Kasthamandap

Location: across the street from Foster; if heading south on the 58 turn right at CowCow, the restaurant is on the north side of the street (ie across from CowCow) right after the turn. The parking situation is quite unsatisfactory - there are about 5 tiny spots that involve parking other people in or having a difficult time backing in/out. A little further west on the same street there is a larger vacant lot which some use for parking.
Hours: 11:30 a.m. to 1 a.m. daily; http://www.japanupdate.com/?id=9436; 098-936-6355
We have done lunch and dinner in the new location of Kasthamandap. Overall, the new building is much better than the beach shack - there is AC and the dining room is fairly classy. The bathroom still leaves a lot to be desired - it is left open to the outside (ie via a window) and is not air conditioned, so it is sticky and breeds smells. There is a shower in the toilet area, which had been used while we were eating lunch, so one of us had to clean the toilet seat of water droplets sprayed from the shower (yuck!).
Service is still lackadaisical though, very much like we remember at the old location. This is not a place to go if you are hungry. It can be difficult to get the attention of the servers. But this makes it ideal if you want to sit around and chit chat with friends - here no one will hurry you along.
The food remains adequate, nothing great. During the dinner visit we had the butter chicken curry (approx 1050Y) which was really just a tomato-cream sauce with no appreciable heat and a couple meager bites of chicken. We also tried the chicken meatballs, which were essentially ground tandoor chicken pressed into balls, a bit dry, accompanied with a sweet side sauce and small salad. At lunch, we had a large sampler set and a smaller single curry set. These come with choice of drink (get the lassi), mini salad with too much dressing, and a tiny chunk of chicken. The lamb curry was tasty, but had only a couple slivers of meat. The vegetable curry was less appealing, and had remarkably little veg in it, which doesn't make much sense as vegetable is quite cheap in Okinawa. The bean curry (ie dal) was fine. The naan here is large and freshly baked, and is the highlight of the meal. In some ways, this is a south asian chips and dip - naan and curry sauce. Perhaps a friend has a better approach - she orders the chicken biriyani which comes encircled in a salad and topped in an egg.... a bit more action that just a puddle of curry sauce.

Dim sim lunch at Nikko Alivila

Location: Yomitan, just north of Nirai beach (off the 6) See map: http://www.alivila.co.jp/en/access/index.html
Hours: Sunday / holiday brunch 1130-1500 (http://www.alivila.co.jp/en/rest/kinshasa/)
This is a lovely brunch for a special occasion. The dining room is attractive and boasts big windows with ocean views. There is a back room with two large tables, perfect for a work function. The cost is 2500Y + drinks (beer, tea, etc 500-900Y). There is a large buffet that includes salad, sides, rice paper rolls, steamed buns, stir-fry seafood and greens, stir-fry rice noodle and veg, various fried bits including pork & chicken, shrimp wontons, shrimp balls various, wonton soup, congee, chili-tofu over rice, and about 15 different types of dessert. Then, on top of that, servers come around with dim sum trays and you pick dumplings of all varieties, colors, and filling-types. Some of these were quite creative, ie purple or green wrappers around interesting meat-based fillings.
All the food was quite good. The dumplings brought to the table were quite appealing, especially the shrimp ones. Along the buffet table, the shrimp wontons were very tasty, as was the seafood stir-fly. The egg steam buns should be saved for dessert, but were delightful. Another standout dessert item was the coconut tapioca in benino-flavoured milk. Certainly, this is an all-you-can-eat option that does not compromise quality, and has something for almost everyone.

