Uomaru — Restaurant in Naha

Great food, but not so great service.

This hole in the wall is a local's favourite, but will probably go unnoticed by traveller's given its hidden location and inconspicuous entrance.

The food I would easily rate at 5 stars. Only the best and freshest local fish is served here. From sashimi bowls, to fish simmered in sauce, to fish karaage, to butter yaki, they do anything and everything with the fish and I have yet to eat anything that wasn't tasty. For a first time visit I'd recommend butter yaki. Your choice of fish, deep fried to perfection, and then slathered in either garlic or mushroom infused butter, it's amazing.

The downside is that everything is in Japanese, no English will be found in any form here. Also, the staff are mysteriously rude by Japanese standards. I can handle the typical robotic attitude of most shop staff but it's like the waiters here don't care one bit about service. An unfortunate lost star as the food really is great.

As a bonus you can so next door to their fish shop to buy some more...

4/5 ⭐ Seafood Adventure at 3-5-1 Takara, Naha

Dropped by this gem in Naha and man, the seafood don Kaizen didn’t disappoint. Price? Fair enough that I didn’t even blink. The fish? Fresher than my playlist on a Monday morning. Every bite was like the ocean giving me a high-five.

Then came the squid ink soup – now, I’ve had squid ink stuff before, but this? The squid was so tender it felt like it had been whispering sweet nothings to the chef. No bounce, no chew – just melt-in-your-mouth magic. If you’re scared of black soup, don’t be. It’s basically the dark knight of broths.

But the flatfish… oh, the steamed flatfish. This one didn’t just steal the show, it took the mic, dropped it, and walked off stage. So soft, so clean, like it was meditating in the steam before landing on my plate. Honestly, I’d come back just for that fish.

Overall? 4 stars. Almost perfect. Maybe next time they’ll throw in something wild to push it to 5 – but for now, I’m still dreaming of...

As a diner drawn in by the restaurant's impressive ratings, I eagerly anticipated a good culinary experience. However, my visit left much to be desired, particularly concerning their acclaimed dish, the No.1 - Fish Uomaru-san Don.

While the presentation was visually appealing, with a seemingly balanced ratio of rice to fish, the taste failed to meet expectations. The sashimi, while abundant, was disappointingly chopped too finely, detracting from the overall texture and flavor. Additionally, the advertised salmon was scarcely present, comprising a mere 1% of the dish.

Regrettably, the experience did not justify the price tag, as I found myself longing for a more satisfying meal elsewhere. Despite the restaurant's stellar reputation, the Fish Donburi fell short of its acclaim, leaving me questioning the validity of the hype surrounding the...