CONTRIBUTED BY DASHA GARIEPY
Okinawa Hai reader Paul recommended this week's restaurant, Primo Kitchen. Those of us who don't read Japanese are in Paul's debt because he recently typed their menu up in English. Thanks for the hard work, Paul, and thanks for the tip for this week's review!
If you're looking for a larger scale restaurant that serves both Western and Eastern style food, look no further than Primo Kitchen. With three locations to choose from, there's no reason not to put this eatery on your list.
Heather's "Edible Wild Plant Curry" was Y800.
My "Lemon Soy Sauce of Sauteed Sea Bass" for Y890.Now, despite my Southern roots I really dislike the taste of fish. My Mama used to fry up a mess o' catfish and rainbow trout after my Daddy'd been fishin. Can you say, "Ewww!"? The memory of those dinners still makes me gag. My fish-loving friends insist that I don't like fish because I've only had the "wrong" kind. They assure me that the "right" kind, properly prepared, is delectably divine. Keeping an open mind, I've embarked on a quest for flavorful fish. Call me crazy, but I order fish dishes most of the time I eat out. I figure if anyone can do fish right, it will be an islander. Unfortunately, either none of the restaurants I've eaten at know how to cook fish or, it's official, I just don't like it. Because as tasty as this sea bass looks, it tasted like fish!
I'm not saying Primo Kitchen has bad food. On the contrary, I'm eager to go back and order pizza or pasta, as those seemed to be their signature dishes. Heather's curry was great; the salad bar was small but very fresh. The ice cream bar was the perfect after dinner touch, offering twelve different varieties with toppings. And the scones were amazingly sweet. We went home stuffed to the gills.
Meal prices are decent, and you can add the soup/salad/drink/dessert bar for @ four dollars.
Scones are also sold individually so you can take some home for a late afternoon snack.
Primo really has the feel of an American cafe, with wide open seating and a beautifully tiled floor. They also have a large covered front deck area with plenty of tables and chairs for outdoor dining. There is even an express-mini-kitchen outside to serve guests on the go.
Directions to the Yomitan site (from Kadena gate 1): North on 58, pass under two overpasses and take an immediate left on Mizu-something. (Anybody know the full name of this street? It's the one with the big red bridge) Follow this road as it veers left, and continue until it ends. Primo Kitchen will be directly on your left next to Starbucks.
Hours: 11:00 am - 11:00 pm They do serve alcohol.
There are two more store locations, but I do not have directions to either. One is in Ishikawa off 329 on your way to Hansen, and the other is in Okinawa City.
wow! it seems a nice place. I’m sooo “there”
I recently went there and ordered the Carbonnara pasta. It was wonderful! The prices were reasonable, with four of us costing 60 dollars.
The street name is Mizugama.
Another set of directions to the Yomitan location is to go up the 58 and turn left on the 16. Primo Kitchen is right behind Starbucks and you’ll see the Torii field to your right.
This is 1 of 4 restaraunts side by side. The one a few doors down does similar for the same price and gives a kid’s set for FREE!!
And then go a little further into the parking area and it’s a Shopping center with alot to offer: Outlet J(love their clothing), 100 Yen, a shoe store, a game store, Max Valu, a Mos burger and more!
Thanks Dasha…looks like they still changed a few things after I typed it up. That’s the Japanese for you, they always know better than you! lol Anyway, the one in Ishikawa is off of 329, just follow 329 North until you pass the Ishikawa pedestrian circle, Primo will be on the left about 1 km, just as you are leaving town.
For fish, you need to try the butter battered sea bass at The Beach House. It’s located in Onna just past the Renassance (going North) on the left hand side. Just take the first right after the hotel. Looks run down, but the food is awesome.
My family and I love this place! I love the all you can eat salad and soup bar and my husband and son love the all you can eat ice cream bar! We always seem to be the only ones going up there 2 or 3 times. The added perk is they take credit cards! Enjoy!
I have been eating here (at the Yomitan location) on occasion since they opened and I have always gotten an English menu from them….did they do away with them?