Delicious cafe

Location - heading east on the 23, turn right at the Bowling center sign. The restaurant is on the left-hand side, before you get to the Sports/bowling center and Kitakaisen
Hours: approx 11:30-1:30 lunch, 6p- dinner, unsure which day closed
This new cafe has garnered lots of positive press recently. I was suspicious it may not live up to the hype on the basis of its sign, which proclaims "Let's try Japanese cuisine" (or something to that effect). A sushi (ie flamboyant rolled sushi) restaurant that tries so hard to cater to gaijin has already got one strike against it.
We decided to try it anyway. The interior has an unfortunate diner quality, with plastic booths and misapplied plastic frosting on the windows. There is large English menu on the wall, which is slightly different to the English menu brought to the table. At lunch, you order off the standard menu, and get a soup and salad with your sushi selection. Prices for rolls are 600-1300Y. We tried the deep fried California roll and the special of the day, which was a variety of Dragon roll. Sadly, both were almost inedible. The California roll had was filled with the cheapest and most dreadful fake crab stick, an overabundant helping of cream cheese, and underripe avocado, surrounded by excessively sweet rice, mushi nori, then seared on the outside to no apparent culinary advantage. Only slightly better was the dragon roll, which was pretty but simply not worth the calories. The inner part of the roll was a tempura shrimp, which seemed to have no flavour at all. This was surrounded by a large quantity of the over-sweet sushi rice and nori. On the top, outside of the roll, was a small and bland piece of maguro. All this was topped with way too much mayonnaise, another sweet sauce, orange roe, and flecks of tempura batter. There was almost no fresh fish flavour to the roll at all - instead it was just sugar, rice, and mayonnaise - three things I would not want to mix up in a bowl and eat. The accompanying ginger soup was mediocre, and the salad was your typical lettuce/cabbage but drowning in proprietary Japanese dressing.
It saddens me to write such a poor review of a local small business. Perhaps the owner will find success with his restaurant by giving the gaijin what they want - fat and sugar, with a small amount of fish thrown in for appearances. But if you are craving rolls, head elsewhere. We haven't been to Sushi Zen for a while, but last time we went the food quality was far superior.

Monkey pod

Locations: Naha, north of Kokusai street; from the Mitsukosji department store, walk a couple blocks east and turn down a street than appears to have several restaurants on it (sorry, cannot be more specific). On the west side of the street, ie your left, within about a block will be a wooden construction cafe with vintage Americana decor. This is Monkeypod - they have a mini-chalkboard sign outside
Hours: unknown
Options for non-touristy food are scarce in the Kokusai district. We toileted in Mitsukoski (downstairs) and then headed east and north to look for a halfway decent restaurant. Monkeypod had the right vibe. The place is adorable, with vintage Hawaii-theme stuff everywhere. They have an English menus - 750Y for pasta and a drink, 1000Y approx for a locomoco set or Hawaiian plate. We got an array. The food was not spectacular, but was decent. All sets came with a light consomme and ice/hot coffee/tea plus a small piece of angel food cake with mango syrup sauce. The pasta was a creamy mushroom, well-prepared but a bit dull. The Hawaiian food plate had four segments - curried potato salad, rice, mini locomoco, and fried chicken bits. Again, nice, but better food is to be found at Hanahou. Really, the attraction is that this is an artsy, tranquil place within stone's throw of the hustle and artifice of Kokusai street. And that alone is worth a visit for those in the area.

South Island Kitchen

Location - on the 23, south side of the street, coming from the 58 it is before CocoK's nail salon. Parking in front
Hours: 1800-0100 open 365 days a year. There is an English menu.
http://www.japanupdate.com/?id=8061
http://66.249.89.132/translate_c?hl=en&sl=ja&u=http://izakayatoraji.com/&prev=/search%3Fq%3D%2522south%2Bisland%2Bkitchen%2522%2Bokinawa%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff&usg=ALkJrhj7FcRtWLB3c7rHhQ8g2iN7kBL1Og
This is a typical izakaya - woodenesque interior, choice of booth or tatami seating, low light. We were worried there was a cover charge because they brought out a mini-plate of chicken on salad, but it actually was complimentary. Beers are 250Y for a small Orion draft, 380Y for Asahi Super Dry. The food menu is Okinawan izakaya standards - sashimi, sushi, fried things, champaru, sauteed things, salads, pizzas. We ordered a variety of dishes:
Edamame - can't go wrong
Okinawan specialty noodle dish - very bland, and the noodles were sticking together
Tuna and avocado carpaccio - two delightful ingredients which unfortunately were drowned in salad dressing
Squid legs and asparagus in butter - the squid legs were tender and tasty, the asparagus a bit overcooked, not bad
Clams in butter - small but tasty morsels
Assorted fried bits - only tried the eggplant, which was quite good
French fries - thin McDonald's style
Didn't try the tekka-maki and yakitori, but they looked pretty standard
Prices were 380-700Y, which most dishes in the 500-700 range. So, like the Drinking Cat place, the food was not memorable but the beers are inexpensive (for Okinawa).

