There's more to Okinawan food than Okinawa soba and goya champuru. And Kimberly Mitchell is kind enough to share with us where we can experience some truly delicious Okinawan fare. Read on…
Contributed by Kimberly Mitchell
If you've been wanting to try traditional Okinawan food, but have been hesitant to gamble a whole meal on something you are unfamiliar with, a buffet may be a good bet for you. Sora is tucked away in a neighborhood off of Highway 23 in a quaint little house overflowing with flowers.
For 1000 yen, you can partake of a buffet of pastas, salads, rice, bread, and other vegetable side dishes. It's all made with locally grown fresh produce and all quite tasty. In addition, they will bring you a cup of soup, your choice of a whole fish or slices of fish and chicken, and dessert. Water, tea, and coffee are included.
I got to try things that I would never ordinarily order, either because I don't know what it's called or I'm not familiar with the flavors and would be worried that I wouldn't like it and have to go hungry. I still don't know what most of it is called but I do know that I loved every bite.
Hours: Sora is open only for lunch. The hours are 11am-3pm daily, but closed on Sunday. They will open for dinner if you have a large party and call ahead. I believe she told me there was a 15 person minimum. She'll make the usual dishes plus some special ones such as lobster and filet. I'm on the lookout for reasons to have a dinner party there with 14 of my closest friends!
Directions: From highway 58, turn onto highway 23. Before you reach Kadena gate 5, you'll take a right at American Family Housing. Go down that street and look for a blue Sora sign on the right (you'll see a car lot on the left). Turn right at the sign and go down a steep hill. Parking is on the left and the restaurant is on the right.
But if you loved them and have never...
This is definitely a place I’ll be taking friends and family when they visit.
Dang!! I was hoping this place would stay a secret. The food is excellent and the atmosphere cool. Be sure to get there early, because they fill up fast.
I stopped by for lunch and they were packed! The owner suggested showing up right when they open or making reservations for lunch. Their tel # is 098-926-0827. The restaurant is fairly small. Start looking for the sign maybe 10 seconds after turning at american family housing (its a small sign). Hope that helps!can’t wait to actually try the food!
Went for lunch today. What an experience. All I could think about was the time and effort it took to chop and create so many delicious vegetable dishes. Unbelievably good food. Reminds me of little restaurants tucked away in the hills of Sasebo (mainland). A MUST DO!!!!!
I second that Staci. It is delicious and probably one of the best Okinawan food restaurants here on the island. Probably the Best!
Me three! So good. So friendly. Now I want to go back.
This post seems to be in the wrong category. Anywhere serving meat doesn’t qualify as vegetarian.
The category is not wrong, you should read it again: Cafes, Purely Okinawa, “RESTAURANTS”, Vegetarian.
Hi Briana. Thanks for the input. Definitely, didn’t mean to misinform. Every time I’ve gone to Sora, almost all of items available at the buffet were meatless. However, there are a couple of meat dishes and one (usually a small plate of fish or pork) will automatically be served to you in addition to the buffet. The people are so friendly at Sora, I imagine the waitress would have no problem holding that item. (I wouldn’t be surprised if she offered you a vegetarian alternative!)
I tagged this restaurant “Vegetarian” to call attention to it as an option for non-meat eaters since there are so many wonderful fresh vegetable and non-meat options in the buffet.
I would love to have feedback from vegan/vegetarians on whether it’s preferred to have restaurants tagged “Vegetarian” be comprised SOLEY of strictly vegetarian options, OR if including vegetarian friendly establishments in that category is also helpful. So far, I’ve been doing the later, which for me has meant including the “Vegetarian” tag on restaurants that have several of non-meat options. Kind of subjective, I admit!
Anyway, let me know. Just shoot me an email at [email protected]
Thanks guys!
My friend Angela told me about this place and she went with me on my birthday yesterday and I LOVE IT. What a treat! All the yummy vegetarian dishes you can eat. And the soup was so light and unique and the red bean dessert was surprisingly yummy as well.
After two years of “meaning to go”, I finally got to Sora today! Lovely day, outside seating, YUM and very filling. As an “almost” vegetarian, this place was great for me! Even my 9 mo old ate a ton!
My husband and I ate here the other day for lunch and it was great. Had to eat inside as it was POURING, but the outside has tons of gorgeous flowers and the inside had a great, calming atmosphere. The owner was friendly. The food was very good! Rice, pasta, lots of vegetables, yummy fresh salad, etc. I highly recommend eating here! We brought our newborn, but as the atmosphere was fairly quiet and calm, I don’t recommend bringing children much older than 1. We will be eating here again!