Cafe K-port

Very good brick-ovened pizza and cheesecake. This restaurant is owned by actor Ken Watanabe. Unfortunately, we did not meet him, but the restaurant was decorated with his daily messages. The restaurant's original shichimi (seven spices) was also very tasty and I bought it immediately. Next time, I'd love to try prawn curry🍛

The current menu, Dec 2024, is attached. I got the shrimp curry and one thing to note is seafood flavor is heavily incorporated into the curry, so recommended for seafood lovers. Fun history fact, after the tsunami that destroyed almost everything, Watanabe asked what he could do for Kessenuma and the people asked for a place where people could meet and then opened K-port.

Good food and charming and homey atmosphere. We got there early but after 12 quite a wait began to form for lunch.

I think the curry was below average and does not honour the usually fabulous Japanese cuisine. The meal also did agree with my stomach maybe because I saw containers with the curry unrefrigerated near the counter.

A cozy cafe that serves delicious foods and drinks in a timely fashion.

Stylish cafe by the Kesennuma port, produced by Ken Watanabe.

Nice place, great location right at the port of Kesennuma. Pretty varied menu that includes curry (lunch only I think), pizza, coffee drinks, desserts and more. The Kesennuma pizza was a Neapolitan style red sauce pizza with garlic and no cheese. I’d recommend that one as it tasted great and wasn’t heavy. You won’t miss the cheese. Ken Watanabe is an owner and started the place to aid recovery from the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. So that’s nice too. Apparently he drops by if he’s around.

This place clearly lives from the famous patronage from Ken Watanabe. There have been no other orders, but we still had to wait half an hour for the drinks, much longer for the meals. Meal (Makanai Don) have been so small , and the taste was not good, but still expensive. I know about the background of K-Port, but as it is, I suggest to go to the restaurant right next to it or to Murasaki Ichiba instead. Much better atmosphere and friendlier service there.

This is not just a typical restaurant started by a famous person, but really one man's effort to revitalize a town struck by disaster. Using connections to talented designers and chefs, Ken Watanabe has created a terrific restaurant attracting tourists like us and employing locals. For that reason alone I would highly recommend K-Port. But the cappuccino I ordered was outstanding, the pizza was as good as what we had in New York and the pancakes were light, fluffy and delicious. And of course, if you are a fan of Ken-San, you won't be disappointed by his personal touches including pictures of him and the daily fax message he sends to the restaurant. You may even luck out and find him here as he comes pretty frequently, despite the distance from Tokyo.

This is a clean and non-smoking (and no shoes) cafe. The staff is friendly. I had a coffee and a pizza. The coffee was good. Unfortunately, the pizza was a disappointment. I ordered a Pizza Margherita. The crust was thin, but not crispy. The tomato sauce was too watery, which did not help the crust/dough. I have a feeling that they did not heat the oven (brick oven) to the right temperature (I was the first customer of that day, and perhaps they did not preheat it long enough). Another negative for the pizza was they did not use whole basil leaves. Not authentic at all.