Local Guide
 Five recommended lunch spots in Naha where you can enjoy Okinawa's gourmet food to the fullest

Okinawa is only a 3-hour flight from Haneda Airport in Tokyo, and you can easily enjoy a resort-like atmosphere. Naha, the center of Okinawa, is a place where you can enjoy beautiful beaches, gourmet food, shopping, and historical sightseeing spots, all of which are concentrated in the charm of Okinawa. Here are five carefully selected recommended lunch spots in the Naha area. Enjoy your lunch at a diner where you can feel the old-fashioned atmosphere, a café where you can taste a hamburger while feeling the sea breeze, or any other restaurant where you can fully enjoy Okinawa's unique cuisine.

Taste Okinawan home cooking with a choice of soup and rice

 Ryukyu Set Meal
Ryukyu Set Meal" 1,300 yen, which allows you to enjoy a variety of Okinawan-style dishes at once

Founded in 1967, this long-established diner features a set lunch menu with a choice of five soups and three types of rice, including miso soup, Okinawa soba, "Nakamijiru" made with pork innards, and "Inarumuchi" with lots of ingredients using sweet white miso.
For a full taste of local cuisine, the "Ryukyu set meal" is recommended. It comes with bitter gourd, seaweed arsa, mozuku seaweed tempura, and oden-like rich yet sweet Okinawa-style boiled vegetables.

Long-established diner that has been a favorite in Naha City for many years.

 The restaurant has a local atmosphere with many local customers. There are both table seating and tatami room seating where you can stretch out your legs and relax.
The restaurant has a local atmosphere with many local customers. There are both table seating and tatami room seating where you can stretch out your legs and relax.

The set menus come with a choice of soup, rice, a small bowl of cooked food, and Okinawa zenzai for dessert, allowing you to fully enjoy the traditional flavors loved by the locals. The "Hanagasa Set Meal," a signature dish that has remained unchanged since the establishment of the restaurant, is also highly recommended. The set includes tebichi (pig's feet) with a plump texture and boiled vegetables.
The restaurant is located in the back alley of Heiwa-dori Shopping Street, one street off Kokusai-dori, a busy main street. Many people, from young to old, visit the restaurant for its reasonably priced and hearty home-style dishes.

Local Guide Comment
In a self-serve pitcher on the tabletop is an original sweet iced tea. This iced tea is a popular drink that was at one time commercialized as a PET bottle beverage. It is especially great to drink on hot summer days.
Hanagasa Shokudo
  • address (e.g. of house) 3-2-48 Makishi, Naha City, Okinawa MAP
  •  Direction 8 minutes walk from Yui Rail Makishi Station
  •  Business hours 11:00-14:00, 18:00-19:00
  •  Closed Open irregular holidays *Closed on Sundays *Confirmation by phone is recommended.
  •  TEL 098-941-1234
  •  Parking None

Enjoy seafood dishes with fresh fish available at the First Makishi Public Market

 Lifted and cooked Ylabucha (boiled and seasoned Ylabucha) and Sashimi, and
Lifted and cooked Ylabucha (boiled and seasoned Ylabucha) and Sashimi, and "Mozuku Tempura (2 pieces)" on the store menu for 440 yen.

This is the first store to launch the "lift-up system," in which customers purchase ingredients from the fresh fish and meat stores on the first floor of the Daiichi Makishi Public Market and pay a cooking fee to have the food cooked for them.
The most popular lift-up cooking methods use fish unique to Okinawa, such as mibai and irabucha, and are served as sashimi, baked in butter, or boiled. The masu-ni-ni (boiled eel) is simply seasoned with only dashi (Japanese soup stock) and salt, allowing diners to taste the original flavor of the ingredients. Sashimi, on the other hand, is characterized by its light and refreshing flavor. The umi budou (sea grapes) served with shiso sauce is a perfect accompaniment.

Offering an arranged menu that allows you to enjoy the fusion of Okinawan cuisine and authentic Chinese cuisine

 The restaurant is located on the second floor of Daiichi Makishi Public Market. You can relax at a table or on a tatami floor.
The restaurant is located on the second floor of Daiichi Makishi Public Market. You can relax at a table or on a tatami floor.

