Umiyamajyuudai

Rating: Very good
Meal: Lunch for 2
Price:  3700 yen
Payment: Cash only (kind of)
Dishes: Hayama beef yakiniku don, Misaki tuna don
English Menu: No
Smoking: No

Umiyamajyuudai is a restaurant located in a new onsen we recently discovered that is quite close to Yokosuka.  If you follow the road that leads up past Chuo station and go for a bit there is a lovely onsen with a big parking garage that is possibly closer than the other one down towards Uraga we usually go to.  My wife had been before with a friend and I kept saying I wanted to go sometime and we finally had the time last Monday which was a US holiday for me (Memorial Day).

Hayama beef yakiniku don

You can just eat at the restaurant of course, but usually one would go for the onsen first and then eat afterwards.  There are a ton of different food options on the Japanese menu and I kind of expected sub-par food with so much disparity.  However we were surprised at the great flavor in every element of the meal, from the miso soup to the pickles to the main dish.  I ordered a Hayama beef yakiniku don, and the sauce the meat was basted in really made the dish.  My wife had the Misaki tuna don and it came with 3 or 4 different preparations of tuna.  Both featured locally sourced ingredients, so that was nice.

Misaki tuna don

   
I was very pleased and am looking forward to eating here again in the future when we come for the onsen, which I hope will be quite often, once we are past the blistering summer, because nothing is quite so fun as soaking in a hot tub when it is super hot and humid.  Should be fun in the fall and winter though.

Sewa

Rating: Very good
Meal: Lunch
Price:  3350 yen
Payment: Cash only
Dishes: Pork biryani, keema curry set
English Menu: Yes
Smoking: Yes

After church last weekend we walked to a nearby Indian (Nepalese) restaurant with a couple from church who recommended it.  Of course we were there primarily to enjoy their company but while there I figured I'd get a review in as well.

pork biryani

Normally I cringe when I see the obvious signs of a Nepalese run Indian restaurant, but I was pleasantly surprised by this place.  They had chapati bread on the menu which we had to order some of and it was quite tasty.  In general the food was more complex in flavor than what we typically taste in these types of restaurants in Japan.

keema curry

I ordered the pork biryani because pork is an unusual meat at an Indian restaurant.  Unfortunately the pork itself was a bit dry, but there were whole spices used in the biryani and it tasted great.  My wife got the keema curry set and it also had good flavor.

Overall we were pleasantly surprised and so I'm giving this a low Very Good.

Sette

Rating: OK
Meal: Dinner
Price: 3050 yen
Payment: Cash only
Dishes: Tripe in tomato sauce, prosciutto pizza bianca, gin and tonic
English Menu: Yes
Smoking:No

Sette is a small pizzeria not far from Chuo station.  I've been by many, many times, but it's never been open.  Apparently they only open for dinner at 5pm and aren't open for lunch.

I was only going to have some water but was told a drink is required, thus the gin and tonic.

I was pretty disappointed in the food...nothing had much in the way of flavor.  Quite the meh experience.  Given the price, I'm giving them a low Ok.

Riblab Kitchen

Rating: OK
Meal: Dinner
Price: 2600 yen
Payment: Credit cards accepted
Dishes: Salad, lamb
English Menu: Yes
Smoking:No

I happened to be at Shinagawa station meeting some friends for a beer last night.  Afterwards I explored looking for a new place to eat at.  Riblab Kitchen is a chain that I'd heard about, famous for their steak and meat.

Apple and watercress salad

I had a salad that was pretty good, quite large, with apples and watercress.  I also ordered the lamb, which took a really long time to make (no issue there) but was quite minuscule when it arrived.  There was a very small amount of mashed potatoes with it.  The lamb itself was ok, but not very flavorful.

Lamb

Overall, a bit of a disappointment, and quite expensive, so I'm giving it an Ok.

Kaisenmisakiko

Rating: OK
Meal: Dinner
Price: 2041 yen
Payment: Credit cards accepted
Dishes: Sushi
English Menu: Yes
Smoking:No

Kaisenmisakiko is a new sushi-go-round restaurant located in More's City.  It replaces most recently Diazendori, which was the last restaurant I reviewed in this spot.  It seems to rotate more than any other restaurant in this mall. 

Like most sushi-go-rounds you can just grab plates as they pass in front of you.  There is also an electronic menu with English options that you can use to order custom plates which will be delivered by a little train on a track above.

I just had a few plates, and this is clearly not a hundred yen sushi joint, so the cost is a bit higher.  However, compared with other excellent sushi places near by the quality of the sushi is not quite at that level.  Still, it's decent, but I probably wouldn't choose to eat here over those other places.

Shitateya

Rating: OK
Meal: Dinner
Price: 1166 yen
Payment: Credit cards accepted
Dishes: Tonkatsu set
English Menu: Yes
Smoking:No

I believe this is the last restaurant in More's City that I had yet to review, aside from some that keep changing.  Shitateya is a Japanese cuisine restaurant whose subtitle is "Fisherman's Table" or something like that.  It is very accessible and they have an easy to read English menu.

I wasn't feeling like seafood so I went for the tonkatsu set meal.  It was pretty small, and while decent, nothing special.

Yakitori Furi

Rating: Very good
Meal: Dinner
Price:  2000 yen
Payment: Cash only (I think)
Dishes: 5 piece yakitori special, sake
English Menu: Kind of (Japanese but with romaji)
Smoking: Yes

As a follow on to the unsatisfying meal at Manila Kitchen I walked down to the end of the block and saw a new restaurant called Yakitori Furi.  As I had some room left for a few sticks of chicken I figured I could knock two reviews out in one evening.

Sake

It's pretty small upstairs with only 3 tables and then counter seating, and there are only 3 people running things, but I've seen smaller spots.  They are quite welcoming to foreigners with an English speaker on staff.  The menu is oddly transliterated into romaji, but not exactly translated, so you could read it but not understand.  No problem for me, but for some you would have to rely on the waiter.

Five yakitori sticks

I figured I'd try out the "recommended" platter of five pieces and just have some water, but they told me I had to order something to drink, which is a bit odd...never had anyone do that to me here before.  Oh well...guess I'll have to have sake!  I didn't mind so much.

The food was quite good, well salted and tasty.  I had a stick of tsukene, hearts, gizzards, chicken thigh meat, and chicken skin.  There were some tasty dollops of something good on several of them.  I have to say I was pleased.  I'd like to go back and try some of the other items on the menu and I think my wife would feel comfortable there.

Manila Kitchen

Rating: Not great
Meal: Dinner
Price: 800 yen
Payment: Credit cards accepted
Dishes: Pinakbet, dinuguan, soup, rice
English Menu: Yes
Smoking:Yes

So Curry Port has closed and been replaced by Manila Kitchen.  I grew up in the Philippines and love Filipino food, but Yokosuka has been, overall, a disappointment on that front, despite several local Filipino restaurants.  I was hoping that trend would be interrupted, but unfortunately it was not to be.

The 800 yen special is the way to go and you get a couple of dishes with rice and soup.  I chose pinakbet (vegetables with shrimp paste) and dinuguan (pork innards cooked in pork blood).  The food was ok, but not great, and the general atmosphere of the place is pretty unpleasant.  I ended up eating my food as quickly as possible to get out as I was assaulted by awful Youtube randomness blaring in my ears.