Mishka, they had English titles, now there are descriptions for some of the dishes, because the titles were often misleading. Also, the party plans and drink plan are now explained as well.
HAHAHA Dasha! I’m with you! There’s just something a little too fishy about fish!! When my hubby goes out deep sea fishing we end up giving most of the catch away. Yuck! River caught trout on the other hand….Yummy!
We ate here once when Biosmile was closed. It was okay, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to go there again, especially with Biosmile across the street. The pizza was pretty good, and there was enough food with the buffet that we didn’t need a kid’s meal too.
I recently went to the one at Ishikawa circle. My friend and I thought for the price it was pretty good. I had the seabass which was prepared well and my friend had a curry which she liked.
We went back and got a pizza to go another day and it was tasty. One half was seafood…which was a little too seafoody. But the other side I think was a meatlovers type and it was decent for a pizza around here.
We live near by so it is not hard to get to this place. I would recomend it for a nice lunch out on the pation on a sunny day.
I just had to vent a little and googled Primo Kitchen Okinawa… this is what came up….
My husband and I LOVE trying new restaurants and we went to this place two nights ago. I ordered the Salmon, which was over 1200 yen, and it was teensy weensy! It was probably an appropriate “serving size”, but I was highly disappointed. If you go here, don’t order fish, as you can read… order Italian!
We went to the location on 329, on the way toward Hansen. I was prepared to send in a post until I saw this one was already up. We weren’t impressed with our food, at all. I did like the option of the primo set for 399 yen (drinks, salad bar, scones, & ice cream) but the rest of the food wasn’t good (especially the spaghetti with cream cheese sauce)
I went to the Ishikawa branch once with friends and the other time with my daughter this last week and she loved the soup so much she had 5 bowls of them. I had a bit of a cough and saw that they have Apple Vinegar and Mixed Berry Vinegar for drinks and wanted to try some and it was delicious. I love the noodles from the salad bar. And there are 8 different kind of scones and 10 different Blue Seal Ice cream flavor for you to choose from. We had the Terriyaki Chicken Don for $680 with the $399 to make it into a set and we paid Yen 1115 in total. For the amount of food that me and my 2 children ate and the taste and quality of food. I thought it is well worth it. I would go there for a late afternoon lunch though as you can choose the option of just doing the salad bar with drinks, scones and ice cream for just Yen500 all you can eat. Now where can you find that?
This is one of my favorite restaurants here! We have only been to the one near Torii Station in Yomitan, but we go often. The food is wonderful, especially their pizza and their garlic pasta. They have a good variety of kids meals, which of course come with several food options on the plate which is perfect for picky youngsters. We always get the Primo Set for 399 yen – I love the scones, soup (yummy!) and ice creame. I highly recommend you give the Yomitan branch a try (since I haven’t tried the others, I would assume they’re the same but you never know). It’s near Toguchi Park.
Primo is right around the corner from our house in Okinawa City. We decided to try it out tonight. I wish I would have thought to check for a review before I went; it might have made ordering smoother. Yet, figuring things out made it a fun adventure. We had an all around enjoyable experience. The food was tasty. The service was friendly. The chance to get a little taste of many things was a bunch of fun. I didn’t read all of the many reviews. Sorry if this was already posted… they now have an English menu available.
also, I had the Sea Bass. I am a little bit of a food snob and I thought it was delicious. I portion size was appropriate, not super sized American style.
” they now have an English menu available.”
They’ve had an English menu for well over a year.
Angela, where is the one in Okinawa City? I live there and am wondering if it is nearby.
I went here today with my 9 year old for lunch. FYI, all the restaurants in this section of the shopping center have their menus out front with English. Ring the bell in the middle of the table to place your order. I had the cheese pasta and was prepared for a unique/different taste but it was very close to alfredo sauce. Nothing off or weird about it. It was a hit with both of us and we picked up a bag of 8 assorted scones for Y500 to bring home and share with the rest of the family. I like that there is parking and so much to choose from in this area.