CONTRIBUTED BY LAURA WALKER

Ofukuro Exterior
Ofukuro Exterior

Craving that Italian bistro from back home? I’ve found the perfect fit in Yomitan. Ofukuro is a chic restaurant that is full of metropolitan charm. I drove by this place so many times staring at the big window wondering what kind of cuisine might await me.

When I stepped inside, I was not disappointed. The décor is similar to a rustic bistro including a bar full of various liquors. Ofukuro has an extensive menu in both English and Japanese. Options range from a collection of compari cocktails, many European wines, (including the house wine by the glass for 500 JPY) and a fabulous menu that will please any foodie.

Ofokura Interior
Ofukura Interior
Ofokura Specials
Ofokura Special

Appetizers include avocado dip, bruschetta, cheese plates, and more. Besides the special entrees of the day list on a chalkboard menu, they always serve salmon, beef, chicken, pasta, and pizza . I noticed several people dropping by just to get their carry out pizza. I couldn’t help but stare at the boxes in envy as they carried that heavenly aroma out of the door.

We decided for the evening to enjoy a cheese plate, the greatest Caesar salad of my life, red snapper, and a glass of the house red. Every dish was perfect! The cheese plates had a wide selection for Okinawa and provided dried fruit and savory breadsticks. The Caesar salad was anything but bland. The large stack of greens was covered with a house made dressing, bell peppers, chicken, and hard boiled eggs. I know its not your typical salad but it was awesome!

Ofokura Salad
Ofukura Salad

The red snapper was buttery and cooked to perfection. I am so happy to find this hidden gem of a restaurant. The best part was the total including 2 glasses of wine was 3,000 JPY (entrees ran about 700-900 JPY). The evening was the perfect date night!

Address: 1819-2, Nagahama, Yomitanson, Nakagami-gun, Okinawa, 904-0324

Phone: 098-958-2227

Hours: Open for dinner Monday – Saturday, 5 pm – midnight

Payment:  Credit cards (mastercard, visa, discover) and Yen are accepted.

Directions: From Kadena take the 58 north. Take a left on the 6 and continue past Torii station and the sign for the 12. Ofukura will be on the right with two giant sets of fork and knives (this is before the Mintama target sign). The Sign is in English “Ofukuro” and parking is to the left of the restaurant.

This article was featured on Stripes Okinawa!

8 COMMENTS

  1. Ate there tonight. It is truly an amazingly romantic place. Awesome food at an awesome price. I had the lamb, potatoes w/ salad and wife had spaghetti, appetizer. And coke for ¥2,500! Cant beat it!

  2. My wife and I love this restaurant. The level of intimacy is fantastic. I was trying to do something special for my wife on valentines day beyond the norm… Well I decided to go in advance to talk with the chef to work something out. After much difficulty, laughter, and language barrier the chef (who speaks more more English than I speak Japanese) agreed on a “chef’s table” type of deal based around a 4 course meal. If you’ve ever sat at a chef’s table you know the entire meal is at the chef’s choice. He asked if we didn’t like a particular food or had allergies. We came back valentines afternoon at 530 per our reservations. Little did we know what was ahead… A spectacular blending of Japanese and Italian cuisine via a full SEVEN course meal. The proportions were perfect and each plate complimented the next perfectly, both in taste and visual. I must admit that this is not a norm, as I said earlier my wife and I have eaten there several times to the point of first name basis. If you like lamb there is no other place I’ve found in oki that’s better. And I’ve only had better at a $100 per person steak house in Atlanta. Get on a first name basis with the chef, enjoy the food. You won’t regret it. Feel free to email me with any questions.

  3. I’m not sure if it was the night we went (December 2012), but our meal was sub par. First of all, our food came out of order (appetizer was last) and every dish we ordered had a lot of lettuce on it (?) We ordered a salad, which was all iceberg, appetizer, and two entrees (lamb and fish). Both the lamb and fish were very salty, almost to the point where they were inedible and the fish was overcooked. The appetizer was fried avocado, but it was not freshly fried (appeared to be pre-fried in tempura batter and then microwaved). It sounds like most of the other posts included pasta and pizza in their orders. Not sure if we hit a bad night or just ordered wrong, but we have no plans to return. The only saving grace was that the bill came out below 4,000 yen. A big disappointment for date night!

    • SKG…I can tell you must have been eating at some place other than Ofukuro. There is only one chef. He uses only the freshest ingredients. The reason I can say this is the chef does not does not over cook or over salt any of his dishes. The other part of your order, the fried avocado, not being cooked fresh is a sure indicator you did not go to Ofukuro. I have been there numerous times and have had friends dine there too. Never, ever have I heard any of them experience what you did. You may want to try Ofukuro the next time around. Happy dining!

      • I do know that we are talking about the same Ofukuro since I live in Yomitan and read Japanese. Again, not everyone will have the same experiences or have the same taste buds, and it is important that readers have a balanced view before they spend their money on a meal.

  4. We ate here tonight and the food was great! we had 2 pizzas, grilled snapper, ofokuro salad, octopus & sardines fried rice, coke and orion beer for 5,000Y. This is now on our short list of fav place to eat here in Oki.

  5. Just ate here with my husband tonight (we live in Yomitan and drove passed it many times) and it was amazing! Cozy ambiance, great service, amazing food and great prices. We had:

    Avocado dip with tortilla chips
    Shrimp and scallops pasta
    Salmon (cooked in a foil packet with mushrooms in a delish sauce)
    2 cokes
    1 Orion beer

    And for all this we only paid 3,500Y! A salmon dish of that quality in the states would’ve been $40 just for that plate and we got our entire meal for that price. Will definitely be going back.