The tempura specialty restaurant “芦屋天がゆ” from Ashiya also has a location on the 4th floor of Gardens (there’s one in Kurakuen-guchi as well).
As the name “Itaba-age Tempura” suggests, all seats are counter-style, and the restaurant serves tempura freshly fried right in front of you.
This time, we visited “芦屋天がゆ 阪急西宮ガーデンズ店.”
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Itaba-age Tempura “芦屋天がゆ 阪急西宮ガーデンズ店” Food
This time I ordered the “Limited Autumn Menu” (2,100 yen).
Apparently it’s limited to 100 servings per day.
I’m weak when it comes to limited-time menus…
First, this arrived.
Along with tempura dipping sauce and salt, they brought a “three-kind appetizer pickle assortment.”
You eat the pickles later with the rice or rice porridge that comes out.
Next up was this.
It’s the “three-piece stick vegetable arrangement.”
This is eaten with salt.
The rice porridge and miso soup were brought out.
At this restaurant, you can choose either “porridge” or “rice,” and this time I chose the porridge.
Refills are free, and you can even switch between “porridge” and “rice” partway through.
Freshly fried tempura is served one by one on this plate on the counter.
I’m looking forward to it.
First were “two natural shrimp.”
These are eaten with lemon and salt.
Fried food really is best when it’s freshly fried.
You can enjoy the contrast in texture between the batter and the shrimp, and the lemon and salt bring out the shrimp’s sweetness even more.
Next were “splendid alfonsino” and “matsutake mushroom.”
You squeeze sudachi over these before eating.
The refreshing tartness and aroma of the sudachi really enhance the flavors of the matsutake and splendid alfonsino.
It truly feels like the scent of autumn.
This is “jade eggplant.”
It’s eaten with tempura dipping sauce.
“Jade eggplant” apparently refers to peeled eggplant.
A lot of care must go into the prep work.
It was very fresh-tasting, and even though it was fried, it was juicy and delicious.
This is “black cod marinated in Saikyo miso.”
You eat this as is.
Turning it into tempura makes the flavor of the Saikyo miso stand out even more.
It may have been my first time eating Saikyo-marinated fish as tempura, and it was very good.
This is tempura made with a potato called “Inca no Mezame.”
It’s eaten with salt.
It was a very sweet potato, almost like eating sweet potato or chestnut.
It’s also very moist, so the contrast with the batter’s texture is enjoyable.
Last was “kakiage.”
You can eat it however you like, with salt, tempura dipping sauce, and so on.
This course includes the eight tempura items above, but if you’d like to eat a little more, you can also order additional items separately.
For details, ask the chef at the counter.
On the way out, I received some “tenkasu” tempura bits as a souvenir.
Itaba-age Tempura “芦屋天がゆ 阪急西宮ガーデンズ店” Menu
This restaurant doesn’t have a separate lunch menu; the same course menu is served throughout all business hours.
Here is the menu.
For a tempura specialty restaurant, it seems relatively reasonable.
They also have a course for children.
Inside Itaba-age Tempura “芦屋天がゆ 阪急西宮ガーデンズ店”
All seats are counter seats.
The counter seats are arranged around the cooking area, so you can enjoy freshly fried tempura right away.
The seating looks like this.
The cooking area is on the other side of the counter.
Exterior of Itaba-age Tempura “芦屋天がゆ 阪急西宮ガーデンズ店”
The restaurant is on the 4th floor of Gardens, so head up to the 4th floor.
Here is the exterior of the restaurant.
Look for this large sign.
There are also signs showing the course menu.
You can take your time deciding before going in.
Itaba-age Tempura “芦屋天がゆ 阪急西宮ガーデンズ店” Restaurant Information
★Business hours 11:00～23:00（L.O.21:00）
★Closed Irregular holidays (follows Hankyu Nishinomiya Gardens)
★Phone number 0798-65-7727
★Address 兵庫県西宮市高松町14-2 Hankyu Nishinomiya Gardens 4F
★Seats 44 seats
★Credit cards Accepted
★Smoking Not allowed
★Related links
HP/Tabelog
(*Prices, menu items, business hours, and other details are as of the time of coverage. Please check directly with the restaurant for the latest information.)
