Terakawa in Nara

Great place, the best restaurant to eat in Nara. We reserved through the website the night before. The Chef was a pro and the food was great. No complaints.

Had the pleasure of visiting here today for lunch. Yamamoto san is very friendly, communicates well in English and is very knowledgeable about everything that he serves. He took the time to explain exactly what went into each dish on the omakase platter, as well as recommending a delicious locally sourced sake. Worth a visit for sure if you’re in the Kansai area.

Unique, delicious, and cozy. Best restaurant experience in Nara.It is a one man operation, which makes the unique character of the restaurant and the food possible. Surprised to learn that the chef was also the person serving us at our table and explaining what the dishes were.The Wagyu beef with egg was my favourite. The tenderness of the thin beef and the softness of the egg worked well together.

Amazing one-man show! The owner is the chef/waiter who runs the entire place on his own! His suggestion of splitting the omakase platter and chicken dipping soba was spot-on! The porridge he makes after you are done with the dipping sauce is quite delicious. A beautiful meal at a surprisingly affordable price! Beautiful collection of plates a plus. Thank you for the wonderful meal! 本当にご馳走でした。

All the dishes were very creative and delicious! We enjoyed the chef’s specials and great hospitality.

Come with open mind. Food is great. Chef is patient and provides great service.I went for Omakase with wagyu and duck. Food was amazing.Only mistake I made was mis set expectations for wagyu from tokyo fish market. Chef here serves wagyu little differently but still great.Reservation done at 12.30 for evening. Several people have been turned down on arrival. Make reservation early. Chef responds to email - even though I made reservation in person I was asked to write an email in case of change.Next day in our case is more busy and so even one day later reservation wasn't possible for incoming guests with no reservation.Thank you Chef for great evening and Japanese cuisine experience.

Best food thus far a week into me and my wife’s trip in Japan. The owner/chef is a fantastic person. We came at a time when the restaurant was full and he asked if we could come back in an hour. When we did, the shop was empty and he gave us his undivided attention. Some of the best food I’ve had anywhere and it was well-prices for lunch (I think it was 2400 yen/per person?). We ordered the Japanese tapas, the wagyu beef, and the soba to share and not a single item tasteful out of place or less than spectacular. I wish the chef all the best and strongly recommend you stop by if you are ever in Nara.

Nara's insider tip for delicious food!We reserved a table for two via email. At the restaurant, we decided to take menu #4: Omakase platter (basically the Chef's signature appetizers) + chicken breast salad + Kamo Seiro Soba.Every course tasted excellent! The chef explains every course, its ingredients and how he made it. Additionally, this place gives you the chance to taste different kinds of Nara's Sake (dry, sweet, or in between).

Came on 31 oct after making reservation. Easily one of the best dining experience that my wife and i had. As a Singaporean who travelled widely and ate all sort of foods, my wife and i had a lot of datapoints on good food. As advised, i ordered one omakase menu and 1 chicken soba noodles to share between the 2 of us. The food is fresh, creatively prepared and the chef and owner explained to us clearly in English on the dishes and how to consume them. Every food dish is prepared with care and detail. I asked for sweet sake and the sake that was recommended was totally on point. The recommended sake and green tea are from Nara. Everything is affordable, nothing too expensive. Would love to return one day to try the food during Spring as well. Makes waiting for the restaurant to open for half an hour totally worth it. Make your reservation now.

This is an absolute stop if you are in Nara. Make sure to book a reservation in advance through the email on their website. Ambiance is homey and cozy. Excellent service. The host is also the waiter is also the chef!! Talk about hard working. And to top it all off, it's a restaurant named after/for his parents. One of the best meals I've had in Japan.

A one man show with superlative personalized service, best that I have ever received. EVER! His recommendations are spot on, and servings are huge and tremendous value for money. In fact it's so reasonable I half fear he's losing money. Restaurant is tiny so booking ahead is essential. Cash only.

Words cannot describe how amazing this place is. The 5 course omakase was not only fantastic food but it was a fantastic experience with the chef explaining the ingredients and origin of everything he uses. As before mentioned this is reservation only!

My two friends and I had a fantastic dining experience. It's a small restaurant run by one man. There is an English menu and he happily explains any dishes you have questions about. He's a talented chef and took extra care in serving my vegetarian friend. The food was fresh and flavorful. Would gladly go again if I ever make it back to Nara!Also, be sure to make a reservation because it does fill up! Thankfully you can make reservations by email if you don't have phone.

