Matsuya's Official X Posts a Quiz on "Italian Cuisine Day," Asking Fans to Name a Discontinued Dish

To mark September 17’s “Italian Cuisine Day,” Matsuya’s official X account (@matsuya_foods) posted a quiz-style post at 6 p.m. that day, stating that Matsuya has “once sold Italian cuisine” and asking followers what dish it was. The account is collecting answers in the replies and has not revealed the correct one.

The Post and Its Quiz Format

The full text of the post reads as follows.

Today, September 17, is “Italian Cuisine Day” 🇮🇹

Actually, Matsuya once sold Italian cuisine too ( ¯꒳¯ ) Does anyone know what it was?

If you figure it out, let us know in the comments 😊

The attached image features Macky and Yakky dressed in jockey-style attire, holding up a large platter against a backdrop of the Italian flag’s green, white, and red, with a big red question mark placed at the center of the plate. “Italian Cuisine Day” appears at the top and the date “9 17” in the bottom right, visually reinforcing that the answer is being kept hidden.

The emoticon “( ¯꒳¯ )” used in the text is a staple expression this account regularly uses, appearing here with the same frequency as usual. The flag emoji “🇮🇹,” on the other hand, is not something found in the official account’s past posts, making it a standout element this time. The “😊” at the end softens the call to readers.

The official account has previously run survey- and poll-style prompts, such as asking followers for their “favorite combination” or “favorite classic menu item,” but a quiz format asking people to identify a historical fact itself is a new approach.

The Leading Candidate: The 2020 “Cacciatore Set Meal”

The official account hasn’t revealed the answer, but past announcements point to a leading candidate. On March 12, 2020, Matsuya published a notice titled “Italian Cuisine at Matsuya!! New Cacciatore Set Meal Now on Sale!” This is the earliest instance of Matsuya explicitly billing an item as “Italian cuisine” in an announcement title, making it the most straightforward match for the quiz’s claim that Matsuya “once sold Italian cuisine.”

Cacciatore refers to an Italian braised chicken dish (hunter-style). The fact that the announcement at the time framed it head-on as “Italian cuisine at Matsuya” is what pushes this dish to the top of the list of likely answers.

Past Italian-Inspired Menu Items

Beyond the Cacciatore Set Meal, menu items billed as Italian cuisine or Italian-style have been introduced repeatedly. The main launch announcements confirmed in past notices are as follows.

Announcement Date	Menu Item
March 12, 2020	Cacciatore Set Meal
September 30, 2021	Hamburg Steak with Bolognese & Mascarpone-style Double Sauce Set Meal
February 17, 2022	Carbonara Hamburg Steak
June 2, 2022	Milan-style Cutlet “Yakikatsu”
September 29, 2022	Cheese Bolognese Combo Beef Bowl
January 5, 2023	Rich Carbonara with Chunky Chicken
January 19, 2023	Hamburg Steak with Bolognese Sauce
September 26, 2024	Peperoncino Beef Bowl with Cabbage and Bacon

This shows a wide range built around Bolognese and Carbonara, extending as far as a Milan-style cutlet and a Peperoncino beef bowl. None of these remain on the current regular menu; all have since been delisted.

Matsuya Today and Italian-Style Menu Items

Most recently, on May 26, 2026, the “Hamburg Steak with Black Carbonara Sauce Set Meal” (980 yen) was test-sold at select stores, and the official X account even featured a taste-test of it. That item, too, has since been delisted. Products using Italian-derived sauces have thus continued in various forms, from past additions to the regular menu to today’s store-limited test sales.

It remains to be seen whether the official account will reveal the correct answer, and which dish readers will name in the replies.