaurant’s connection to the city.

Sake “Roku” Photo credit / hunters kitchen Roku

The game served here—venison and wild boar—comes from the foothills of northern Nishinomiya. By presenting locally sourced game through French techniques, they hope to convey a fresh value to the cuisine. The chef’s blended sake “Roku” and the camphor wood cutlery further elevate the sense of enjoying “game in Nishinomiya.”

There is also a strong desire from the owner to pass on the hunter’s profession to the next generation so that people can better understand the meaning of “receiving life” and “being able to receive life.”

Nishinomiya has both mountains and sea, yet city life can cause us to overlook the natural blessings around us. The appeal of hunters kitchen Roku lies not only in its bold wild flavors but also in the way it celebrates the region’s unique natural gifts that can only be experienced here.