Little Plum — Restaurant in Naoshima

This experience is the worst I had in Japan and would suggest to stay far away from unless you want an aggressive staff member harass you, and tell you they will call the cops on you. We came here at the recommendation of the hotel we are staying at, My Lodge, as it is the sister restaurant they have food coupons with.

I am Muslim and can’t eat pork, or meats that aren’t halal. I usually eats vegetarian or pescatarian when traveling and it’s not an option. Unfortunately, I ordered the carbonara pasta, and the description of the dish didn’t include any mention of bacon, it honestly sounded more like a cacio e Pepe from the description so I thought it was a veggie option that they altered.

When my dish came out I saw it had meat pieces so told them I can eat are they able to remove the meat. The chef was rude/confrontational and came out after I asked that holding the dish basically the level of my face and was telling me I must eat it and pay. He said typically, “carbonara” is a dish that is known to include bacon, and so I am in the wrong. He also explained that all ingredients aren’t listed in each dish on the menu, and if i had told the sever beforehand that i had a food allergy or dietary issue, i should’ve stated it and they would’ve made a dish without meat for me. However, i pointed out that there are meat proteins listed in all the other dishes that do have meat and not everyone knows what a carbonara is, if its literally the only item in the main dishes area that has no meat or fish one would assume it is safe

All the while, my friend had a couple of bites of their dish, and had this tall overbearing man having this argument happening right next to her while she was eating. It was really uncomfortable to have him hovering on the right side of with a dish of pasta forcing me to pay for something I can’t eat for religious purposes. Then, a second server came out asking if my friend could eat the meal, insinuating that we just pay for the pasta dish and have her eat it/be done with the situation.

Things escalated very quickly to the point that the chef refused to give me a the chance to speak to the manager, he flat out refused, as he said it is the restaurant’s policy for people to pay for meals they ordered. At one point, he said if the meal wasn’t paid for, they’d take this to the police. Keep in mind, this is a $12 dish. The only reason I wasn’t backing down was the principle and the attitude of these servers. The way they treated me over this was so disrespectful and he kept acting like we were criminals that would run away without paying when it was obvious we were sitting and my friend was finishing her meal. I had to tell him as such to go leave us alone and I call the hotel to tell them about what is going on and see if they could assist with such a worked up man. They did not, they called the manager who apparently is the same for this MyLodge hotel and his cheap self refused to smooth the situation over and said we need to pay. Nonetheless I will not be returning to either establishments and am glad we are only here for the night.

Overall, worst customer service experience. I realize we’re in another country, and in the US, we would’ve just been comped the meal and a new dish sans bacon would’ve been made, but it’s really poor form to treat visitors to your island like this. The power of word of mouth is strong.

I have included both the English menu and the translated...

This restaurant has some good options for lunch and dinner, and they open early on a Monday for dinner where many (many many) other restaurants are closed. The whole fish was amazing and the spaghetti pasta simple but it had a good range of vegetables, often missing in Japanese restaurants.

However, pretty much the whole service staff need to be fired. Other reviews below mention a girl who doesn't have a lot of English so she messes up the orders, it's not a language problem. she's either incompetent or she's just trying to increase the money you spend.

she tried to upscale our drinks orders, then when I insisted on what I actually ordered, didn't remove the more expensive item from the bill and then tried to charge me for both what I ordered and the more expensive item.

So while I'd recommend Little Plum for the food, don't get ripped off by the staff here, check your bill, and if they try to upsell you be direct and firm - I havent encountered this kind of behaviour in my travels in Japan, it's completely...

The staff was very helpful to show the place very cleanly how to use and welcomed me in the room although it was in the morning. I visited Naoshima in January and it was not a very shiny day, not many people were visiting and I was only one who stays in the guesthouse. ||I think if I stayed in the peak time review can be different. ||||Anyway, The room, bathroom, and bed were super clean and food in the restaurant was awesome and many other restaurants were very close too. Somehow their bedding was very comfortable and I slept very well. ||||The Naoshima public bath was just in front of the guesthouse! That was the biggest reason I stayed there and I enjoyed it.||||I recommend to anyone who is looking for the budget stay! ||I thought the price was bit high but in Naoshima, it is actually cheap with what...