The first owner, who was born in Taiwan, started the restaurant as a diner serving Chinese and Okinawan cuisine. After moving the tenant to the public market, regular customers expressed a desire to try dishes other than those on the restaurant's menu, which led to the creation of a lifting system that uses ingredients available on the first floor of the market to prepare the dishes.
Today, the restaurant still offers the same classic Okinawan gourmet dishes and authentic Chinese cuisine as it did when it was first established. The menu features dishes that cannot be found anywhere else, such as "Goya Chumji Stir-Fry," an Okinawan goya chanpuru arranged with Taiwanese bean paste called "Tou Chi.

Local Guide Comment
The restaurant offers everything from set menus to a la carte dishes that go well with alcoholic beverages, making it suitable for a variety of occasions. Senbero sets, in which you can choose one drink and three food items, or two drinks and one food item, are also available, allowing you to enjoy a lunchtime drink as well.
Dining Area Tsubame (Daiichi Makishi Public Market)
  • address (e.g. of house) 2-10-1 Matsuo, Naha City, Okinawa MAP
  •  Direction 9 min. walk from Yui Rail Makishi Sta.
  •  Business Hours 11:00-21:00(L.O.20:00)
  •  Closed 2nd, 4th, 5th Sunday
  •  TEL 098-867-8696
  •  Parking None

Fish burgers are popular for their delicious taste of fish from Okinawa

 Prefectural Tuna Tartar Avocado Burger
Prefectural Tuna Tartar Avocado Burger" 1,350 yen, "Homemade Lemonade Soda with Lots of Honey" 650 yen

This café-restaurant offers a menu featuring fish and vegetables from Okinawa. The signature item on the menu, the "Original Fish Burger," is a juicy patty filled with ground swordfish, dolphinfish, and sode-ka from the prefecture, and carrot shiririri arranged in a curry flavor, all on a fluffy homemade bun. It is served with either salsa sauce or tomataru sauce, a blend of tomato sauce and tartar sauce. The "Prefectural Tuna Tartar Avocado Burger" is also popular, with the flavor of tuna and avocado enhanced by the honey wasabi soy sauce.

Relax and enjoy the ocean breeze in a convenient location right on the beach

 The bright and open restaurant also has terrace seating.
The bright and open restaurant also has terrace seating.

In addition to refreshing drinks such as "homemade lemonade soda with lots of honey" and "fresh acerola juice from Motobu Town," which go perfectly with the burger, the restaurant offers a variety of drinks to enjoy during the day, such as the "Yeram Mojito" made with rum from Iejima and craft beer.
The restaurant is conveniently located about a 10-second walk from Naha City's only swimming beach, Namiage Beach, so you can enjoy a meal before or after swimming in the ocean. The terrace seating, where you can feel the ocean breeze, is also available for those wearing swimsuits. It is also recommended to take out a burger and eat it on the beach.

Local Guide Comment
The restaurant is located on the first floor of Hotel Seaberg Namikami, and is open for breakfast, café, and dinner. It also has a bakery, and homemade breads such as salt bread and bagels carefully baked by artisans are popular.
Eight Mans Seaburg
  • address (e.g. of house) 1-21-1 Wakasa, Naha City, Okinawa MAP
  •  Direction 10 minutes drive from Naha Airport
    Approx. 10 min. walk from Naha Cruise Terminal
  •  Business hours Morning 8:00-11:00 (L.O. 10:30)
    Lunch 11:00-15:00 (L.O. 14:30)
    Cafe 15:00-18:00 (L.O. 17:30)
    Dinner 18:00-20:00 (L.O. 19:30)
  •  Closed Closed on weekends and holidays
  •  TEL 098-863-7744
  •  Parking No coin-operated parking available nearby (Wakasa Seaside Park Parking)

A popular diner that boasts home-style dishes made with plenty of Okinawan ingredients

 The daily set meal (pork and egg) is 700 yen. The daily set meal comes with rice, a soup bowl, and dessert for a good price.
The daily set meal (pork and egg) is 700 yen. The daily set meal comes with rice, a soup bowl, and dessert for a good price.

