The Barrel Restaurant

We heard of a place that was shaped like a beer barrel, inside and out, so we headed out to try if for dinner one night. We followed the directions we found online and it took us forever to find it. I now know a much faster (and easier) route from Kadena. We will be going back!


As we came in we were shown where to put our shoes (yep one of THOSE places) and then shown a sign that said we would receive an appetizer of their choosing and it would be on our bill. We had already heard that so we were prepared. We were then shown to our table. The table was low to the floor in traditional Japanese style, but the floor was sunken in under the table to let us dangle our legs.



We spent some time looking over the menu before picking up the telephone on the wall next to us. The telephone is just a variation of the BEST idea anyone ever came up with; most Japanese restaurants have a buzzer at the table that rings to a sign in the back, signaling your server that you would like something. The server will NOT come by your table unless he is bringing you your food, or you rang the bell. No nosy waiter coming over just as you put a bite of food in your mouth asking if you need anything else!


We each chose two menu items (no set meals here) and planned on sharing the bounty. Our waiter started us with our appetizer:

It tasted like a version of curry soup. Chris was the only one that didn't finish. He said it was just okay, but the rest of us enjoyed it.


A short while later our server brought out our food, one at a time:

Chris and I enjoying our food:

When we had finished, we rang for our bill and packed up to leave. As we were putting on our shoes, the hostess handed us a foil wrapped package to take home. I forgot to take a picture, but it was a small loaf of sweet bread drizzled in a chocolate syrup. It was a nice treat to end a nice night