AWkitchen GARDEN — Restaurant in Kamakura

Overall, 4.5 Stars!! We will recommend, and, return!! Fresh ingredients, savory flavor, and chill, melodic-like atmosphere! Music was on-point! From artists such as Anderson Paak, and Phoney PPL, to DJ Mitsu bringing the local flavorful beats!

We went on a Saturday, around 1630. It wasnt crowded at all, but there was still a bit of a wait to be seated, possibly due to minimal staffing. There was one couple inside downstairs, and what I deduced was another couple upstairs. There was a few couples enjoying the beautiful garden, sun, the views and the nearby passing train. And my wife enjoyed the views of cute little poouches that were also dining with us, but outside on the wooden patio deck of course :)

Menu: They have set menus where you can choose between the "Garden Set", which comes with there "House Garden Salad", vegetable soup and your choice between pizza or pasta. Or, you can go with the "AW Course" set which adds an addition "Today's Appetizer". There's other items on the menu, which I tried to order but was informed set-menu choices only. Not sure what secret code is needed to partake in some of their other good-looking menu items, but ok, ill go with it!

Salad: ☆☆☆☆☆ I had the House Vegan Green Salad. Fresh, crisp, and topped with a great blend of house dressing. Perfect amount.

Soup: ☆☆☆☆☆ Flavorful, perfect temp, and plated well in a nice glass coffee mug.

Appetizer: ☆☆☆☆ My "today's appetizer" was the Smoked Salmon Trout Carpaccio W/Citrus and Silicon Olive Oil. Quantity, could have been more than 3 slices, at least an even amount of 4 would have sufficed. The plating could use some work. Uneven seasoning throughout the dish, taste and presentation-wise. Mediocore "green leafy" presentables, they were slightly dreary/ droopy. And slightly over-powering olive oil taste again, uneven seasoning. However, overall, the cut, preparation and flavoring of the Salmon itself, excellent!

Main Dish: ☆☆☆☆☆ For my choice, I had the Margherita, Tomato & Mozzarella Cheese pizza. Quantity, Perfect size, very fulfilling! Quality, Sauce was amazing, ingrdients tasted fresh and flavorful. I couldn't taste each ingredient seperately, it all flowed as if I was eating, well, a Margherita pizza! Great bark on the crust acheived from their brick-oven! Be sure to break out your fork as the sauce consistency isn't thick, as to be expected.

Main Dish: ☆☆☆☆ My wife chose the Spaghetti Bolognese W/Eggplant. Quantity, plentiful! Quality, almost perfect. The noodles could have boiled a bit longer, not quite al-dente. In fact, in one of my bites, a noodle or two was slightly crunchy. But, what my wife couldn't finish, I did! Plating, could use some work, inconsistent and sloppy presentation. However, the sauce, minced meat, fresh ingredients and perfect temp. combination made this a near-perfect...

This spot was a truly lucky find.

I arrived in Kamakura without a plan and very hungry. As I wandered toward the beach I saw this place. Impulsively I went in for lunch.

Only the lunch set was available to me (which included Soup, Salad and a choice of pizza or pasta from their menu). I could not have been happier.

I chose the pasta of the day - Arrabiatta with Mushrooms and Rencon. The chilled radish soup was rich and flavorful. The salad was the biggest surprise as it was not simply lettuce, tomato and dressing as I expected - it was more like a bagna cauda with fresh radish, corn on the cob, pickled rencon and even dried black olive (among others). The pasta was prepared perfectly (slightly al dente). The Arrabiatta sauce was spicy and hearty - there were a mix of Japanese mushrooms and both sautéed and fried rencon. The fried rencon added a fantastic textural element. The finishing touch was the perfect sprinkle of parmesan.

Among the available beverages was house made Ginger Ale - one of my favorites - a zingy flavor to compliment the whole meal.

The atmosphere is well planned - lots of natural woods and greens. I was surprised to discover the chairs had been recovered from an old church. Since this place is located in a beach town, there is plenty of outdoor seating available.

Menu is in English and staff was very helpful with the translation of ingredients that might not be familiar to...

We stopped here for lunch on a Friday after exploring the temples and shrines nearby. We were seated and given instructions on how to order. They use a QR code and had menus in English. We got 2 pizzas and the caprese salad. They were delicious. Don't be afraid of the pizza with the white bait on it. It's not fishy at all. It was very flavorful and delicious. The crust is thin, chewy and the pizza is wood fired. The staff was very attentive and quick with refilling water. Wasn't expecting to eat pizza in Japan but I'm glad we did. Would...