It is important to know the restaurant is a bit further away from the Nara Park or the main railway station, so renting bycicles at the station was a smart idea that payed off. We recommend making reservations beforehand, since only one person performs the roles of the waiter, owner and cook and simply walking into the place might result in you not receiving any lunch. However, when the food arrives you get the gist of the place, as the food proves to be of high quality, innovative, and the menu is well thought out. We had one of the numerous omakase menus recommended by the owner himself and it exceeded our expectations. Alltogether, we had an excellent lunch for a very reasonable price.

I was searching for a good place to eat in Nara and came accross this jewel. I came too early to this place and waited for around an hour, but it was so worth it. This restaurant is really small and there are only 12seats. The owner/chef(same person) was really kind and was also capable of speaking english fluently. He even cooks everything regarding your own personal taste. Since I was alone he asked me if I want to have half a bowl of soba and half of the plate dishes. I ordered the full course of plate dishes though. Regretted it a little bit, when the fragance of the soba came over from the neighbor table, but even that disappeared after I took the first bite of the plate dishes. It tasted so tasty that I orded another bowl of rice, which he gave me for free~ Every single dish tasted incredible, but the housemade tofu was especially good.(not made of soybeans) The price was also really cheap compared to the quality of the food. Would definetely go again!

The owner was so kind and friendly! The cooking is superb, his explanation of every dish was exemplary and we enjoyed ourselves so much! We will surely be back again to Nara just to eat here again 😍

The food was delicious, and the presentation was beautiful The owner takes time to explain the dishes to you. He was really understanding about the gluten allergies of some of our group. Lots of local ingredients too! Great experience

Omakase food made of regional ingredients. It is open for lunch and dinner but can get crowded so I recommend making a email reservation but you can come without as well. Chef knows English and explains each course. Can accommodate most food restrictions. We had the vegitarian 5 course set (there is meat option as well) which consisted of a appetizer platter, soup, 2 mushroom dishes, and a noodle dish. This was the most tasty and healthy feeling vegitarian dish I have ever had. Please try this when you are in nara. It is worth the cost!

After reading the tremendous reviews about this gem of a place, my wife (currently pregnant) and I went along with high expectations. Needless to say the food was incredible and it was a great way to celebrate our anniversary. Be organised and enjoy

From the first email reply, I knew chef, waiter and owner, Fuminori was going to be awesome in person. He has impeccable taste and complexity when it comes to his omakase sets. Too many dishes to commend, the tofu was a standout for me. I would like to thank him for the great service and hospitality. I will return when i visit Nara again.

Had lunch here. It was value for money. Ordered set #3 omakase platter, wagyu beef and soba set for JPY 4,300 (for 2-pax). You can see the dedication of the restaurant’s chef in every details of the dishes he prepares. He runs the place solo and is the chef/waiter/cleaner. He’d explain to you the menu before you place your order as well as the details that go into the preparation of his dishes before letting you enjoy the food.

Like the rest of the reviews here, my experience was great. I enjoyed Set 3. Wish I had the chance to try something else again but maybe in the future. Chef Yamamoto is the real deal.

Found this gem based on all the good reviews! They were only serving omakase course when we went but it’s so worth it and so good! Each dish was unique in its own way and tasty! I am definitely recommending this place to peoples

If you come to Nara, no, if you come to Japan, you HAVE to go to Terakawa. The best food and service I have ever experienced anywhere. Each dish is an experience of it's own, and the chef explains each dish and ingredient for each course. Some of the things done in Terakawa are absolutely genius yet the chef remains humble. Must try.

This place is amazing; the chef is a fantastic host who cares about each dish. Good portions and beautiful flavours at a price that seems like daylight robbery. The soba broth with yuzu was out of this world!

This place was worth every penny and more!!! I am usually very skeptical about a place with a lot of reviews by tourists, but I have to say each dish we had was a knockout and exceptional!A perfect blend of tradition with a flair of modern day creativity by the chef. There wasn't a dish that didn't leave us wanting to more. This chef really knows how to season his food PERFECTLY. We felt like we had a fine dining experience the whole time with how high of quality the food was, and the personable service. All food is prepared by the chef and served to you by the chef. Such a memorable dining experience. Thank you!!!!!!

We made a reservation for dinner and he never opened the door. I am disappointed as nothing indicated he decided not to open. As a one man restaurant, I can appreciate things happening but we saw him through the window and he ignored us and 3 local waiting customers. I would be aware before trying to visit here.

This was an amazing experience of local food and extremely impressive service. I recommend booking ahead of time, we did via Facebook. One man show shop, the chef also speaks English well!

