Menya Yamahide Nara Honten — Restaurant in Nara

The best thing we stumbled upon in Nara, right by JW Marriott and Novotel. We passed by it in the evening trying to find some food but ended up skipping it and going back to order in-room dining. BIGGEST MISTAKE. Honestly wish I ate there for dinner instead so I could’ve had two meals there.

We walked by it again for lunch (around 1:30pm and no wait). The staff are friendly and will try to assist you in ordering. But if it’s your first time, get their most popular and recommended dish - the Taiwanese mazesoba (number 1 for large size or number 2 for small size). It sounds like a very simple dish but it is so flavorful and delicious!

You place your order using a ticketing vending machine then take your seat. Food will be handed to you very shortly after.

We also had a good time chatting with one of the workers and he recommended us a few other...

When visiting Nara, we came here 2/5 nights. Both times we were more than happy with our meal. The chef was warm, welcoming and helpful when asking for vegetarian dishes. He ended up making us custom vegetarian dishes. After we finished, he even asked us, if he could improve on them for future guests and considers adding them to the permanent menu. We would recommend this place to anybody visiting Nara. They have an English menu and communication in English works...

Spicy dry ramen! It was actually spicy, I ordered the 2 chilly spiciness which was spicy but not too much. The portions was generous with a fee toppings, there were instruction on the counter how to enjoy it. I added the kelp vinegar after had half of the noodles, and can confirm it was nice with the vinegar. Both chefs were female and it was good to see more female...