Dos Manos

Rating: Excellent
Meal:  Lunch for 3
Price:  3770 yen
Payment:  Cash only
Dishes: 2 lengua, 2 lamb, 2 chicken, 2 pork tacos, quesadilla, nachos, guacamole, salsa
English Menu: Yes

Smoking: No

It has finally happened...I have found the best Mexican restaurant in Japan (so far) and it is in Okinawa.  This is both fabulous and sad, as I don't exactly get down to Okinawa very often.  I ate here once before, when I was in Okinawa for work, and it has become a pilgrimage location for me.  Nowhere else have I found such authentic Mexican food.  Is everything great?  Not necessarily (the enchiladas and burritos aren't that great).  Do they have variety?  Again, not really.  But the tacos are amazing, as is the horchata, guacamole and salsa.  And...they have lengua...sweet, melt in your mouth lengua.  Also...lamb for some reason...but it's also great!  The pork and chicken is good too, but not as good in my opinion.

Horchata

Other issue to be aware of are that Dos Manos has very funky hours.  They even say on their door to check Facebook for actual hours.  Basically they are closed Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, and only open about 4 to 5 hours.  So it can be tough to just drop by.  (They do dinners for groups though if you reserve ahead of time!  Hmmm...can I have my birthday in Okinawa this year?)  Also, though there is parking across the street, you cannot turn in there and have to go down to the next light and turn right then make your way back to the paid parking lot.  They will give you a 30 minute ticket though, making your out of pocket expense for parking very small (about 100 yen).

I have a friend who says there is a guy in Fukuoka who has managed to also make food as good as Dos Manos, and he has more variety.  Apparently there are now 4 or 5 stores open in that area.  But Fukuoka is also far away, so I haven't made it out there.  In the mean time...Dos Manos has the "best mexican food in Japan" crown as far as I'm concerned!