Little GREEK Kitchen® (Cheeseanista チーズ & ギリシャ料理) — Restaurant in Okinawa

Yesterday, my husband and I finally tried this restaurant. Where should I start? I would love to say I had a nice experience because I was very excited to eat some Greek cuisine, but it was the complete opposite. I had the worst experience since I’ve been here in Okinawa. To begin with, I called three days in advance to ask the owner if she could prepare a vegetarian menu for me with only goat cheese since I am lactose intolerant.

We arrived at the restaurant at 5:50 PM (our reservation was at 6:00), and the employee told us it was closed for an event. We said we had a reservation, and she seated us at a table, mentioning that everything would start at 6:00, which was not a problem since we were early. I told the girl three times that I had requested a vegetarian menu with only goat cheese, and after repeating myself three times, she seemed not to understand. So I asked my husband to explain it to her because she evidently couldn’t understand me, even though she seemed to speak good English. Finally, she said "okay," so I thought she understood, but I was already worried because it seemed strange that she didn’t ask me if I was the one who had requested this type of menu from the beginning.

It’s 6:35 PM, and still, no food had been brought to the table until she finally brought a cheese platter with ten tiny pieces of cheese, two small pieces of salami, and five pieces of grapes. When I saw the two pieces of salami, I realized that the menu wouldn’t be vegetarian. Moreover, the platter didn’t even have pita bread or any crackers, which seemed very strange because at least two crackers could have been included in a cheese platter.

It’s 7:00 PM, and after an hour, we had only eaten a bit of cheese and were starving until we finally received a small plate with a bit of Greek salad at 7:10 PM, again without crackers or pita. We were already very annoyed and just wanted to leave because it was unacceptable that after an hour, they still hadn’t served all the food. At 7:20 PM, they brought some fries with grated cheese to the table, which weren’t even hot because they hadn’t been served immediately after preparation.

At 7:45 PM, we finally received the main course, and at that point, I just wanted to be rude and give yell at them because it was obviously not vegetarian but I’m a nice person so I decided to let it go. The only vegetarian items were a small spinach pastry, two small dolmas, and a tiny plate of couscous. I told the girl that my menu was supposed to be vegetarian (despite my husband and I repeating ourselves four times initially), and the girl told me the owner forgot to inform her and that she could prepare some falafel for me. I said no because I didn’t want to wait another hour for some falafel.

At 8:00 PM, we got up from the table, frustrated, and after two hours, we paid 12,000 yen instead of 16,000 because they apologized for the vegetarian menu issue. 8,000 yen per person for that type of menu is outrageous. The only good thing was the cheese; the rest was not good at all. My husband told me the lamb chops and chicken were dry. Moreover, I don’t think what was served to me was all goat cheese because today, my stomach is in bad shape, and I have felt sick since last night’s dinner.

The moral of the story is that the owner should just sell cheese because it’s clear that the restaurant business is not her field. I’m not speaking just to speak; I have experience in the field, and my family had a restaurant in Italy for 40 years, and I can assure you that this is not how you manage a service. I would give zero stars if I could. Don’t waste your money and your time because...

Little Greek Kitchen, but Big Greek Flavors! Moving from conex boxes on Ikei Jima to a great location (with a spectacular view) in Yomitan the tastes will move you to want more! After eating here today, this restaurant immediately jumped into my Top Ten restaurants on Okinawa.

The restaurant has a warm and inviting appeal that is shared by the owner and her helpers. There are various proteins on the menu that you can choose from, but we chose the Meze option (Chef's choice) which was a four course meal. Our culinary journey started with a light and fresh Greek salad, that was followed by tasty dips and Greek breads, followed by a sumptuous Meze main plate and finished with coffee and dessert. Our Meze plate had exquisitely flavored chicken, pork and lamb slices, savory fried catfish, boiled mussels in a white wine reduction, spanakopita, potato fries all centered around a refreshing tzatziki dip. The dessert was a mixed berry pasta pie with a side of homemade yogurt.

Everything was homemade and excellently crafted and each serving was colorfully described by the chef/owner who explains in detail what you are being served both in English and Japanese.

Every detail was meticulously orchestrated; this place has a passion for food.

This place only takes reservations, so make yours now! Children are welcome for lunch, but it's adults only for dinner. For more information view their website.

Little Greek Kitchen, is now my "Big Fat Favorite Greek...

Reservations recommended as the restaurant is intimate and food is prepared in small batches. Plenty of parking, both lot and garage. We had the lunch course which included Greek salad and a meze plate. The Greek salad included shop-made feta (the restaurant doubles as a homemade cheese and wine shop). The meze plate had a wide variety of dishes to include tzatziki, pita, chicken, lamb, roasted potatoes, salmon, spanakopita, and a carrot salad. Each item was fresh, delicious, and very filling. Pamela, the owner, was incredibly knowledgeable about the wines and after-meal shots being poured and is an award-winning cheese maker. She lived for several years in Greece and each dish was served with care. We also tried the yogurt! Other patrons ordered gyros which were huge and looked good, as well. We loved the meal and can’t...