Wagokoro

Rating: Very good
Meal: Lunch for 2
Price: 1950 yen
Payment: Cash only
Dishes:Wappa with cold soba, tempura with cold soba
English Menu: No
Smoking: No (I think)

Wappa and soba

I've been meaning to try Wagokoro for a long, long time now.  Once my wife and I tried to eat there but passed it up for something else.  Ever since then I've been trying to get back, but have failed for some reason.  Today a co-worker suggested driving out there for lunch as he lives nearby and can park easily.  Nice!

Tempura and soba

The owner speaks really good English, so it's a puzzle as to why they don't have an English menu.  But he can explain everything quite well.  The owner let me know that this restaurant is over 100 years old and he is the 4th generation to run it!  In addition to their specialty of tempura, they also have soba and an interesting savory rice dish called wappa which is rice cooked in broth with bits of vegetable in it and topped by some kind of meat, and often a type of shredded egg.

I ordered a tempura and cold soba combo, while my friend had some wappa topped with crab and some cold soba as well.  The tempura was cooked right in front of us as we sat at the bar area, so we smelled pretty strongly of fry oil afterwards.  There are also tables available.  My tempura pieces were bookended by shrimp, which were ok, but not that amazing.  The vegetables in between, however, were really good, lightly crunchy on the outside and virtually melted in your mouth.  I didn't taste my friend's dish, but it looked pretty good too.

Nice, friendly spot, I look forward to bringing my wife back here some day.

Hanamaru

Rating: Not great
Meal: Dinner
Price: 1200 yen
Payment: Cash only
Dishes: Oden, some tempura pieces, udon with an egg
English Menu: Not really (not necessary)
Smoking: No

Hanamura is a cheap, fastfood-like chain that is quite common.  Recently a branch opened up in Yokosuka, replacing a shabu-shabu restaurant (Onyasi).  I decided to give it a quick review yesterday.

Quite a bit of food for 1200 yen

This type of oden restaurant usually also has tempura.  There was a special going on with oden available as well.  I went kind of nuts and got way too much food, but that's the way things go.  First you follow the arrow and grab your tray.  If you want oden, you get oden.  If you want tempura, you take as many as you wish.  Then you come to the udon section, where you can easily point to the picture of which one you wish, and choose your size.  They make it there and put it on your plate.  There are a few optional things to add on top, and then you pay for everything you've picked.

The oden wasn't great, but I did like the sticks with "meat" (probably intestines).  The tempura was really gross...kind of cold from sitting out and very greasy.  I couldn't eat more than a couple of bites.  Lastly, the udon dish I got was quite yummy, with seasoned meat and soft-boiled egg with the yolk still runny.  Once all mixed together it was creamy and quite nice.

Despite one decent dish, the overall impression of the place is unpleasant, and I would probably avoid going here unless I was showing someone else or couldn't afford anything else.  Even then I'd probably pick Sukiya over it.

Tenan

Rating: Excellent
Meal:  Lunch for 2
Price:  4000 yen
Payment: Cash only
Dishes: Two 7 piece tempura courses
English Menu: No

Smoking: No
Phone number for reservations:  046-823-6333

I'm always pleased to discover a new Excellent restaurant right here in Yokosuka.  Today a friend of mine from work suggested we go eat tempura.  I said fine, it wasn't my favorite, but I'd try anything.  We had to drive about 10 minutes from base up past Shiori, one of the local train stations.  My friend had called ahead to be sure to get a reservation.  When we arrived, I didn't see anything other than a parking lot where a man waited to show us where to park.  Then we followed him around the back side, down an alley way to the entrance to an old Japanese house.  The man turned out to be the chef, and after he took our coats and settled us on the tatami (you will be sitting on tatami), he got our orders and started cooking.

tsukemono

The lunch menu had some very affordable options and I was hungry so I went for the 7 piece set and my friend did the same.  Heads up:  it's a lot of food!  I should have gone for the 5 piece.  You can have rice or noodles with the meal, as long as he's not too busy to make the rice...yes, he starts cooking it after you order it, so you don't actually get it until about 20 minutes into the meal.

gobo root

Different things started arriving, beginning with the tsukemono which was incredibly delicious.  There were several strong sour pieces of vegetables pickled in ume (plum) vinegar, a large variety of kumquat that is apparently famous, and some green vegetables that tasted to me like they might have been a variety of wasabi leaf.

eggplant

He kept bringing out different pieces of tempura through out the meal, giving commentary that my friend was able to translate for me (he speaks fluent Japanese).  I won't go over each on here, but wow...they were all amazing, large and interesting types of tempura.  One of the most delicious things was the soup that he brought and heated up at the table.  The broth was a strong katsuoboshi dashi that was absolutely delicious.  The rice was great too once it arrived.

soup

We left very full and satisfied.  It's a pretty exclusive spot, and it's always best to call ahead to reserve as he will only accept one group at a time.  Dinner is reservation only and at whatever time is negotiated.  He said he'll even accept special orders if they can be accommodated.  Mind you, I am getting all of this via my friend, so I'm not sure how much English the owner can speak.

fish and cauliflower

I am definitely going to make it a point to come back here and bring my wife.

Fresh rice being dished up by the chef

sweet potato

sweet potato, shiso wrapped squid, shrimp

Iwamatsu Tendon

Rating: Very good
Meal:  Lunch
Price:  1000 yen
Payment: Cash only
Dishes: Large Shrimp Tendon
English Menu: Yes
Smoking: No

I've been meaning to review this restaurant and tried several times last spring before it got too hot to ride my bike for lunch.  I realized the other day that fall was truly upon us, so I brought my bike to ride out to Iwamatsu Tendon.  I was thrilled to see no line when I arrived, but then realized that was because every seat inside was already full.  It's a small place, with counter seating only, and it's quite popular, a good indicator.

So I waited outside for about 10 minutes until a seat was vacated.  Upon sitting down I was asked what number, and I confusedly looked at the Japanese dishes hanging from the wall (my kanji reading skills being ok, but not great).  After butchering one of them the lady pointed towards a different English menu with numbers next to each item, making ordering much easier.  I got a large shrimp tendon.

Tendon is short for tempura don, or tempura rice bowl, and that's what this place specializes in.  I was also asked if I wanted pickled vegetables or miso soup, and I opted for miso soup, though it never actually arrived.  Oh well, the tendon was plenty of food, with 2 enormous shrimp and several very delicious vegetables.  They cook it fresh right in front of you, no shortcuts.  I think this place deserves its reputation.

I got a fairly spendy dish as I wanted to try it out, but they also have several very cheap options on the menu that looked great from what I saw of other people's dishes.  I really like this place and would very happily return.