Aruei — Restaurant in Tonosho

Every time I visit Japan, food always plays a huge part. So when I booked ARUEI a month in advance I'm not understating the fact that I was really looking forward to this place, esp because of one of the Google reviews here. Unfortunately, my dinner here was probably the worst I've had in my many trips to Japan.

When I arrived, there were only two other people and they had already started eating. I was surprised to see that there was only one person in the kitchen, but the place is small and only has three tables so I thought it wasn't a big deal. And while I was warmly received and the woman who works here seems very kind (and I think it's cool/gutsy she's doing it on her own) there were three main things that soured my experience:

1. After being served my first few dishes (small vegetable starter, steamed bamboo, 3 pieces of sashimi, and a soup) it took 45 minutes (no exaggeration) to get my last dish, a small steamed fish. The reason seems to be that a table that arrived after me (one of them seemed to be a local bringing two of her friends) somehow took precedence over me and their main course came out before mine even though they were seated later.

2. I thought maybe the chef was preferring locals over tourists in her service, but it turned out to be worse than that. I'll preface this by saying I'm Asian American. When two white Americans (also clearly their first time to the restaurant) came in to eat, they received superior treatment. Keep in mind that when I entered there were only two other people who were already eating. When the white Americans came it was already a full house (7 people in an already tiny space). She gave them chopsticks and chopstick rests (she gave me a fork and I had to ask for chopsticks and had nowhere to put the chopsticks because she didn't bother to give me a rest). When she served sake, she gave them fancier cups and bottles than she gave to me. And when she served the food, she made an effort to explain what ingredients she used. For me, all she would say was the obvious, for ex, "this is soup" while with them she would say "I made this soup with etc and etc" I thought this kind of discrimination was very off putting. So, if you're white, lucky you. Fellow non-Japanese Asians, I suggest you bring a white friend.

3. the food is overhyped. The soup stood out because it was very creamy, but everything else was not memorable. TBH I really didn't like the bamboo and I love bamboo. And after having visited five of the Seto Islands I can tell you there is very good food to be had on these islands! Unfortunately, ARUEI was not one of them and that's a shame because I really was looking forward...

We had a wonderful meal here, delicious dishes which are well thought and clearly made with love. All based on seasonal ingredients so constantly changes from what I understand.

The chef is both extremely skilled, as well as a very friendly and down to earth human being which made the stay almost like visiting a friend's house for a meal, who happens to be a professional chef.

Note: You need to reserve in advance. I did see a review below about someone canceling last minute, and being disappointed at this being an issue. Please don't be like those people, remember when you reserve, ingredients are purchased specifically for your meal and prepared for when you arrive. Don't been an entitled ** and show up for your meal.

Looking forwards to coming back if I ever revisit...

As an American it’s rare to have in-home dining experiences so to me the setting felt especially delightful, quaint, and warm. What’s more impressive is that the woman running it, cooks, waits tables, and cleans for 4-5 tables in her home.

I enjoy unique food combinations so this Turkish-Japanese hybrid was complex in its flavor profiles across each dish. The soup was of note in its depth, as was a chicken dish that w a bit of yogurt made for a perfect acid:fat ratio. The pasta texture was ok, but is compensated for by the teshima-sourced seaweed sauce that is on it. The pacing was perfect for this type of meal for us. Slightly pricier than other meals we’ve had but in SF we would pay 5x for that experience so...