* Restaurant Ume No Yu

*Yokosuka Restaurant  梅の湯  Ume No Yu - ”Plum’s Hot Bath”　

This is a special place. Most of the restaurants on this blog are restaurants that I would like to eat at again.  So they are all good to start with and there is no attempt to single one or more of them out by a ranking or grading system. But for Ume No Yu I'll make an exception. This place gets a star on my website of no rankings.  This is a place where we bring out of town official visitors, and they rave about it and want to come back. This is a place where we hold hail and farewell parties, and a place where we bring our families when they visit from out of town. It's the food, the atmosphere, and the hidden nature of it that make it a memorable place.

Best yet, not many people know about it. But it's only three blocks from the main gate.  And since it's hidden down one of Yokosuka's tiny alleyways it is a place that normally someone else would have to introduce you to, unless you're great at exploring Yokosuka's back lanes. Even then, you'd have to overcome your fear of sliding that door open since it's not real easy to get a glimpse inside and there is no hint of English from the outside. 

Ume no Yu front door

Located nearby the New Yokosuka Hotel, it's very convenient to base. There's no parking here, so you'll need to park on base and walk or park in town.


Inside you'll find three tables with under table trenches for your legs. Each table holds about 6 Americans or 8 Japanese - give or take. There is also seating along the counter - enough for about 8 more.

The theme in the restaurant seems to be "atomic/astro boy" which is a manga series started in 1952 about a boy robot co-existing with humans. The Japanese name was Tetsuwan Atomu or "Mighty Atom" of which the Americans made a version called Astro boy.  

Anyways, the place is very comfortable and welcoming. Its a place to easily relax and have some fun in a warm atmosphere. You'll mostly find Japanese in here which is a good sign, but don't be afraid to enter if you're the only Americans. As long as the tables don't have reservations, you'll get in just fine. And if the tables are full sit along the counter and try to watch the chef in action and peruse their extensive liquor shelf which includes a good selection of plum wines, including my favorite, Yuzu Umeshu (a must try).

View from one of the counter seats

Lets start with lunch:
They generally have 3 different set lunches that change approximately monthly. A menu on a recent visit is pictured below at the bottom. Set lunches include a soup and small salad. Ordering from the regular menu for lunch is likely not an option, but that has not been confirmed. They post the lunch menu on a chalkboard both outside the restaurant and inside. The three choices generally involve a chicken dish, pork dish and a seafood dish, and one of those is usually pasta. Set lunches are 850 Yen.

I'll talk more about learning Kanji in a separate post, but if you can learn 20 or 25 key Kanji related to food you'll be able to guess your way through many menus. This is in addition to learning Katakana and Hiragana. Come to think of it, check out the "key food kanji." Chicken, shrimp, fish, pork, and beef are among the must learn Kanji.

But back to Ume-no-Yu... here you can get by with no Japanese at all because with only 3 choices for lunch they will help you understand the menu, but you really couldn't go wrong by closing your eyes and pointing at one of them either. 

On a recent day I visited, they had a half chicken grilled, pork and rice, and pasta with shrimp.
The pictures below show the grilled chicken and the pork dish. The grilled chicken was deboned and grilled to a nice glaze and very moist. Included a nice sized plate of steamed rice. The pork dish was served on top of rice with some sauteed green onion stalks, carrots, and bean sprouts, topped off with some tasty dried and salted seaweed. (if you've never had dried seaweed before your missing something...)

salad and soup with lunch

I've had crab pasta here previously and this chef makes the most excellent cream sauces. You won't go wrong with the pasta anytime.



Dinner is where I was first introduced to Ume No Yu. And what a dinner it was! This restaurant has a multi-course dinner set-menu with all you can drink (sake, beer, sochu, etc) for 5000 Yen (2 hours). Multi-course means about 7 or 8 courses. Usually starting with a large sushi and sashimi plate and ending with a pasta, but the chef will deliver non-stop throughout the two hours with just enough time between dishes to adjust your belt and get your money's worth on that all you can drink deal. The other dishes could include some fried chicken or homemade pizza for instance, but the menu varies.

Pork on rice with veggies

This is a must do while your in Yokosuka. Dinner at Ume No Yu including drinks for 5000 Yen per person.

Let say that you don't want to drink that much or want to pick your own dishes. Well you can choose from their extensive dinner menu that is provided in English. I've done a side by side comparison with the Japanese menu and it is truly a full menu. A lot of places skimp on the English menu leaving you missing out on a lot of good stuff that's on the Japanese menu, but not here.

Grilled chicken and rice

I've included a copy of most of the English menu below, except for the drinks.












Dinner course menu offering

Food ready even before you sit down, so be on time!

The above picture is a representation of what awaits you as you arrive for dinner if you've made reservations for their set course meal for 5000 Yen, which includes all you can drink beer, shochu, plum wine, sake, chuhi, etc. Since the chef knew we were coming, he had ready a large sashimi plate in the middle (shown covered with plastic wrap), onion rings, deep fried chicken, spring rolls, wasabi cream cheese and edamame (under the upside down bowls). The sashimi was a very generous plate with about 6 or 7 different kinds of sashimi.
The plates just keep coming after that. I don't remember them all, but the bounty included diverse plates such as Italian sausage served with ketchup and mustard, a vegetable salad, garlic shrimp, rice with a spagetti type meat sauce on top, and finally pasta with a very rich cream sauce and crab legs. By the time that last plate came out several in our group had dropped out and a few with large stomachs tried to finish off the food. As far as quantity goes here you won't be dissatisfied. The quality of the food is very high as well.

Creamy crab pasta

This sign will guide you for both lunch and dinner

From their chalkboard on the wall menu which does not appear to change that often
 
On the left #1. cream cheese with wasabi (recommended)

#2. could be wrong but it looks like tomato and pepperoni (pizza?)

#3. Japanese style lightly pickled vegetables

Blue section bottom left is the fish section:

#1 Tuna dish with korean red chili paste

#2 minced toro salmon

#3 secret cut tuna

Yellow section bottom left (salads) - steak salad

Middle column Top section pink - meat dishes 

1. Japanese pork grilled/baked

2.  beef "stripes" or achilles tendon in boiled tomatoes

3. grilled chicken
Middle section yellow

1. avacado tempura

2.egg and ?
3. Garlic Potato
Bottom Section white - desserts
 home made something

 right side is all drinks

alleyway leading to Ume No Yu

Its easy to miss this small alley. 

lunch menu and our chef

first entry is half chicken grilled
second entry is pork moyashi don - 豚　もやし　丼
(moyashi is bean sprouts)
last entry is shrimp in a tomato cream sauce pasta