Cafe clover

Location: Chatan, in the Junkyard area, behind the rows of orange track homes and just south of the baseball pitch. It is up on a little hill, manicured with herbs and flowers. Park in front.

Hours: 11:30 to 1600, closed on a Sunday once when we tried to stop by

http://r.tabelog.com/okinawa/A4703/A470304/47002409/

Cafe clover is a pleasant, IKEA inspired space. Lots of natural light and light wood. Out the back there is a small veggie garden, in the front is fresh mint and basil. We went for the lunch set, which is 1260Y. You start with a cheese and rice ball as an appetizer, which is brought out sitting on top of the sawed-off mouth of a wine bottle. Then, you get the main plate, pictured to the side. There is a hearty miso soup with chunks of tofu and potato. There is a small green salad with a beautiful light dressing. There is brown rice topped in thinly sliced seaweed, dressed with a delicate sesame flavour. The two smaller dishes we cannot adequately describe as we are not sure exactly what they were, but both were interesting and beautifully presented, if slightly bland. The middle dish was stewed daikon topped in vinegared sliced veggies, with a few breaded bits of pork. The meat and daikon were yummy, though we are not partial to vinegared veggies. A healthful and lovely meal in the organic Japanese style, with impeccable presentation. Also included in the meal is a palate-cleaning sorbet, ours was lemon-ginger and really fantastic.

The dessert was the best part of the meal. We don't even know what to call it. Served in a wine glass, it was a mousse-like concoction with little chunks of banana and something crunchy like small rice crispies, with toasted granola on top. Absolutely divine and original. This is served with choice of coffee or tea. The coffee is drip, but not as bitter as the drip coffee served at many other cafes on island, and comes with a small pitcher of cream and brown sugarcubes. This is a classy meal and a worthwhile experience, but mostly suited for those who enjoy the fairly subtle flavours of organic Japanese cooking.

Kebab's

Location: Chatan on the 58, 2nd floor of Obbligato building
Hours: open for lunch on Fri-Sun, otherwise dinner only, unsure what day closed
Kebab's has decent ocean view, at least until yet another apartment building or hotel goes up between it and the water. We went for lunch, hoping for a set meal. The lunch set offers only one type of curry (masala, choose the meat/veg for approx 1000Y) with naan. Salad and drink cost extra. However, all the other dishes are available a la carte, with most curries in the 800-1200Y range. Rice and naan are extra, around 200Y for a small serve of rice or a decent sized naan. We ordered two different curries, one was chana masala and the other we can't quite remember but also tomato based. We ordered them hot, and to our surprise they actually were spicy. The curries were less creamy than at Krishna, although there was plenty of oil. They were also using the right types of spices, like real cardamom. So the curries were decent, but not that memorable. And they both tasted quite similar. Given the lack of a real discount at lunch, it probably makes more sense to go at dinner. And to get two dramatically different curries (like a masala and spinach paneer).

Obbligato

Location: Chatan, on the 58 north of Mihama village
Hours: not sure 9261888, http://www.obbligato.co.jp/index.html
There are three branches of Obbligato in Okinawa, each selling TexMex food. We ended up here after a couple other nearby places were closed. I had very very low expectations of this place. There was a mixed crowd on gaijin on their lunch break and Japanese people. Almost all the tables were full. We ordered the beef soft tacos (approx 600), the carnitas wrap (approx 700), and guacamole (300Y). This came with one of the blandest tomato salsas we have ever had, and bottomless ice tea. The soft tacos were made with flour tortilla, oily ground beef, lettuce, and cheese. The carnitas wrap was a larger flour tortilla with a few chewy chunks of carnitas, lettuce, and cheese. It was all edible, and not terribly different from other TexMex available on island. In this way, Obbligato exceeded my expectation. But it was not great by any stretch of the imagination. And we don't get the name - obligado means thank you in Portuguese, but in Spanish it means obligatory or compulsory. Hmmm.

