Kamakura Restaurants

Exceptional Italian food, cozy settings, friendly waitstaff. Chef Kimura-san and his wife lived in Italy for several years. He is a martial arts expert (kendo) and travelled to Italy where he learned his culinary craft and brought his talents & Italian vegetables to the shores of Kamakura. Fluent in Italian, he treks often back to visit friends in Sicily. Folks from Tokyo travel hours by train/car to visit Anselmo's.

Favorite Dish: Wow, I enjoy all the dishes offered: antipasti, zuppa, main dishes, desserts. My favorite antipasti is roasted red and yellow bellpeppers drizzled with olive oil & balsamic vinegar, topped with anchovies. My favorite pasta dish by far is his lasagna. It's the best I've ever had on 3 continents (America, Australia & Asia...). He makes a to-die-for tiramisu but his coup d'etat of desserts is a simple and beautiful masterpiece: he takes an apple and "wraps" it with a "pie crust" before baking. I can't give it justice by trying to describe it...you just have to see it and taste it!

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This restaurant was recommended by TV Champion (Japanese's once most famous TV game show) and many many Japanese TV shows as you may see from the front of the restaurant..

If you happen to read/watch a lot of Japanese comics/aneme/movies and remember some Japanese words especially the food name.. it will be very helpful.. like in my case.. when I walked in there.. no one can speak English at all.. but that wasn't a problem.. cuz I did read a lot of Japanese comics and eat a lot of Japanese food hehehe..

As I saw all people were having this Japanese deep fried pork with pork curry on the rice.. I tried to recall what were on the menu.. You have to be very specific on the things you want to order, tell them only the keywords. No need to speak a very long sentence or you'll scare the heck out of them..

Favorite Dish: "Tonkatsu Kare Risu".. Tonkatsu is Japanese deep fried pork, Kare is curry and Risu is rice.. See, its pretty easy.. now you can enjoy this nice yummy meal! :)

When I tasted it.. I really have to tell you to forget whatever Japanese food you ever had and/or no matter how great they were.. cuz those you had can't beat any of what I had in Japan at all.. The taste was totally different and it was SO GREAT!!

So, if you are a budget traveller.. Here is my advice, you may save up on the transportation cost, the hotel or whatever.. but PLEASE... don't just eat those burgers from Mc Donald's all of the time you spend there.. Try the real Japanese food.. There are many places that have very nice tasty food with reasonable prices!! Ahh.... talking about food makes me hungry already..

So if any of you have a chance to go to Kamakura, please try this curry rice and tell me if you also think the same :)

This was a very nice, and good value place we visited for lunch.

7 sticks of kushiyaki (deep fried food on a stick), including shrimp, asparagus, fish, pork and so on, rice, salad, pickles, miso soup and tea for 900 yen was excellent value.

It's not far from Kamakura station, just off the main shopping street.

It's not a big place, a couple of tables, and most people sitting at the counter.

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Kaiten Zushi restaurants are common throught Japan. They are a very good choice to experience a wide variety of sushi without having to pay the high price you would pay if you went to a more expensive sushi bar. For my wife, born and raised in Japan, believe it or not, this was her first time to ever go to one. She loved it!! We'll be goint to more of these in the future.

For Japanese visitors I recommend experiencing sushi one way or another as Sushi, is Japan. Appreciating sushi allows one to really get a feel for a big part of what is Japanese culture. Also, Japanese people are a tad impressed when they learn that a foreigner can eat suishi.

Favorite Dish: Well, I highly recommend maguro (tuna) or anago (river eel).

Cafés in Kamakura are in my opinion some of the best in whole of Japan. Not only do most of them have english menus but the coffee is made "old style" and the way its made looks more than a science project than brewing coffee!
Every cup is made one by one so it does take a little bit of time but it is some of the best coffee I ever tried.

Standing with your back to Kamakura station take a left and walk down the streets for maybe 2-3 minutes, in your left hand side is a small café in a white house with an handwritten english menu in the window. This place only got about 4-5 tables but if there's space have your breakie and a coffee here! Its table service and the counter where the coffee is made is in the far back.
(Unfortunately I cant remember the name!)

Enjoy! :))

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Kamakura is apparently famous for a large variety of what the Japanese call soft-cream. Just walking along we noted several shops selling a range of flavors of these treats which are just perfect on a hot, somewhat humid day.

Favorite Dish: We ended up trying machi soft-cream, purple potato soft-cream, and mango soft-cream (at different vendors).

Both my wife and I liked the purple potato soft-cream best.

Cozy and comfortable seating (25 folks, maybe), great food, quick & friendly service...this place is our "Cheers".

Favorite Dish: Hmm, that's a tough one. They make a yummy cuttlefish fritter as well as an awesome Italian salad, drizzled with pesto sauce. We love the seafood doria as well as the Jamaican jerk chicken & chicken kebab. (I usually order a tequila-lemonade drink in a bottle called "Tequila Slamma"; hubby gets a "nama biru"/draft beer--here it's Kirin.)

Dark, pine tables and benches. Although relatively small, there's ample seating at the bar and on 3 picnic type tables along the left wall upon entry and the small table in the window where the occasional live band will play. The munchies are yummy (try the nachos and the chili), the drinks are good and the service is great. The owner is also the bartender and he also has a band ( 7 or more piece blues band).

The best part of Tipitina's is the right mix of great music and good friends. The drinks and food are relatively inexpensive compared to many other area restaurants.

Favorite Dish: The chili.. thick, spicy and yummy! The nachos are decent too.