Delightful Italian Restaurants to Enjoy Okinawan Ingredients

One of the best things about traveling is enjoying the local gourmet. There are various local dishes in Okinawa that you can enjoy, like authentic Okinawan cuisine, Okinawa soba noodles, tacos, and many others, but even among those visitors who love Okinawa and visit frequently, there are likely going to be times when they’d want to have meals other than Okinawan dishes. In this article, we’ll introduce some Italian restaurants that offer delicious Italian dishes made with Okinawan ingredients.


 

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Along the palm-lined Route 331 in Nanjo City, at the southern region of Okinawa Island, is [café/zakka BE NATURAL]. Here, you can enjoy delightful Italian-French based dishes that use ingredients produced in Okinawa. From the large windows inside the restaurant, you can take in the beautiful greenery of their garden as you enjoy your meal.



They offer casual courses for lunch and dinner that change every two weeks, which include five dishes made with seasonal ingredients and featuring local fish in the main dish, and others from antipasto (appetizers) to dolce (dessert). They also offer a selection of a la carte and these side dishes offer more fantastic tastes using seasonal ingredients.



 

café/zakka BE NATURAL Information
Address: 488 Sashiki, Sashiki, Nanjo City, Okinawa
Telephone: 098-947-6203


 

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Omoromachi in Naha City is also called Shintoshin, and is an urban area where you’ll find the duty-free shop, T Galleria, the Okinawa Prefectural Museum and Art Museum, and other places of interest, and on the weekends, the area attracts many locals and tourists. The Italian restaurant, IBISCO, which means hibiscus in Italian, opened here in Shintoshin in November of 2016. You can enjoy Italian dishes made with Okinawan ingredients, accompanied by wonderful Italian wine.



Their Okinawan Tuna Carpaccio uses fresh tuna caught in the seas near Okinawa, and is served beautifully, like a painting with splashes of red and white colors. This is a dish you’ll want to take your time to enjoy together with their specially select Italian wine.



 

IBISCO Information
Address: 2-10-19 Kumoji, Naha City, Okinawa
Telephone: 098-988-3111
Website: https://ibisco.shopinfo.jp/?fbclid=IwAR2JpOHae5wfFliTjbhX35u_3_5ea7QiZ7r8gulIcn1IDOsqt9F-9fkl8Sc

*Note from Okinawa CLIP Editorial Dept: The establishment has moved to a new location at the above address. 


 

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The vicinity of Asato Station of the Yui Rail in Asato, Naha City, is a popular area among the local Okinawans for a night of bar-hopping. In this area, you’ll also find [Bistro Le Bon Gout], an establishment offering goat dishes arranged in French and Italian styles that go really well with wine.



Their goat meat carpaccio is prepared with great care, controlling the temperature one degree at a time. The taste and texture are similar to roast beef and the carpaccio served here doesn’t have the distinctive features of goat meat (that may turn some people off). Goat is one of Okinawa’s unique ingredients, so we hope you’ll give it a try while in Okinawa. For those of you who are still a little weary about trying it, don’t worry. [Bistro Le Bon Gout] also offers various dishes besides goat meat, like young chickens from Yanbaru, pineapple pork from Itoman, duck meat from Ie Island, and more.


 

Bistro Le Bon Gout Information
Address: 379-15 Asato, Naha City, Okinawa
Telephone: 098-963-9088


 

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Miyako Island is accessible from the main Okinawa Island by a 50-minute flight, and is a spectacular island with fantastic beaches that are frequently chosen as Japan’s best beaches. In the city center of Miyakojima City is [DONCOLISM], an establishment offering Italian dishes prepared with an abundance of the island’s blessings. The chef’s recommended course includes assorted appetizers, two varieties of pasta, a main dish, and dessert. The course offers delicious dishes for you to enjoy Miyako Island’s fresh ingredients to your heart’s content.



The restaurant has 12 counter seats and one private room. The counter seats let you enjoy the wonderful dishes while learning about the dishes and their ingredients.


 

DONCOLISM Information
Address: 597 Shimozato, Hirara, Miyakojima City, Okinawa
Website: http://doncolino.com/  

 

That was our introduction of four establishments within Okinawa prefecture where you can enjoy Italian tastes prepared with local Okinawan ingredients. All of these places offer great selection of dishes prepared with great care from the chefs and loads of blessings of the Okinawan islands. We hope you’ll stop by while you’re in Okinawa.


Okinawa CLIP Editorial Department