Drinking Cat Izakaya

Location - next to the Sushi-go-round just outside of Lester gate 1, behind the Urtore building, park in the large lot in front. This is a chain, the mascot is a cat with a headband drinking an alcoholic beverage.
Hours: 1800-
We ended up here on a Monday night, after stopping by several other places in the area, all of which were closed. We were delighted to find that beers were 1/2 off between 1800-2000, bringing them down to very reasonable prices (350-->175 for a lady's size Orion, 450-->225 for a large Orion). You can sit at a table or on tatami. Standard izakaya food was also reasonable priced, with most dishes 350-700Y each. Things we tried:
Tuna-avocado spring rolls - quite a tasty fusion snack
Tekka-maki - fine, nothing flash
Yakisoba - a decent amount of cabbage, but nothing to remember particularly
Fried cheese with strawberry jam - like something you would by frozen in a bag at the supermarket and heat up in a toaster oven
"Chinese" fish and mushroom in sauce - it is probably best to avoid "chinese" food in Japan
Grilled squid - nice portion size, tender, but just not as delicious as the grilled squid we've had in other countries
Gyoza - a little bland, but large
8 drinks and lots of food came to 5400Y, so even if all the food wasn't fantastic you had to leave happy.

Tejas MC

Location: north of Nago, in Iramina. Take the 58 north from Kyoda, get through Nago, and keep travelling north past the entire Motobu peninsula. The road that goes to Yagagi island is the Makiya intersection. Keep going, the next light is the Iramina intersection. Turn right, and take the small road on the left instead of a sharper turn right. There is a sign there for Tejas. At the next decent-sized street, turn right (a sign indicates this turn as well). There is a white 2 storey house on your left decorated with christmas lights and the Tejas sign. This is it. Park in front or on the street, let yourself in the gate, and enter.
Hours: 12-3, 6-10, closed Tues and Wed http://tejasmc.blogspot.com/
Cesar and his wife run this side business from their home. He is a Texan of Mexican descent and cooks up Tex-Mex food using whatever he can source locally. He grows his own chiles and cilantro in season, and goes to some trouble to import Negra Modela and Dos Equis beers (600-800Y each). We had the enchilada and soft taco sets, both 1200Y. The enchiladas were pretty good, with a flavourful sauce and not too much cheese. The beans were reminiscent of a mild vegetarian american-style chili, heavy on the tomato paste. The salsa was decent, although lacked any kick likely due to the jalapenos being out of season. The soft tacos were made with flour tortilla, seasoned ground beef, lettuce, and shredded Monterrey jack cheese, so very typically american tex-mex. Our preference is for mexican tacos, which are made of grilled corn tortilla, more heavily flavoured meats (or rajas), onion and cilantro, and several different varieties of salsa. Still though, you have to commend him for trying to produce food containing ingredients that are simply not available on Okinawa. House wine was 550Y a glass, Orion 600Y. His blog also discusses specialty cocktails and seasonal desserts. Best part was he lit us a candle and played Vincente Fernandez as we dined. Que romantico!

