by Emma Holdsworth
(1) Brighton Tea Room
This little cafe in the centre of Nara city might be difficult to find at first, but the huge Union Jack flag at the entrance could be an indicator that you’ve arrived. As a British expat in Japan, I didn’t expect there to be anything related to Britain in the area, I was so happy when I discovered this cute little cafe that serves everything from English breakfast and cheese toasties, to scones and Apple crumble. My recommendation is the Victoria Sponge Cake, with a milk coffee.
The inside has a rustic style, wooden floors, tables, and chairs, with union jacks hanging from the ceiling, and pictures of old Brighton hanging on the walls. The people serving you dress in a different style every time, going from Victorian era England, to post-WW2 England style. Although a little eccentric, it’s perfect for anyone feeling home sick, or anyone willing to experience English food in Japan
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(2) Caravel
Straight off I must say, I love Caravel. As a non-Italian, I don’t know how legitimate my opinion is on this one, but I love the atmosphere, the venue, and the food. This Italian restaurant is really cute from the inside; they play smooth music and decorate the inside with plants, wine bottles, and colourful posters.
They serve all of their hot drinks in grandmother style decorated plates, but also have an interesting selection of French and Italian wines; I couldn’t tell if I was at my grandmother’s or in a fancy high end restaurant. I encourage you to take either a pizza and salad lunch set, or selecting several dishes and sharing a pizza, and a spaghetti dish. Finally, if you’re still hungry, you will want to try the spunge cake, or the tiramisù for desert, it’s quite big so you might want to share, but it is delicious.
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(3) Sunny and more
The inside of ‘Sunny and more’ is even more intriguing than the colourful outside. It is decorated by old American advertising posters, old dolls (which sounds creepy but works well with the overall feel), and also has a second hand clothes shop to one side.
I only had the spaghetti and a hazelnut coffee there (which I strongly recommend), but the place has an impressive selection of cakes, and a delicious looking lunch set with onigiri, salad, soup of the day, and so on. Because it is very close to Nara park, don’t hesitate to stop by this very peculiar, but very cosy coffee shop on your way.
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(4) Torimero
This izakaya might be cheesy, or it might be the cleverest idea for an izakaya I’ve seen. I heard it was a chain izakaya, but never saw it outside of Nara city for the moment. Only a 5-10 minute walk from JR Nara station, Torimero is situated right next to a karaoke (dangerous, but smart). The place only plays the Beatles songs (perfect for a homesick English person), serves delicious food, all from avocado chicken to the best crab croquettes I’ve had so far, and has incredibly cheap beer. Good food, good music, cheap drinks, what else could you want?
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(5) Nino
If you like pizza and memorable experiences, you will love Nino pizza. The place is situated right in front of Kintetsu Nara. The couple that holds this pizzeria are passionate about good Italian food and meeting new people. Last time, I had a Marinara pizza, my friend had a Norma spaghetti dish, and we both had a glass of wine. The key to this experience were the owners themselves. Upon arriving, they asked us our name, explained everything to us very kindly, and at the end of the meal, presented me with a calligraphy writing of my name in Japanese. The wife had studied calligraphy in University. They also took a picture of all of us together, printed it out, and gave it to me as a souvenir. They were truly adorable, and the food was also delicious, I encourage anyone who likes pizza to go to Nino.
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(6) Yamato Modern
The Yamato modern is only a 10 minute walk from JR Nara station, and my absolute go to when I’m feeling like treating myself on a work day. The venue is very cosy, with smooth jazz playing, comfy cushion chairs, and a large window bringing in all the light. The dishes are Japanese and Western fusion, and the people are very accomodating. It does lunch sets, and dinner, as well as izakaya style food. I recommend the Yamato style fried chicken lunch set with tea, and the tuna-avocado mix, the chips, and the tofu and friend somen salad as an izakaya treat. If you have some time to kill around JR Nara and don’t know where to eat, I recommend Yamato Modern! They have another place up Sanjo street, which is more of an izakaya style than an actual restaurant, but equally as good.