CONTRIBUTED BY STACY STORRS

Hanahou sign
After a fun, exhausting trip up the Cape Zanpa Lighthouse my family and I decided it was time for some lunch. We enjoy cruising around and trying to find someplace we have never been for a new and adventurous meal. On our way back to Kadena from Cape Zanpa we found a cute little sign for a restaurant named HanaHou Island Style Café.

Hanahou outisde We decided to take a quick right into the TINY dirt parking lot to try this restaurant, which we soon found to be a hidden treasure!! The restaurant has a very distinct island feel.

The menu included five lunch plate options (the most expensive being only 1,050 Yen), pizzas, sides, and drinks with an unlimited soup, salad and beverage buffet for only 200 Yen!!

I ordered the fried chicken, which was moist, flavorful and downright DELICIOUS!  My husband had a burger served on a bed of rice with a beef curry flavored gravy over top, all topped off with an egg cooked over easy… Yet again, DELICIOUS!  With every single bite my husband and I “mmmm”-ed and said “We need to come here more often!”

Hanahou chx
Hanahou burger
We ordered a side of fries for the kids and shared our meals with them.  Each of us added the “lunch set” to our meal and shared soup and salad with the kids as well. In the end we fed our family of four for less than 4.000 Yen! And my daughter’s favorite part of the whole thing?? The four legged, furry vacuum who sat under our table the entire meal waiting for droppings from the kids!

Hanahou Dachs
The very sweet, calm and quiet pup made very sure that we didn’t leave a mess behind for the waitress to clean.  There is also a patio upstairs, which we didn’t utilize; I think it may be for their busier dinner hours.

Hours:  Lunch: 11am-4pm (Last order taken at 3) Dinner: 6pm-11pm (Last order taken at 10)  Phone: 098-958-0568

Payment: Yen and Major credit cards.

Address: 216 Senaha, Yomitan

Google Maps Coordinates: 26.4223303, 127.73051329999998

Directions: From Kadena: Take Hwy 58 North to Route 6. Turn Left onto Route 6 and follow the signs for Cape Zanpa. The sign for HanaHou Café will be on the left hand sign, parking is immediately off the road and the restaurant is just on the other side of the parking lot.

Click photos to see Menu 1, Menu 2.

Hanahou menu 1 Hanahou menu 2

18 COMMENTS

  1. Pretty sure the previous poster had a miscommunication somewhere. Eat at Hanahou all the time. Food is amazing and so is the service. One of the best restaurants on island. As for being followed out of the restaurant. 90% of the time I’ve been there, the staff will walk you to the door and thank you. But don’t take my word for it. Check it out yourself. But make reservations, because it’s usually packed.

  2. Very unusual encounter at the Hanahou restaurant in Yomitan.
    Basically, here is my assessment:

    5-Star Scale
    Food Quality: 3 1/2 stars
    Service: 1 star
    Ambiance: 3 stars

    The food was very well prepared. They have a spicy tuna appetizer that is very delicious. My wife’s dinner and my daughter’s (our daughter is 7 yrs old) meal were quite delightful.

    My disappointment involves their service. (Three individuals working at restaurant: Older Okinawan male, younger Okinawan female, and young American speaking boy) I believe I made a fuax pas of accidentally hitting the “call” button twice (I could not hear a bell or buzz. Also, felt I did not hit the button correctly). After that occurred, the teenage boy began to become passively apprehensive towards me and my family. He then became very animated and overly nice to the family (wife, husband, and 5-6 yr old son) next to us. The teenage boy began showering this family with free food.

    After ten minutes of not really being helped or asked how we are doing the teenage boy came over with three small cups. I asked what they were. The teenage boy responded, “I am not going to charge you for something we did not offer.” His response was completely off subject.

    Soon, the older Okinawan worker began staring me down. My wife drew my attention to this and she took the initiative to ask for the check. The teenage boy took my card and then returned with two charges on my account and a credit back. At no time did they even allow me to know what I was being charged for or why we were being charged more than the lower (credited) amount. (Additional note: The teenage boy brought previous customers their checks.)

    The teenage boy then followed us out of the restaurant. Side note: Not one of the staff did this for anyone else. There were three individuals working at the restaurant. The restaurant appears to be owned by an American. We have eaten at numerous other restaurants throughout Okinawa (Nagu, Naha, etc.) and have been treated much, much better than this.

    The food was quite nice but the service was awful. We will never return to this restaurant.

  3. If you like tofu, their jamami is soooo good!! Also, so is their chanpuru! The avocaodo/shrimp wasabi salad is a must. Actually…I’ve not had anything there that wasn’t delicious. I love it! AND the little weiner dog in there is too precious!!

  4. Had lunch here today, nice little place. Parking was fairly easy, just have to be smart and not block someone in.

    The food was great. We had the hawaii pizza, the poki and the chicken and it was very good. Plan on going back someday!

    Kid friendly, english menus available.

  5. I’ve never been to Hawai’i so I can’t compare. My kids and I have only eaten lunch there, several times, and we would rate the food a “7” on a scale with “10” being the best (Mom’s/my cooking). “Buddy” the dachshund is a good boy. Apparently, the manager (owner?) likes all things Hawaiian, and is even a (male) Hula dancer. I would like to try their dinner menu; maybe one of these days…

  6. I have to agree with the original poster, I love this restaurant. Their cheesy loco moco is yummy and the taco rice is a close second to our favorite on the island. The staff is so friendly, including the pooch who graciously awaits your food hitting the floor. Give it a try. 🙂

  7. I will never return to here again. The food was not good at all. I ordered there poke, fried chicken and spam pizza and they were all horrible. They should not even refer to this place as a hawaiian restaurant. not even come close!!

  8. Ate here last week and it was really good. Staff was extremely helpful. I love the dog too. My daughter dropped her food on the floor. I was about to pick it up when the dog ate it. I didn’t have to worry about picking up the food on the floor after that:D

  9. This place is really very good, with simple, honest, and delicious food. Far better than one might expect from driving by. One dish not too miss, and only served at dinner, is their Spicy Edamame. Seriously, and I mean seriously, addictive! Perhaps mans greatest achievement in beer drinking accoutrements!

  10. Have to agree, the food here is really good. The avocado shrimp salad was cold and refreshing, the avocado perfect. The spicy edamame are simply addictive, while the tuna sashimi dishes were pretty spot delish. The avocado spam pizza is unusual, and tasty, a bit of black pepper really kicks it up a bit. The fried chicken looked amazing, steaming hot and crispy looking. Next time, it’s all mine! Carafes of wine reasonable indeed at 1200Y.