Tonneau

Location: Okinawa City, off the 75; if heading north on the 330/75, turn right at A+W and Daikon-no-hana just after passing the 224. The restaurant is on the right after a short distance (see Okinawahai for more explicit directions)
Hours: 1700- daily English menu, waitstaff with rudimentary English
http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=140&article=41806
http://www.okinawahai.com/my_weblog/2008/12/tonneau---the-barrel-restaurant.html http://www.okinawakuukan.com/index/shop/food/okinawac/tonneau/index.html (phone number on this site)
This is a popular gaijin hang out, on a Saturday night to place was 80% non-Japanese. Reservations are advisable on weekend nights, especially for big groups. The draw for most seems to be the craziness of the building. They have maintained the barrel shape and feeling inside the restaurant as well. Shoes come off at the entrance and seating is on two levels including bar areas and large sunken tables. Many tables are designed for groups of 8, with tons of room in the center of the table for the food and drink (which means you are far away from your friends sitting across from you). Kids can hang out around these large tables without any difficulty. You summon your waitstaff with a phone, and otherwise they leave you alone.
We went in a big group for a birthday. There is a cover charge (reportedly 700Y), for which they bring you an appetizer. We dislike cover charges in restaurants. The beers are cheap, but not as much as one might expect given the cover charge - 420Y for a large Kirin, 500Y+ for Yebisu and Sapporo brands. They have Yebisu black, for those who like dark beer. The group ordered a huge amount of food - too much really. The portion sizes here are larger than the average izakaya, so be conservative in ordering. Prices are 400-900Y per item generally. Things we tried:
Spicy garlic potatoes - these were neither spicy nor garlicky. They were home-style french fries, and not particularly nice ones
Tuna rolls - Quite unpleasant - the outside was covered in bonito flakes, which overwhelmed the flavor of the salmon and tuna inside the roll. Would have benefited instead from a bit of avocado or roe to tie the flavors together
Fried whole white fish (guruken) - a bit overcooked, not a fantastic batter, but presented attractively
Yakitori - the beef was tasty, as was the mushroom and bacon (cured ham, really), but the eggplant yakitori was disgusting and inedible. We have no idea how one might destroy a perfectly good eggplant, but they managed it
Salad of the season - this looked nice, but was a disappointment. Too much cabbage, mealy tomatoes, only a couple chunks of cucumber, a minimal amount of shredded daikon, and a mayonnaisey dressing which was not very good
Charcoal roasted squid - this was pretty good, not overcooked, and came with mayonnaise. The tentacle to body ratio was a little low, ie not enough tasty tentacles.
Korean beef - this was OK, but not spicy and the thinly sliced beef felt coated with something
Yakisoba - lots of noodle, not very much vegetable, and too oily
So, the food was hit or miss, mostly miss. Other people seem to love this restaurant, so maybe there are some stand-out items on the menu that we didn't order. But we left with the feeling we should have had dinner beforehand and just had the mandatory appetizer, edamame, and beer.
On an up note, the place is so cavernous no one noticed or cared that we brought a little birthday cake from a local patisserie, lit a candle, and sang happy birthday.

Petit-Voyage cafe

Location: Ginowan, on the 81, west of the House of 66 cents, on the south side of the street. Parking is right in front of the shop, or just up the hill a bit there is a side street in front of a few shops where you can park

Hours: 12-2200 closed Mondays and randomly other times
http://www.okinawahai.com/my_weblog/2008/12/petit-voyage.html

This is a tiny, attractive cafe, with whitewashed walls, photos of Paris, and shelves full of photography books and old cameras. Lunch options are soup set, sandwich set, pasta set, and vegetable curry set (around 900Y). These can be combined with beverage (approx 200Y) or beverage + dessert (400Y). We got the sandwich set, the veg curry, and also accidentally ordered the pasta as well. The sandwich set was delicious fresh bread with two small portions of spreads, a salad, and a cup of yummy soup for bread-dipping. The veg curry is roasted vegetables and a slightly spicy brown sauce with rice. This needed more salt, but was tasty. The pasta was tomato sauce with Camembert chunks - a creative idea, and better than some oversweetened tomato sauces one finds in Okinawa, but not as appealing as the other two dishes. The coffee was OK, not great, but did come with a mini-pitcher of milk. We skipped dessert. Overall, a very pleasant cafe lunch experience, and a place one could easily linger looking at their books.

Hearth cafe

Location: Sunabe seawall, at the northern end of the road right by Junkyard, park on the seawall.
Hours: everyday 0630-2200, lunch is 1130-1630
This cafe has an outdoor patio that fronts the seawall - although you can't see the water, you can hear it. We stopped by for a lunch set (1000Y). This includes mini-cup of soup, main, drink, and dessert. The soup was proprietary chicken broth with tiny pieces of onion. We had a bacon-lettuce-tomato-cucumber-cream cheese sandwich and an open faced salad sandwich. The former had a couple issues - the bread was not toasted, there was too much cream cheese, and the tomato was grainy. The latter also left something to be desired - the dressing was distractingly mayonnaisey and despite chopped nuts and a few pieces of cured duck and proscuttio, it just didn't feel like a full meal. The dessert was a dry and unappealing piece of chocolate cake. The best part of the meal was the drink selection - options included a small glass of Orion, wine or sangria, or coffee/tea/juices.
We really wanted to like the food here, because it was quite pleasant to sit outside by the seawall and have a beer. But it just wasn't that good.

Bento box lady on the 81

Location: route 81, a short walk west from Petit-Voyage cafe
Hours: unknown
We tried to go to Petit Voyage (http://www.okinawahai.com/my_weblog/2008/12/petit-voyage.html) but they were closed in preparation for an evening music event. Hungry, but tired of driving, we walked to this this tiny shopfront and bought a couple bento boxes. The blue doors are only obvious when she is closed, but the shop can be identified by the red kanji and Coca-cola sign. When she is open, there are two old metal and plastic tables out front.