The owner, a native of Ishigaki Island, serves Okinawan home-style cuisine. The "Pipaizu Soba" with homemade noodles kneaded with pipaizu, a spice popular in Yaeyama, and the "Traditional Homemade Yushidofu Set Meal" are popular for their carefully prepared dishes with deep flavors. The "Pork and Eggs" is a popular daily set meal that combines fluffy egg omelet and thick spam.

The restaurant name "Manjumai" means papaya in Ishigaki Island. Tebichi no Nigiri (stewed tebichi)" and "Rafutei" which are slow-cooked with the prefecture's papaya are also dishes that have many fans.

Re-opening in the Matsuyama area after receiving support from local residents

 In addition to tables, there is seating at the counter, which makes it easy to come alone. Note the old-fashioned hand-written menu list.
In addition to tables, there is seating at the counter, which makes it easy to come alone. Note the old-fashioned hand-written menu list.

The restaurant opened in Kumoji, Naha City, in 1975 and has been in business for 46 years. It was forced to close its doors once in 2021 due to demolition caused by the aging of the building it occupied. However, there were constant requests from regular customers to reopen the restaurant, and in 2022, the restaurant relocated to the neighboring town of Matsuyama and reopened in response. Today, the restaurant continues to be loved by the locals, serving old-fashioned food prepared the way it was in the past.
It is a diner by day, but popular as a tavern by night. You can enjoy Okinawan cuisine with a wide variety of Awamori and Orion beer.

Local Guide Comment
In addition to standard Okinawan dishes, you can also enjoy unique and unusual Okinawan dishes such as "Stir-fried manjumai (papaya)". On Friday and Saturday nights, you can enjoy live shima-uta (Okinawan folk songs).
Manjumai
  • address (e.g. of house) 2-7-6 Matsuyama, Naha City, Okinawa MAP
  •  Direction 10 min. walk from Yui Rail Miebashi Sta.
  •  Business hours Lunch 11:00 - 15:00 (L.O. 14:30), Dinner 17:00 - 22:00 (L.O. 21:30)
  •  Closed Sunday
  •  TEL 098-867-2771
  •  Parking None

Healthy cuisine using Okinawa's traditional miso

Miso soup set meal with a variety of ingredients
Miso soup set meal with a variety of ingredients" 1,080 yen

This restaurant offers "Miso-meshi," a menu item using miso produced at Tamanaha Miso Soy Sauce, a long-established miso brewery with a history of more than 170 years in Shuri. Tamanaha Miso Soy Sauce is also the family home of the owner's mother, and the restaurant opened in 2016 to "let people know the charm of Tamanaha Miso.
Natural brewed and additive-free miso is used in almost all of the dishes offered, with the exception of small bowls and beverages. The popular "Ingredient Miso Soup Set," available for breakfast and lunch, is a satisfying dish that includes prefecture-produced red pork, island tofu, shimeji mushrooms, and eggs. The set comes with a choice of white rice or organically grown brown rice.

As an antenna store of Tamanaha Miso Soy Sauce, miso is also sold in the store.

 Table and counter seating are available, and you can relax under the warm lighting.
Table and counter seating are available, and you can relax under the warm lighting.

The miso used in the dish varies from Dynasty Miso, Shuri Miso, and Tokusen Miso. For "Inamu-douchi," a pork miso soup style dish that has been popular as court food since ancient times, Shuri miso is used because it is less fermented and brings out the sweetness of the ingredients. In addition to using different types of miso for different dishes, the restaurant sometimes blends different types of miso and takes into consideration the state of fermentation.
The most commonly used miso at the restaurant, Ojyo Miso, can be purchased at the store or as a souvenir. Please enjoy the gentle, nostalgic taste of traditional miso at home.

Local Guide Comment
The restaurant also serves as an antenna store for Tamanaha Miso Soy Sauce, so feel free to ask questions about delicious ways to eat miso and cooking tips.
Miso-meshi ya Marutama
  • address (e.g. of house) 2-4-3 Izumisaki, Naha City, Okinawa MAP
  •  Direction 5 min. walk from Kencho-mae Station or Asahibashi Station of Yui Rail
  •  Business hours 7:30am - 2:30pm, 5:00pm - 10:00pm
  •  Closed Sundays, 2nd and 4th Thursdays
  •  TEL 098-831-7656
  •  Parking None
The information in this article is current as of the date of the update. Please check before visiting as they are subject to change.