Wagamama Noen Cafe” – Hokkaido’s bounty is plentiful!Excellent Lunch Plate [Ishikari City

One of the pleasures of summer in Hokkaido is the drive to the countryside and the gourmet food that can be enjoyed at each destination.Recently, farm restaurants that serve freshly picked vegetables prepared on the spot have been gaining popularity.In this special edition of our blog, we would like to introduce the very popular Wagamama Noen Cafe in Ishikari City, a suburb of Sapporo.The authentic cuisine, sweets, and warm hospitality will surely satisfy anyone’s body and soul…
Please note that this article is a special edition and falls outside the gluten-free category.

Wagamama Noen Cafe is about a 45-minute drive from Sapporo!

Wagamama Noen Cafe is located in Ishikari City, a neighbor of Sapporo City, about 45 minutes by car from Sapporo City.
If you use public transportation, the nearest station is Tobetsu Station on the JR Gakuentoshi Line.From the station, a 12-minute drive will take you there.

In the suburbs, there is ” Hokuou no Kaze” Roadside Station Toubetsu, ” JA Sapporo Jimono Ichiba Torinosato ” where you can buy locally produced vegetables, and my favorite ” Harukichi Organic Farm Direct Sales”.If you can drive there and want to buy vegetables produced in Hokkaido, please make it a part of your driving route.

Wagamama Noen Cafe also sells homegrown vegetables as well as products from nearby farmers such as “Torinosato” and “Harukichi.

Now, here we are!

Farm owner and his signature dog, Cook, welcome you.

Lunch opens at 11:00 a.m. (We also have a morning service!Please check the store’s SNS listed at the bottom for the schedule)

Reservations are accepted, but when the author inquired the day before his visit, the restaurant was already fully booked.
But happily, they also have seats available for those who do not have reservations.
So if you were not able to make a reservation, we recommend that you arrive early and wait.

There is a board at the entrance to fill in the number of people on the waiting list, so fill in your name and contact information.

As we waited for a while, gazing at the farm spread out before us, the man (father) who owned the farm and was standing by Cook, the signboard dog, spoke to us in a friendly manner.

The owner, who originally worked for a company outside of Hokkaido, happened to be transferred to Hokkaido, which brought him to Ishikari.

With the help of neighboring farmers, the owner’s family re-established themselves as farmers here around 2000.

Then, after completing his culinary training in Tokyo, he returned to Hokkaido with his daughter and mother and started Wagamama Noen Cafe in 2015.
During that time, he readily shares valuable episodes such as his father’s major heart surgery, the hardships of farming, and even the history of this land.

I am sure they were trying to keep us occupied while we were waiting, but the bond with the family and the warmth of the locals made us look forward to visiting the restaurant more and more.

The chef’s skill shines through in this exquisite lunch!

At 11:00, we were able to enter the restaurant as the first round of customers.
The restaurant has a first floor and a second floor, and you are taken to the first floor where you can see the kitchen.

Drink prices listed on the lunch menu apply only to lunch orders .

It was hard to decide which to choose!
I sometimes eat wheat bread, but being a gluten-free blogger, I ordered the rice set.

The author has “Thinly sliced pork cutlet of Mochorai pork thigh with basil sauce and cheese” (rice)
My companion has “Sautéed Kasube with caper sauce” (rice) in 2.

By the way, the coffee served here is made by Michimichitaneya, which also has a workshop in Ishikari.
I have occasionally purchased their coffee at events in Sapporo, and it is a very tasty coffee roasted over charcoal.

We order an iced coffee, just like in summer, and enjoy it slowly until the food is ready.

The interior is exquisitely designed to allow a moderate breeze to flow through, making the summer heat that you feel on your skin very comfortable.
I had a cup of deep roasted iced coffee at the best time of the day!I was able to enjoy the deep roasted iced coffee at the most delicious timing.

Soon after, the lunch salad and cold burdock soup arrived.
Plenty of vegetables!

Several salads of different flavors coexist on one plate.There is even kinpira gobo (burdock root) in there!
It’s a luxury that only a farm café can offer such a plentiful supply of vegetables.
And the base onion dressing is outrageously delicious.

I forgot to take a picture, but the dressing was also sold in the store.
I will try to purchase it next time I visit.

Now comes the main dish you have been waiting for!
Thinly sliced pork cutlet with basil sauce and cheese.

Wow!
A visual that makes you say, “Wow!
The finely breaded cutlet has the appearance of a schnitzel (German-style cutlet).

The inside of the dish looks like it is made by layering thin slices of meat and deep frying them, but there is also some kind of sauce inside, and when I put a knife to it, the sauce started to pour out.
The thin batter is crispy, the meat inside is tender, and when you toss it with the sauce inside and the basil sauce…
it’s just irresistible and “exquisite”.