We right away understood why this place is so popular among Okinawan workmen. She sells a large bento with generous portions of either fish or fried meat for only 400Y. This comes with a bowl of soba noodles in a delightful broth. We shared a bento that featured mackerel in miso sauce over rice, a fried fish patty, some greens, and a vermicelli salad, and it was plenty of food for two. The bento, while not spectacular, was better than the ones for sale at Family Mart/Lawsons/Jusco. She conveniently sells jasmine tea and has both drinks and cigarettes vending machines. The tables out front have an ocean view. This makes the cheapest meal with an ocean view we've ever had.

Cafe Laputo

Location: Chatan, on the north side of the 23, across from American Family Housing and the Rabbit car dealership.
Hours: lunch 11:30-2:30, dinner unknown No English menu, limited English spoken by staff
Sora was overrun with customers, so we ended up here instead. The exterior seemed promising, with a garden surrounding the parking lot, a decent wooden patio deck, and an Open sign on a French flag. Once inside, though, we realized we had made a mistake but there was no turning back. The interior decor had all the cheesy plastic Japanese diner flourishes - blue swirls in the ceiling with constellations on them, plastic pseudo-stained glass coating on glass surfaces, cheap fake-wood tables and chairs, harsh lighting, and annoying Japanese pop playing over the sound system. You choose a main among diner standards (approx 800Y) - hamburg (ie ground meat patty covered in creamy sauce), "beef stroganoff," pasta with either meat sauce or Japanese sauce (fish egg and seaweed), or locomoko. For another 250Y you get access to the salad, soup, and drink bar. The salad bar was lettuce, cucumber, tomato, tinned beans, tinned corn, seaweed, macaroni salad, and a couple proprietary dressings. The soup bar had a bad miso soup and a bland tomato-vegetable. We had the beef stroganoff, which was fatty beef in brown sauce with a couple slices of tinned mushrooms, and the Japanese pasta, which was the worst version of this dish we've had in Japan. Even worse than at Zen. The highlight of the meal was the dessert - the waitstaff allow you to choose among approx 6 options. We had a mango layered pudding-cake and a creme caramel. Each was only acceptable, but much better than the rest of the meal. We are pained to write such a negative review of a Japanese cafe, especially one as well patronized as this, but the food was of poor quality and had the unmistakable stench of cafeteria-line mass-production. And it cost more than lunch at Sora, with its divine Japanese veggie buffet. Alas, you win some, you lose some.

Sabani

Location: Okinawa City, on the street that backs onto the north side of the Gate 2 shopping arcade. The restaurant is on the street that runs tangential to Gate 2 Street and BC street. It is right around the corner from Salon Cuttho. Parking is not straightforward. Either you pay at the lot across the street, or you park at the public lot at the top of BC street and walk.
Hours: 12-2300, unsure which day closed (perhaps Friday) No English menu. The waitstaff will translate the menu options for you.
http://shop.koza.in/shops/sabani/ (for the map, click on the last tab, the one with two kanji, the last of which is has a box around it) http://www.okinawahai.com/my_weblog/2008/11/sabani-has-a-fa.html
Okinawahai provided yet another good restaurant tip. The cafe is crowded with pottery for sale, plants in ceramic pots, light wood tables and chairs, and a few French flourishes, which creates a pleasant if cluttered effect. The lunch set includes soup, main, and ice/hot coffee/tea. The price varies depending on the main selected. Options include BLT, tomato pasta, gorgonzola pasta, roast chicken, Moroccan stew, and a beef dish (900-1500Y). There is a choice of two soups, a potage and a cold pumpkin and coconut. Both the soups were outstanding, pureed smooth, perfectly salted, with a sprig of fresh herb. We both got the Moroccan stew which was a variety of beans in a savory sauce with rice. This was not spicy, but subtle and flavourful. The beans were cooked perfectly, not falling apart but cooked through and creamy (which is difficult when cooking with different sized beans). The coffee was the typical drip variety, but served with a mini-pitcher of real milk. According to the Koza website, there is a 2500Y set dinner, which if true could be quite nice.

