CONTRIBUTED BY KASSIE O’DRISCOLL

Seaside BBQ l Okinawa Hai!

My husband, Mark, and I tried Seaside BBQ months ago, but life has been incredibly busy (and fun) so I’ve struggled to get this post written! However, I’m here now with information about a BBQ joint that will make you feel like you’re in North Carolina! Aw, NC, how I miss thee.

Seaside BBQ l Okinawa Hai!
Menu – click to enlarge

The restaurant is owned by a family of Americans who work full-time outside of the restaurant and come straight from work to make delicious food! In July, when we were there, it was a simple “picnic” layout complete with the checkered table cloths. The menu was full of southern style goodies and the people were extremely welcoming… What more could you ask for?!

I got the Pulled Pork Plate with two sides: mac & cheese + mashed potatoes. Mark got the Chopped BBQ Beef Sandwich with two sides: mac & cheese + BBQ beans. The meats are all smoked out back … just like I remember back home! We both REALLY loved our food.

Seaside BBQ l Okinawa Hai!

 

Seaside BBQ l Okinawa Hai!

We barely wanted to share with the other, but couldn’t resist. Our only complaint would be that the lemonade and sweet tea leave much to be desired. However, I will say that my husband and I are kind of snobs when it comes to those two things.

This little guy was there to greet us at the door…

Seaside BBQ l Okinawa Hai!

A little morbid, if you think about it, but I think that even he would agree that the ribs at Seaside look pretty darn tasty! The whole rack comes out looking like something from ice age (huge!) and smells delightful. We saw at least three or four people order them while we were there. They could literally feed Mark and I for three days.

Seaside BBQ l Okinawa Hai!Based on what I found online, they’ve expanded their menu (alligator?!) Either way, I highly recommend this restaurant! If you’re just craving some good, home-style cooking or whatever your reason may be … GO! You won’t be let down.

Hours: Tuesday – Friday 6:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.; Saturday & Sunday 11:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m. Closed Monday. **This was in July, when we went, so I would recommend calling beforehand to be sure.**

Phone: 098-968-8900

Address: 1668-2 Igei, Kin-cho, Kunigami-gun, Okinawa Prefecture 904-1202 , Japan

Directions: Take the expressway to exit 7. Turn right. Go down about a mile and as the road curves right (you’ll see tombs on the left), pass XYZ Cafe, and the next building is SeaSide BBQ on the left.

Facebook page: Seaside BBQ

6 COMMENTS

  1. Quick summary: if you don’t live in the area, do not make the drive. If you are nearby or have a strong hankering for something slightly American themed, this is your place.

    We’re staying up near Camp Hansen for a few days, and I think for a restaurant up in this area, it gets the job done. We’d go again.

    Pros:
    +Chicken wings are good. Wing night is a good deal, they have fun flavors (hot coconut, honey mustard) as well as classics (BBQ, cajun, etc.)
    +Ribs were pretty good! Not the “best I’ve ever had” by any means, but I would order them again.
    +Spring rolls were perfect. Crispy on the outside, moist and delicious on the inside.
    +The FREE sweet tea was to our taste! Not overly sweet, yet sweetened enough.
    +Service was good.
    +Cute typical BBQ decor. Old license plates on the walls with kitschy country signs, checkered table clothes, Americana style
    +Pretty view

    Cons:
    -Pulled pork sandwich was dry and the bun was too small
    -All sides were mediocre at best. Coleslaw was the most okay, mashed potatoes and gravy just okay, potato salad was very mustardy, and the beans were what I imagine my healthy friend would make in lieu of legit beans.
    -We went on the eve of a 48 (Veteran’s Day) and there was a pack of single Marines being single Marines at the start of a 48. This made the restaurant not family friendly, but for us kidfree folk it was just slightly embarrassing to be American as well.

    I was a little sad they didn’t serve some sort of Americana (or any) dessert. I would have paid some crazy cash for an American style apple pie after our feast. All in all, we’d stop by if we were hungry and nearby or REALLY hankering for some wings/ribs/spring rolls.

  2. I’ve been wanting to try the BBQ for quite some time now, so possibly my expectations were set a weeeee bit too high. I’ll agree that the ribs were not bad but, was not impressed with the potato salad or the baked beans. And the portion size were French portions, so the plates shown on the above pictures have to be salad plates. Also, I was shocked by the free flow access to the food prep area by everyone that worked in the place. For such great expectations, I was highly disappointed.

  3. My husband and I visited this restaurant a few weekends ago.
    The good: we both enjoyed the pork and mashed potatoes.
    The bad: watery mac and cheese that tasted like a box mix, and I concur with the author that the tea and lemonade were pretty awful.
    Reasonably priced, but not worth the drive unless you live up that way.

  4. My family and I recently visited this wonderful barbecue restaurant. We were totally lost, but!! We hope these directions will help. We went to Exit 8 (KIN IC) then at intersection of the end of the toll road is route 329. We took a right onto 329. Drove for about 1.2 KM and seaside barbecue was on our left. However, if you some how drive pass it like we did at night. If you see a large ESSO gas station with self service car wash. You have gone to far. turn around and go back the way you came. From ESSO gas station Seaside Barbecue will be on your right now. Very small parking area, but very good substitute for southern barbecue. Their sauces are pretty good too. We paid 3000 yen for 2 pull pork sandwiches 4 sides 1’kids meal and 1 half rack of ribs and one can soda.