Turban Curry in Kanazawa: Original Kanazawa Curry with Rich, Sweet Roux Since 1971

Kanazawa Curry is now becoming famous nationwide.

While there are many shops called Kanazawa curry such as Champion Curry (nicknamed Chan-Kare), Indian Curry, and Gold Curry, one of the shops said to be the originator is Turban Curry.

Since the main shop is located in an easily accessible place in Kanazawa city, I went there right after arriving at the station.

The rich roux with depth and sweetness has an addictive taste. So this is the deliciousness of Kanazawa curry…!

Access and Transportation to Turban Curry

Turban Curry’s main shop (Katamachi branch) is located in the Korinbo district of Kanazawa City. It’s close to tourist spots like the 21st Century Museum and Kenrokuen Garden, in a very accessible location.

It takes about 30 minutes to walk from Kanazawa Station, so it’s best to go by bus or taxi.

If you’re planning to stay overnight for Kanazawa sightseeing, I recommend getting accommodation around the Korinbo area, as it makes it easy to visit tourist spots like the 21st Century Museum, Kenrokuen Garden, samurai residences, and Kanazawa Castle ruins.

Original Kanazawa Curry “Turban Curry”

On this kind of street with lots of greenery while being in the city,

There was Turban Curry. A quite small, cozy shop.

Inside there are only counter seats and small table seats. Though it was a weekday and well past lunchtime, customers kept coming in continuously.

Established in 1971 (Showa 46), it has quite a long history. Since I was hungry, I ordered the L-set (medium), which is the recommended BEST 1.

Here’s Turban Curry’s menu. Small is 500 yen, medium is 550 yen, large is 700 yen, extra large is 850 yen. However, these are 2015 prices, and as of 2022 they appear to be small: 500 yen, medium: 600 yen, large: 700 yen, extra large: 800 yen. Medium has increased but extra large decreased. Quite unusual.

Three female staff members who look like they make delicious curry are efficiently preparing curry and toppings.

Rich Roux with Melted Vegetable Sweetness, Exquisite

The L-set arrived!! Kanazawa curry is characterized by dark roux on a metal plate, served with cabbage.

Rich, deep roux with melted umami and sweetness from vegetables and meat. Freshly fried tonkatsu with hamburger and sausage.

This is really delicious!

Honestly, Go Go Curry in Tokyo and Fukuoka didn’t really click with me, but this Turban Curry firmly grabbed my stomach. (By the way, Go Go Curry’s founder apparently worked part-time at this Turban Curry for a few months before opening independently. Perhaps because they expanded their chain mainly in Tokyo rather than local Kanazawa, there seem to be mixed opinions among Kanazawa citizens)

The spork (spoon-fork hybrid) since school lunch days – a great invention that lets you eat both toppings and curry with just this one utensil.

It was delicious!

Final Thoughts

While Fukuoka also has many delicious curry shops including Asian countries’ styles, home-style, European-style, etc., this is a different type of flavor. I want one in my neighborhood…

When you come to Kanazawa, please definitely visit. They apparently have branches in Nagano and Kyoto too!