Risotteria Gaku is possibly my favorite restaurant in the world. The menu is simple, 80 or so? types of risotto. What’s a risotto? Just think pasta with rice and without the pasta. In other words, rice with pasta style toppings. I think they had tomato base, cream base, soup style and their original meat sauce. The bacon and vegetable cream risotto is my favorite (Atugiri beekon to tappuri yasai no kuriimu rizotto).
What makes this place so special? It simply tastes good. I had a chance to talk to the owner, and apparently he hand-picks and uses all local Hokkaido ingredients (rice, vegetables, etc).
The place is a little hard to find so check the map below (2 Sappporo locations, 1 in Asahikawa)