Izakaya Arata — Restaurant in Eastern Cape

The perfect place to go if you are looking for that authentic Japanese cuisine experience outside of Japan.

As you walk in, you get that small, intimate vibe and if I did not know better, I would have thought I was in Japan!

Decor is lovely, with seating for couples and large tables.

Authentic Japanese beer available, as well a selection of fine wines (Pinot grico included).

The food was absolutely divine. The sushi was mouthwatering. This is not the type of place to come if you want to shovel loads of it in your mouth; there are other places in PE better suited to that. This is the type of place to come to focus on the delicate art of food and how it interacts with your tastebuds.

The ramen was delicious and the portion sizes were huge, so don’t full yourself up too much on starters before trying this dish. I made this mistake and had to miss out on the wasabi ice cream. The noodles are homemade as well as pretty much everything else, and you can taste it.

Service was excellent. Honestly was an amazing experience and will...

Another Top notch restuarant in PE. This place is on Stanley street in town. Very cozy small place which is big on the food!!! We had 2 platters of starters as we were 8 people on our table. The food was excellent!! Calamari deep fried with dipping sauce, Teriyaki Chicken, Chicken skewers, Roasted veg skewers with some tasty Asian sauce on it and also some Tuna with some onion salsa salad vibe, the stater was GOOD!!! Then I asked our waiter to recommend something to eat and he called out the Ramen.....thats what we all had ......spicy and super delicious and presentation was spot on. The kitchen is run by an older Japanese man who knows his game!! He cooks in the open for you to watch if you like. Can highly recommend this place and will definitely be going a few...

I think some of the reviewers are slightly over enthusiastic. Izakaya Arata is nice, not mind blowing and what you order will impact your experience. The vegetarian options are not as good as one would hope. We didn't try the veg tempura though, that might be the stand out option. The meat based ramen are all good. Among the starters I recommend the prawn bang bang and the gyōza. Chicken kara-age was pretty good too. The ice creams were missable. Service was friendly and efficient. Prices reasonable. Toilets very clean (although I can only vouch for the gents, apparently ladies wasn't as clean). Overall a good experience and I would eat...