Today we stopped for brunch at Hata no Gochiso in Mito. Its a trendy standalone café located in Yonezawa-cho in the city of Mito. It’s in a great location just off of Sakura-dori and across the street from a number of large retail businesses. The concept of the café is to create food with fresh locally sourced ingredients in the farm to table approach. The café has a small farm attached to it. The farm supplements the menu with fresh seasonal vegetables.
We really liked the design of the building which felt really modern and minimalistic. The floor was just plain concrete which gave the space a very clean and simple look. Matching furniture and décor went well with the floor and exposed wooden accents. While the white walls with the natural color of the wooden trusses and beams contrasted each other nicely. The building was in the shape of a “U” with an open courtyard in the middle and some covered outdoor seating. Wide and nearly floor to ceiling windows let in a lot of natural light even on a cloudy day. There were a couple of private rooms that could be reserved for special gatherings as well.
Hata no Gochiso Menu
The daily specials are written on these cute chalkboards. The café has a normal set menu of paninis, rotational meat & fish dishes, daily specials and pasta dishes. They also have drink and cake sets that we can add to any of the meals. For our main courses we chose the prosciutto with fresh greens panini and the beef tagliata. We decided to supplement our brunch with a cake set. We chose the rum raisin flavored tea and the kabocha montblanc.
Hata no Gochiso Food Review
To start we had a small bowl of flavorful vegetable soup that had a homey and comforting aroma. The small bits of carrot and daikon melted in our mouths. I appreciate how the vegetable bits were small enough so that they did not interrupt the flow of the soup when we drank it.
The panini was pretty good. The prosciutto, fresh tomatoes, greens and crumbled cheese complimented each other quite nicely. No one flavor was overpowering. The vegetables were quite crispy and the whole sandwich was refreshing on such a hot day. The beef tagliata was quite delicious. The meet was cooked to about medium, had the right amount of seasoning, and wasn’t at all dry. Both of our meals came with a number of side dishes, like a bed of mixed greens, a small side of yogurt from Omitama, and a small sliver of frittata. The beef tagliata also came with a side of purple mash potatoes which in our opinion had close to no taste.
The rum raisin flavor tea was quite flavorful, we added a little sugar to cut down on the strong tea taste. The kabocha montblanc was my favorite part of the whole meal. Like many Japanese desserts, it had a very light taste. The cake was very fluffy and you could really taste the kabocha flavor in the cream layers. The sweetest part of the dish was the ice cream that complimented the cake nicely. A slice of fig, a cut grape, and a mint leaf added a nice variety of flavors. The kabocha montblanc was the perfect way to end a great meal.
Final Thoughts
Overall the food at Hata no Gochiso in Mito was really good. They use super fresh ingredients and have an ever changing seasonal menu. We can expect to try something new every time we go. We look forward to going again soon!
More to Come…
Here’s the link to their website.