The accompaniments are no mere trifle.
The steamed cabbage, broccoli, and zucchini were moist and juicy, packed with the flavor of the vegetables.Hidden underneath was a thick mashed potato that was made from winter potatoes.It was so sweet and delicious that I could eat it forever.

It is a very exciting feeling to think that the ingredients, which have been grown by the hands of so many people, are now here in their most delicious state.

Now, let’s have a taste of my companion’s fish plate.
Sautéed Kasbeh with caper sauce.

Some people may not get the idea when they hear the word “kasube,” but many may recognize it when you say “stingray.
It is a relatively major white-fleshed fish in Hokkaido, and is characterized by the fact that it can be eaten with its cartilage.
However, the author has never cooked it (laugh).
In eateries, boiled fish and fried fish are probably the most common.

The golden brown sautéed kasube is soft and plump with no cartilage.The meat is tender and plump, and the subtle spiciness of the capers goes well with it.The taste is even more delicious when served with moist cabbage and creamy mashed potatoes.

Both dishes were made with great care and attention to detail, and I could feel how grateful I was to be able to enjoy them.And I was deeply grateful to be able to enjoy them.

 Carrot cake after dinner.

Wagamama Farm Cafe offers a wide variety of cakes and desserts.
Lunch is served until 2:00 p.m., but from 2:30 p.m. to sunset (this is a lovely expression), it is café time, with light meals, snacks, and parfaits available.

I accidentally forgot to take a picture of the cafe time menu, but it seems that they also have light meals other than sweets, such as buckwheat galette and salad bowls.
Please check with the restaurant for details. m(__)m

Now, the author was shown to a seat facing the cake showcase in front of him, so he couldn’t help but notice the cake the whole time (laughs).

The wheat used in these cakes is also, of course, grown in Hokkaido.
Although the author usually refrains from eating wheat, when he has the opportunity to enjoy such high quality products, he takes the stance that he will enjoy them.

So I ordered an additional “carrot cake” (450 yen), which I was very curious about.

I was nervous inside because I couldn’t get a full picture of the size of the cut from the showcase, but the small size was just right for after dinner.

One bite reveals the sweet flavor of carrots, walnuts, and a hint of spice.
This alone is delicious enough, but when eaten with a thin layer of cream cheese, the flavor is even more intense and delicious.

It is not too sweet, so it would be good for brunch or breakfast.
I ate it all up while thinking, “I’ll never forget this…”.

If the cakes are this good, you will want to visit us at cafe time next time.
Thank you very much for your hospitality!

Aside: How did you get to know Wagamama Noen Cafe?

This is the first time I have visited the store, but I actually had a lunch box from Wagamama Noen at one of their events in 2020.(I’m glad I took a picture!)

I was invited by a friend to participate in a hands-on herb picking event at La table Verte, an herb apiary in Ishikari.
This bento uses vegetables from Harukichi Organic Farm, which we introduced at the beginning of this article.

After the herb-picking experience, we all enjoyed an outdoor lunch while listening to the farm owner talk about organic farming methods, a wonderful experience in retrospect.

The delicious and tasty bento we received here was a special lunch box from the Wagamama Noen Café.

I had visited Harukichi several times a year to buy vegetables from the event, but this was the first time I was able to visit the Wagamama Noen Cafe.

Wagamama Noen Cafe Store Information

From the greeting at the entrance, to the consideration for reservations, to the coziness of the restaurant, to the delicious food, there is nothing “selfish” about it (laughs).

In a way, if the family that runs the business is “able to do what they want, how they want”…
If it is “selfish” in that sense, then it may be a very pleasant “selfishness” for those that visit.In a way,

I hope that the company will continue to be selfish in the future and continue to do so for a long time.


Thank you for taking the time to read this to the end.

store name	Wagamama Noen Cafe
address	87-3 Takaoka, Hachiman-cho, Ishikari City　Open Map
Access	・Approximately 45 minutes from Sapporo by car ・Approximately 12 minutes by car from JR Tobetsu Station
phone	08018850050
Business Hours	11:00-Until sunset ※lunch〜14:00　coffee break14:30～ ※Some days we close early for preparation. ※Morning business days available (check official SNS). ※See Remarks for reservations.
regular closing day	Tuesdays and Wednesdays 【Winter Closing Period】12月～3月 ☆Please also check our official Instagram for hours of operation and holidays.
parking lot	10 cars on site
cashless payment	Cash Only
number of seats	20 seats
accompanied by children	OK
Official SNS	Instagram https://www.instagram.com/wagamamafarmcafe/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/wagamama.farm/
External site (Tabe Log)	https://tabelog.com/hokkaido/A0107/A010702/1051120/
remarks	【About Reservations】 ・Reservations accepted by phone only. ・Reservations limited to 4 groups at 11am. （The restaurant has made a special effort to accommodate people who do not have reservations!） ・For those who do not have an appointment, please fill in your contact information on the board that will be set up from 10:30 a.m. and wait.