CONTRIBUTED BY SARRA MCMILLAN
Curry is abundant in Japan. Heck, you can buy decently delicious from Family Mart. But sometimes, CoCo’s or convenience store curry experiences lack the class factor that you crave on a night out. Enter Pine Tree Bless Curry Café.
Located on one of the many, trendy backstreets of Shintoshin, the tasteful decour includes comfortable seating, fresh flowers, and warm lighting.
The curry menu options – despite some English typos – are wide-ranging, from Spinach Curry to Tomato & Mincemeat Curry to Chicken & Mushroom Green Curry. As a cheese-lover, I chose to have the Cheese Curry. Every order of curry comes with naan bread or white rice.
While it may be a Curry Café by name, the menu does not limit itself to curry-only cuisine. Pizza, sandwiches, salads and a wide-ranging drink and dessert menu make Pine Tree Bless the perfect place for lunch or dinner in Naha. Especially when it comes to the price: for a Cola, the Cheese Curry with naan, and an extra order of rice, I paid 1000 yen. As we paid, we received a complimentary piece of gum … because, as delicious as the curry is, we certainly don’t need our breath to smell like it for the rest of the day!
Hours: Lunch runs 11:30-14:30 and dinner is from 14:30-22:00 (last order at 21:30)
Payment: Yen, dollars, and credit cards accepted (though I assume that if you pay with American bills, you will receive change in yen)
Phone number: 098-951-2020
Address (in map below): 3 Chome-6-1 Mekaru, Naha
Google Maps Coordinates: 26.2348493, 127.69730090000007
Directions: Coming down the 330, turn right onto the 82 (the intersection before Furujima Monorail Station). Drive through the first intersection. At the following interesction, turn left. You will see a Jr. High School on your left. Turn left onto the second street. Pine Tree Bless Curry Café will be on your left, with free parking (what a blessing!) available across the road. Google map available here.
Alternate Naha Location Address: 2 Chome-4-5 Kumoji, Naha
Google Maps Coordinates: 26.2159704, 127.67959819999999
Website: curry-café.jp/
Cafe Pine Tree Bless is our FAVORITE place to eat (the Kumoji branch – in Naha, near Fukushen Gardens). It’s more of a lounge than a cafe.
Our first time there, we walked from the hotel in which we were staying, so it was very easy to access it. Hatsu (the bartender/waiter) and the chef were the only ones working. The ambiance was perfect for a dinner date, and they had great jazzy type music playing. On top of that the food was fabulous! We had a set, and we each ordered a pasta dish. We couldn’t believe how good it was!
A couple nights ago we decided to return, but it was windy/raining (tropical storm) and couldn’t figure out where to park. I went inside and asked where to park, and Hatsu came out and drove with my husband to their parking area. He had turned into the valet driver this night! They had a movie playing (no sound but with with English subtitles) and more R&B type music rather than jazz. (Though I’m sure they would gladly accommodate music requests.)
Anyhow, we ordered rosemary chicken and potatoes for appetizer, pizza (they were easy about adding pepperoni where it wasn’t already on the pizza), and a shrimp salad. Scrumptious! The dessert I had was one of the chocolate parfaits. Again, unbelievably good.
After dinner Hatsu retrieved our car with one of their validated parking tickets.
The only thing I didn’t like about this place is that people are allowed to smoke inside. Otherwise, wonderful food, good prices, extremely great people, and perfect ambiance.
We would go here every week if we could!