I had just finished a 15 km run and was looking for a lunch place. I looked on Google Maps and found Nobuno Kitchen in Uchihara. It was located just three minutes from Uchihara Station. The main selling point of this restaurant was their extremely affordable price point. All of their set meals were just ¥500.

The shop was only one street over from the main road leading to Uchihara Station. It was located in a building with a recessed entrance. It was a bit inconspicuous and not a place you would notice even if you were walking by it. There was a good amount of guest parking on the side of the building.

Nobuno Kitchen Menu

The menu was listed on these cute boards. They had karrage (fried chicken), shougayaki (grilled ginger pork), chicken nanban (fried chicken with tarter sauce), a mix plate, pork and vegetables with a savory salty flavor, and mixed rice sets. I decided to go with their karrage set. The ordering process was very informal, I essentially shouted “excuse me, a karrage set please” which was returned with an enthusiastic “yes”. There menu does change from time to time with new items being circulated through.

The inside of the restaurant was pretty basic. There were a number of tables arranged with what seemed to be outdoor wicker chairs. There were a decent number of tables for groups and a counter section for individuals. It felt homey with its basic furnishings and had a bit of a nostalgic feel with its old style wall posters.

Nobuno Kitchen Food Review

My food came out promptly and had generous portions. The karrage was good. The outside was crispy and had good flavor, while the inside was juicy and tender. My only gripe was that there was a little too much oil remaining on the chicken. After I was done eating all the chicken, there was a small pool of excess oil remaining. The side salad, macaroni salad, semi sweet root vegetables, and soup provided a nice variety of flavors and textures that really balanced out the meal.

There was also a small part of the counter that had some self serve mugi cha (barley tea) in pitchers and a variety of sauces and salad dressings. I got a glass of refreshing mugi cha (barley tea) and poured some of the sesame dressing on my shredded cabbage.

While eating, I noticed that another customer came up to the counter and asked for a refill of rice. I didn’t see it posted anywhere, but free rice refills must be available. One thing was for sure, you won’t leave this place hungry.

I finished up and went to pay. True to their advertising, the cost of the meal with tax included was ¥500.

As I was leaving I noticed these additional menus on the wall. For dinner they had a number of izakaya type small plates and a good variety of beer at affordable prices. I’d like to come back some time and try their dinner menu.

Final Thoughts

If your looking for an affordable and delicious meal and are in the Uchihara Station area, then we highly recommend stopping by Nobuno Kitchen. If we lived in the area, I could easily see us going here at least once a week.

More to Come…