洋食 小さこ — Restaurant in Hiroshima

No rice? No problem.

It’s my first time visiting Japan (I’m from the United States) and about a week and a half in, the food has truly been amazing everywhere. However, this spot takes the cake. My friend found this place somehow the night before and raved about it, so our group (6 of us) made it a point to come tonight and try it out. Best. Decision.

We arrived at the restaurant a little less than 2 hours before closing and found out 2 things right away: -There’s little to no English communication both via written (menu was all Japanese) and spoken (both staff members only spoke Japanese) -We were also told upon arriving that the restaurant was out of rice. Wasn’t sure what to make of this initially - a little weird for a Japanese restaurant to not have rice but also maybe a good sign of recent uptick in business. Given our friend’s rave review, we decided to take it as a good omen and got seated.

The place was very clean all around and the ambiance was that of a higher end mom and pop shop. It showed that the 2 people running the place took an immense amount of pride in the service they were offering.

We took a seat and scanned the menu via Google Translate to understand our options and began ordering. Any questions we had were communicated through a mixture of bits of common English and Japanese and sometimes more complexity involved using Google translate to type out phrases.

The food was excellent. I don’t ever write reviews, so trying to describe it would be a disservice to their art. The only thing I can do is say I’ve eaten at some highly rated restaurants across many major metropolitan areas in the United States, and this would give a lot of places a run for their money. Genuine, fresh, and original flavors were the themes in every dish.

What could have possibly beat the food? The phenomenal service. There were 2 people we saw working - an elderly man who was cooking and a woman who was also cooking but was also taking orders and in charge of service. They took hospitality to the next level despite the language barrier and excelled in providing a level of care that was previously unbeknownst to me.

I really hope this place gets the recognition it deserves. Please visit (remember to have Google translate ready if you don’t speak Japanese), enjoy the food, and spread the word....

Simply exceptional. As an American who has eaten French food over and over again in New York City, this restaurant is not only significantly cheaper, but the flavors are so much more developed then what you would expect in a foreign country.

I had the most expensive item on the menu, sole meunière and it was 1500 yen. The portions were massive, and you definitely see the Japanese influences (i.e. the salad had a vinegar dressing, miso soup with tofu, pickled vegetables, and vegetables on the side of the fish). And even still, the best part of the meal was the fish. It was both tender and juicy, and the sauce was frankly incredible. The lemon and butter were pared perfectly together, with a mix of savory and sweet that made my taste buds sing.

To be completely honest, such a sauce would not be out of place at some of the Michelin starred restaurants I have been to, such as Le Bernadin and Gabriel Kreuther. I don't say this lightly, but this is my favorite restaurant in all of Japan despite the fact that I typically prefer lighter cuisines such as...

Came for lunch on a Saturday, and the place was really crowded with customers, as expected of a shop that sells delicious food! Ordered the specialty Hamburg Steak set. The meat was so juciy and the sauce just had this subtle yet crucial element that really elevated the flavours of the meat. Run by a father-daughter pair, their customer service was excellent, and no lack of smiles or hospitality despite the peak dining hour. Would highly recommend to anyone to try...