Wa Yamamura restaurant - Nara

Wa Yamamura restaurant was awarded three stars by the Michelin Guide Kyoto in 2012. It is a rather small restaurant, so we were lucky to get reservations there for a Saturday lunch only 5 days before.

The restaurant is located outside the touristy area of Nara, about 3 minutes walk from Kintetsu Shinomiya station.

We had counter seats, so here are our lunch neighbors.

The restaurant is quite compact. All the way to the right is the cash register, phone and fax machine. Then the drinks section with the two young waitresses busy filling some glasses. One of them spoke fluent English and took care of us throughout our lunch.

In front of us

And at the edge of the counter Chef Nobuhiro Yamamura could be seen preparing some sashimi bowls.

While reserving, we had selected the menu at ¥5,780. For each course, we were given a small card with the description in English.

STARTERS
- Hassun (assorted small dishes) and Ume
- Taro stem & okra in sweetened vinegar
- Kanpyo dressed with vinegar and miso
- broad bean, braised prawn, whelk
- conger sushi (in the reed)
- Egg yolk sauce grilled
- Japanese bay scallop

SOUP - Japanese dashi soup with shrimp fritters and egg-tofu

SASHIMI - Flatfish, Tuna, Squid

 

GRILLED DISH - Yuan-yaki (butterfish)

COLD DISH - Cooled water shield (tomato, zucchini)

FRIED DISH - Deep-fried eggplant

RICE - Steamed rice with bamboo shoots

RICE 2 - Young sardines and Japanese pepper boiled in soy sauce on white rice

DESSERT - Strawberry jelly

Coffee - some plain filtered coffee, quite disappointing.

As we left, Chef Yamamura accompanied us to the door then thanked us and bowed. He also kindly agreed to be photographed.

Overall, it was a pleasant meal during which we had the chance to discover some new flavors. Service was fine although at times amateurish (by the young waitress) but we did really feel welcome and taken care of, especially by the chef's wife. 

Now, does this restaurant deserve its Michelin 3 stars? In other words, does it serve "exceptional cuisine worth a special journey"? Not so sure about that. Wa Yamamura is a small family run restaurant that just happened to have caught the eyes and taste buds of Michelin guide editors as they decided to include Nara in their 2012 Kyoto region guide.

Wa Yamamura
Nara, Nara Prefecture
http://www15.ocn.ne.jp/~yamamura/