Nouka — Restaurant in Kobe

I found this restaurant really quite disappointing. Firstly, it is quite expensive for quite small portions. I am a vegan, and at this restaurant I asked for a meat, dairy and egg free dish. I was brought a pizza with a tuna sauce, ham, potato and cheese on top. I understand that the language barrier will have contributed to this problem, but we were very clear about these needs and it has never been a problem in Japan before. Once I told them of the mistake I was still charged for the dish we did not order or eat, and then they brought a bowl of steamed vegetables which I also had to pay for. I travelled here with a friend who is a meat eater, and his dish was also very disappointing - he was given a fatty, gristly steak which was heavily over salted. It was one of the worst meals of my time in Japan, although we did enjoy the décor which is lovely and traditionally Japanese. If you have any dietary needs I do not recommend...

They told us they had vegetarian food, but it seemed to just be appetisers. Even after telling our waitress we were vegetarian, (in japanese!) , and she pointed out suitable dishes on the menu (about 5), then after - she served us an egg dish with whole fish (white bait) + shrimp in it.... We ordered 2 dishes she had pointed to and it turned out to be a salad and 4 small dishes of raw cold vegetables... This with 2 soft drinks ended up being £15. 1* because the grape and ginger drinks were amazing! (ok the star rating is a bit harsh, but i want to draw attention for potentially future mislead veggies). I'm sure this place does good food if you're a meat-eater, although each individual dish is small and expensive so quickly adds up. but the staff should not tell us its vegetarian. They also tried to charge us for the egg/fish dish which was served to us without asking and we assumed was...

I had a lovely time here. The food was delicious and authentic, the atmosphere was comfortable and charming, and the staff were very friendly. I would give it 5 stars if I thought I would be able to navigate the menu with my limited Japanese. I came with a Japanese speaker, so she ordered everything. I think the staff speak some English, but there is none on the menu, not even romaji translations. Prices were good for the quality of food. We ordered the seven veggies, oden, croquettes, tsukune (delicious meatball), and bacon wrapped corn. With three beers and a highball, I think it came to about ¥5500...