Ogura Honten — Restaurant in Miyazaki

The most major Chicken Nanban in Miyazaki City

Visited in August 2024 A restaurant we visited after researching in advance.

When I visited at 11:30, there were already several people in line. By the time we left the restaurant, there were more than 20 people in line.

Speaking of Miyazaki, we had high expectations for the chicken nanban! The chicken was made from the meat of the chicken's breast.It is quite large and has a great impact on the appearance.The tartar is slightly pink, giving the impression of an aurora borealis sauce. The chicken nanban with a lot of this tartar sauce is a moment of bliss.It is delicious.

We had prior information that there were more tourists than locals, but on the day of our visit, there were some businessmen as well.

I thought it was a well-known restaurant loved by the local community. It...

If there is one thing that Miyazaki is famous for in Japan, it's chicken nanban, and in my experience there is nowhere in Japan that does chicken nanban like Ogura. I stumbled upon Ogura my first time in Miyazaki City and I've been dreaming about those flavors every since. My mouth is watering just writing this review. I found it wandering around one afternoon trying to find a good coffee (an obsession of mine in Japan - seeking out 3rd wave coffee shops). There was a long line at about 2pm on a weekday so I decided to jump in line after reading what I could about the restaurant. I was not disappointed. It was absolutely fantastic. Inside it feels like a US diner, but the food is all Japan. There is no reason to look past the chicken nanban on the menu, but be aware it's a lot of food for one person. Go...

Visited to satisfy my curiosity as to how the original chicken nanban would taste.

To be honest, if you didn't tell me the dish was chicken nanban, I wouldn't have thought it was chicken nanban. Everything was different from the "modern" renditions: the type of meat used (breast meat) the way it's cooked (no crispiness to it) the type of sauce used (a mild-tasting sauce instead of the usual rich tartar sauce with eggs)

I still prefer the versions that have evolved to be the more commonplace ones (crispy, juicy thigh meat with an eggy tartar sauce, yes please!)

FYI: I arrived at 1130am on a weekday and was #25 in line. I got seated at 1145am, which fortunately wasn't too long of a wait. But I would never do it again now that I know what the dish...