CONTRIBUTED BY LARISSA TRAQUAIR

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When I was introduced to curry during my first visit to Okinawa, back in 1998, I didn’t realize that there were so many curry options to enjoy.  You have Japanese curry, Thai curry, Indian curry, Nepalese curry and more that I’m sure I am not aware of.  Coco’s curry is a great place to enjoy Japanese curry, Somchai is great for Thai curry, Spice Kitchen for Nepalese curry and Krishna is a favorite with many on-island for Indian curry.  Laxmi offers yet another spin on one of my favorite foods.

Their curry is stewed for 3 days and is not made with water or flour.  Instead, they use plenty of onions and tomatoes to make their curry.  Thousands of years of Indian history pass along that their spices are believed to cure and prevent sickness.  I’m not sure I can tell if that is true or not after one visit to Laxmi but I can assure you that my hunger for something great was cured – if for at least one afternoon.

Like so many great places to enjoy a meal on Okinawa, Laxmi offers several different types of curry to choose from.  Today’s special was the pumpkin curry but the everyday choices were Chicken, Keema, Beef or Bean.  My absolute favorite, in my humble opinion, is the White curry.  This is an original recipe from the owner made with yogurt.  Yummy!

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Their curry plates run between Y840 and Y1,380 – the price varies depending on if you choose a plate or a set.  For Y1,380 you can get your curry plate, yellow rice, salad, a choice of drink and dessert.  You can also order Nan bread for Y280.  From the menu you can also choose salad, cheese topping and cakes separately.  Their yellow rice is made with Japanese rice and turmeric – this is what gives it the yellow color you see.  All curry plates are served with a hard-boiled egg.  I didn’t think to ask about it as this is Okinawa and they serve egg on a lot of dishes.  If you are not a fan it is easy to dish the egg out of your curry since it is cooked!

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We ordered Lassi for our drink choice and we got to choose from plain, pineapple, peach or orange.  You can also order soft drinks or iced coffee.

Best of all, we enjoyed the calming influence this restaurant possesses with their creative way of decorating and separating the tables so you can enjoy both your meal and some conversation.  Our waitress was very nice and helpful as this is a family ran business and they take great pride in their food.

Happy eating!


Laxmi

Payment:  This restaurant takes Yen and American Dollars

Hours:  11:30 a.m. until 9 p.m.  Closed on Mondays.  Lunch is from 11:30 a.m. until 2:30 p.m.

Phone: 098-931-0141

Address:  709-15 Shimabuku, Kitanakagusuku

Google Maps Coordinates: 26.3235969, 127.80045070000006

Directions:  Take 330 from Foster and make a right at the intersection of 330 and 22.  You will pass Awase Meadows Golf Course on your left and go to the 3rd signal, which is also the last signal before you get to the bottom of the hill.  You will pass the large gorilla on the left – this is an ad for a salon.  At the 3rd signal, right past JiJi’s Cafe, make a left.  Follow this street down a little ways and you will see Laxmi on your left.  Parking is right in front.

16 COMMENTS

  1. To start those directions are a bit outdated. Here they go: from foster legion gate(shopette gate) take a left on to 330 at the intersection if 330 and 22 take a right. At the next light take a left keep going straight for about five minutes it’ll be on your left (note there will be a fork stay to the left). Now about the food. It’s awesome do read reviews try it for yourself you won’t regret it!!!

  2. HUGE DISAPPOINTMENT!

    For those of you who have said this is the “best Indian food” on island – are you plain crazy, or do you just love microwaved leftovers? In all seriousness, every dish we ordered on our visit was microwaved. How do I know? I was sitting next to the kitchen and could clearly hear the loading and beeping of the microwave over and over during my visit.

    The curry was burned to the edge of the bowl (microwave symptom) and the “naan” was just a store-bought unleavened loaf prepped in a toaster oven.

    This is not Indian food, it’s simply a few different curry dishes put together, some of which have been poured onto a frozen dough and called “pizza.” There are no other “Indian” items on the menu. None.

    That said, the one woman working was very nice, and the decor is interesting, but would be much better suited to an actual Indian restaurant.

    The directions have changed considerably.

    If you want real Indian food, with curry that tastes 100x better and a real menu, go to Taj Okinawa (two locations), Bollywood (American Village), or Krishna (the best – located of 330 just a mile or two from Laxmi).

    One last thing: it was bad enough to hear the microwave cook every dish, but the worst part was that they TASTED OLD. Very sad, and uncharacteristic of Okinawa dining.

  3. We live just down the road from this place (walking distance) and tried this for the first time the other day. Of course had to try something unusual, so went for the pumpkin curry. It was delicious. The reason it has taken 2 years to try this place is b/c my husband doesn’t like curry 🙁 Will definitely go back and try some of their other curries, the taste, decor, and service are wonderful!

  4. Best curry on island by far! I love this place. The lady that works there is very sweet. The same owner has opened another restaurant! If you ever ordered their curry pizza you know that it’s amazing. Well they’ve opened up a curry pizza restaurant in Awase! It’s directly on 20 ( gate 2 street ). If you go out gate2 Kadena and follow that road straight it’ll be on your left hand side right after a Family Mart. If you pass a KFC you’ve gone to far. Their hours are 11:30-21:00. They have English menus with picture. The prices for a Medium pizza is 1,180¥, Large 1,580¥, and X-Large 2,180¥. The curry base for the pizza is the same exact thing as the other restaurant. You can get a Keema curry base, pumpkin, spinach, and white curry with plenty of topping options. They also have their amazing lassi’s and other finger food options. They have a small dinning in area but we just took ours home. This place just opened this weekend.

  5. Without a doubt the best Indian food I’ve ever had. I’ve been to all the other curry places here and this is my favorite! The service is fantastic, she is so sweet. We have only been about 7 times in our 3.5 years here and she remembers us every time.
    And the food is to die for. I always leave not full, but not hungry… satisfied. Their Naan pizza is great- worth a try. Try the white curry too. It’s very unique. I personally love everything I’ve had.
    Even if you don’t like spicy food check this place out- you can add some yogurt (provided) into the curry to make it a milder taste. I love that they don’t use flour in the curry too so it’s great if you’re gluten free.

    This place and SomChai are tied as my favorite restaurants on this island!

    Also- before you leave you must check out the bathroom. It’s really cool!

  6. J – let me know if you find it and what you think of their food. It would be great to know that my directions are easy to follow or I can fix them.

    As for no to-go boxes, that is correct. They would have let me take my rice home but not the curry. This isn’t the only restaurant that won’t let you take your leftovers home with you but it can be frustrating if you are not a big eater.

    It’s still worth it – just come hungry or share!!!

  7. I don’t know the name of it, but right before Laxmi there is a little Okinawan restaurant that is GREAT! They serve the best “pork meal” and fried chicken … so delicious! And the prices are inexpensive … about $15 for two meals.