Herb Curry Dosha

Location: Okinawa City, off the 330. Heading north on the 330, pass Gate 2 street and BC street, make the 3rd right after BC street. This turn is into a residential neighborhood. Spot the brightly colored apartment complexes (they will be on your right) and head towards those. The restaurant is on the street that leads to the towers and their parking area.

Hours: 12-2100, closed Wed and Thurs, and some other days (check their blog http://blog.dosha.in/) No English menu, no English speaking staff

http://umaimonda.ti-da.net/e2325040.html; http://www.okikura.jp/shop/292/map

This is an unusual cafe in a strange place, shadowed by the nearby high-rise apartment buildings. There is distressed wood flooring, a wooden bar, mismatched chairs, and two memorable decorative accents - a ladder and a piece of rusting corrugated metal roofing. We did our best at ordering, which was made easier by the fact that really only one thing is served here. She makes a red-brown mild Indian-esque curry sauce and serves it with a plate of rice covered in a variety of toppings. You can choose the toppings individually (choice of 3 for approx 900Y) or get the day's set of toppings. The set comes with a drink of iced/hot coffee/tea and two chutneys. The day's set (approx 1100Y) included toasted garlic slivers, fried onions, raisins, mashed potato, steamed greens, shredded green papaya, and slivered toasted almonds. When all this is brought out on a wooden plank it is unclear exactly what to do with it. We quickly discovered that each ingredient in isolation was not very good, but mixed up together sauce and veggies and chutneys, it was pretty tasty. It would have been improved with a bit of salt, which we did not bring with us. It is a distinctly different kind of curry than at other Indian restaurants on Okinawa, not something we would go back to again and again but certainly a nice change of pace. The portion is a bit small, but enough to hold you over until dinner.

Neko Fresh Fruit Smoothy and Lunch

Update July 2009 - There is construction next door to this place, and we have not seen it open for quite some time.

Location: Hamby town, from 58 turn west at the Lawsons that is opposite Foster's commissary gate. The restaurant is half a block down the street on the south side.
Hours: 12-2400 closed Wednesday and Thursday. English is spoken.
http://www.okinawahai.com/my_weblog/2008/10/amazingly-i-mad.html
This place has a slightly ramshackle, built-from-scratch feel. In the front, there is a walk-up counter to purchase smoothies (500Y) and other drinks. Inside, there are three seating options - at the 4 person bar, a 4 person table on the floor, or a side room with a sofa and coffee table. All of which lack something in the back support arena. The owner has pen drawings of Elvis and Bob Marley up on the walls, in addition to a painting of a half naked mermaid and some time-lapse photos of coloured lights at nighttime. The menu is in Japanese, but the owners will translate the dishes for you. Lunch sets are 850-1500Y depending on which main you choose. Jasmine tea is served with the meal, and you have a choice of ice/hot coffee/tea at the end. They come with a mini-cup of homemade soup - ours was okra and broccoli in a simple broth - and a great antipasti plate. Our plate had a cherry tomato wrapped in prosciutto and drizzled in olive oil, some pickles, a little Japanese-style pickled veggie salad, a piece of fresh tofu in soy, and chunk of salmon coated in herbed breadcrumbs and fried. We selected mid-range mains (1280Y) - tofu in Chinese sauce and Thai-style chicken. These were served in stone bowls over rice. The tofu hotpot was unremarkable, quite similar to the typical Japanese-Chinese diner tofu dish. The chicken dish was served with the chicken partially uncooked, ie pink tinged with white. Aghast, we faced down the prospect of actually returning a dish to the kitchen in Japan, something we have never before done. We asked the proprietor if it was his intention to serve the chicken raw. He replied that it was partially cooked, not raw, and something else I couldn't quite understand. He offered to cook it more if we liked. We felt strange about it, having eating lots of other meats raw or partially cooked, but in our training and experience there are two meats not intended to be raw: chicken (due to salmonella and campylobacter) and pork (due to trichinosis). So we had him cook the meat a bit more. The chicken was thin sliced and tender, but the sauce lacked the citrus-herb-chili punch of a real Thai dish. Dessert was a mini-slice of cheesecake with berry jam, two mini crispy cookies, and a very tasty little pudding. Coffee was drip, serves with prepackaged fake cream. So, an interesting place for its hippie rustic vibe and antipasti plate; perhaps we just ordered wrong on the mains.

Awase fish market restaurant

Location: Awase, at the port north and slightly west of the Awase Communication Station. See map 20 in the phone book and find the 85 that travels along the water (if you follow that same road south, it becomes the 227 and head to the Prefectural comprehensive park). On this portion of the 85, there is an intersection marked with signs for SanA, MosBurger, "Japanese restaurant" and Kanehide. The stoplight marked on the map north of that is right by the port - turn in there and park. There are alternative directions on the Okinawahai site.
Hours: restaurant 11a-unsure, closed Sunday
http://www.okinawahai.com/my_weblog/2008/09/awase-fish-mark.html
This place is really popular with the locals, so we had to try it. Basically, half the fish market is set aside for this restaurant, which has an open kitchen with line chefs, a counter where you pick up your food, and picnic table seating. There is also covered outside seating. As you wander through the tables you see the most popular sets are the lobster with sea urchin sauce, the fried whole fish, the fish tempura, and the fish soup. You approach the register and they will give you an English menu, so you can easily order and pay. You then get a number and hang out in front of the counter until the food arrives. The sets come with rice, miso soup, and tuna sashimi, with all-you-can-drink tea in a teapot. The first time we went, we ordered the lobster set (1800Y). This is a half lobster, covered in sea urchin sauce, and grilled. The Japanese appreciate sea urchin sauce as a delicacy, and put it on a lot of seafood dishes. For the unaccustomed (which includes us), the strong and creamy seafood flavour is a bit overpowering. We ended up scraping off the sea urchin sauce and eating it with the rice, and then eating the lobster plain. The lobster was, unfortunately, a bit overcooked. The tuna sashimi had fantastic texture and taste, and the portion was quite substantial for a side dish. After our first visit, we had to wonder if any of the fish sets were better than the lobster. So, we returned to try the other popular sets - the fish soup (1000Y) and the sauteed whole fish (1200Y). Both of these were disappointing. The fish was overcooked and was covered in a heaping mound of minced raw garlic. The herb in the fish soup was bitter and unpleasant, and the taste of it permeated the broth. The fish tasted vaguely of dirt. Really, the only nice part of the meal was the sashimi.
So, it is unclear to us why this place is so popular with the Japanese. Surely there are other restaurants that do a better job with seafood? Anyway, we will not be returning for a third visit.

Nirai cafe

Location: Chatan; turn at the Hamagawa intersection heading west, then make the first left turn after the fishing port. At the end of the road turn right, you are driving along the seaside now, and Nirai will be on your right after a couple blocks.
Hours: per website, 12-5 lunch, after that the cafe functions as a bar, closed Wed http://cafe07.ti-da.net/e1587705.html
This is one of the few seaside cafes in Okinawa. The space is quite pleasant, with an outdoor patio, upstairs loft, art on the walls, and a smattering of plants. We had the lunch set (1000Y) which included consomme with pork bits, main, dessert, and ice/cold/ coffee/tea. The main during our visit was baked whitefish with lemon and veg, which was a satisfying lunch. Accompanying the fish were salad greens, a small piece of quiche, and some broccoli florets drizzled in olive oil. None of the components was phenomenal, but taken together this was a delightful and healthy meal. Dessert was a cake roll stuffed with either sweet potato or tea-flavoured custard. A bit cakey for us, but still appreciated alongside the coffee. The cafe also has some interesting books to browse, including one published in 2002 which reviews 100 cafes in Okinawa.
We also reviewed the bar menu, which lists lots of traditional cocktails no one ever orders anymore, like the Gimlet and Sidecar. Glass wine/beer starts at 500Y, most cocktails 500-700Y, fancy drinks more than that. They have a great Awamori menu, translated into English, with the brand and alcohol content, should anyone care to partake in an Awamori tasting.

Addendum 2/21/09: we have been back a couple times since this initial post. Each time we have been more impressed with the food; most recently we had a tasty tonkatsu, and dessert was a lovely light fruity cheesecake instead of the less delightful cake rolls. This is such a mellow place to do a weekend lunch, in the sunshine on the waterfront, with chilled music.