Reservations are a must here but it well worth the visit. For those in Nara, who would like to experience something other than feeding deer, you should definitely check out Terakawa for true authentic Japanese dining experience.This one man operation is ran by chef Fumi who handles all operations of the restaurant. He will walk you through the menu and also all of the course that come with your meal.You can't go wrong with ordering any of the set items on the menu as each is multi course with a plethora of variety to them. Check out my photos of the menu for more details.Everything tasted amazing. The presentation would be an IG dream. The ingredients were all fresh.Definitely one of the best places I have eaten period. A truly superb experience!

The food here was amazing and was even more impressive given that it was a one-man show, with the chef serving us and explaining the preparations he made for each dish as he served them. The meal wait times did not take any longer than usual either.For this reason though I would recommend booking ahead, some people turned up later but were turned away due to it being a full house - 8 guests total.We especially recommend the tofu, it was unlike any other tofu we'd ever had. Fried on the outside and almost like a savoury, thick gravy on the inside. Just delicious. We were so full after 3 dishes and it's very well priced.This restaurant was a highlight for our trip. I would go there again in a heartbeat.

Very nice original cuisine with local ingredients. The owner/ cook/ waiter surely loves what he does and he explains each dish which for sure you won't eat elsewhere, they're his original creations! I didn't care too much for the omakase course everyone recommends but the Wagyu sukiyaki style and the buckwheat noodles with duck were just Wahoo! So delicious, rich in taste yet very well balanced. RESERVATION is highly recommended, one day in advance if you can! It's a small place and since everything is fresh, the owner doesn't buy or prepare much in advance. We were lucky to be accepted with a last minute reservation but while we were eating, we saw 3 groups being refused because the chef simply didn't have any food for them!

My husband made reservations prior to our trip to Japan. He received 2 emails to confirm his reservation. On the day of our booking, no one came to open the door at 6:30pm. We were waiting with another group of local customers. The ladies in the other group knocked on the door around opening time and no one came. We waited until around 7pm and as we're about to leave we saw someone inside the restaurant. I understand as a one-man-shop you might not be able to open due to emergencies. But there were no notices on the door and the person inside the restaurant didn't even have the courtesy to come out to tell us they will not be honouring reservations tonight. Extremely disappointing. We even changed our travel itinerary so we can eat here.

Top of the top, simple place but amazing food, not to be missed if you are in Nara, 0 glamour but all that is good in an honest restaurant. Magnificent, bravo! The Chef is a young but very experienced professional.

Cozy atmostphere, great service and best food!

This small and genuine little restaurant has a service-minded and very polite owner, Fumi-San. The food here is INCREDIBLE, the duck is the best meat I've ever had and the home made tofu is the best tofu I've tasted. Totally reasonable prices. A must go!

The food was really nice, especially the tofu. Impressive service from the owner. Prices are very reasonable. 5/5.

Easily one of the best meals we had in Japan. Excellent and personal service by the 1 man show chef. A lot of care and heart goes into the food preparation and it shows in his food. Reservations in advance highly recommended.

Amazing food, location and service. He is doing a great job, from cooking to explaining the dishes and satisfying every desire. Definitely a place to go!

Amazing food and experience. Def recommend making a reservation in advance.

これはとても美味しいです！I can’t remember the last time I had a lunch that inspired me like this one. Fumi-San is a wonderful chef who puts so much love into each dish. I have eaten at Michelin Star restaurants that had less heart than this cozy little place. The ingredients are handled with such care and precision. Fumi-San not only prepared each dish but served each customer himself. Take your time, savor each bite, and be patient. Don’t rush. If you find yourself sitting at his table, you’re in the right place.

One of the best meals I’ve had in Japan so far! The restaurant seats around 12 people so be sure to make a reservation (I emailed him and he responded within 20 minutes). The chef/owner is a really nice guy, he started off by explaining how the menu works and as he served each dish he also described them as well (in good english). Overall a great experience and I highly recommend anyone visiting Nara to try it!

Very lovely meal. Very filling and incredible value. Paid 35 Aussie for 3 piece set menu pp which seems unheard of. Absolutely worth while. Seems like you have to book but we got lucky and could book as we arrived for just 30 mins later and were the last people let in.

Definitely one of my best restaurant experiences!Our travel group was finally given a few hours to explore Nara on our own. I wanted to treat myself to a special lunch and simply googled “vegetarian restaurant” and followed the directions to Terakawa.I was a little worried because I didn’t find vegetarian options on the menu, but the host/waiter/chef offered me some different possibilities (in very good English).I was planning on a light lunch, but I got a wonderful (unexpected) multi-course meal. Everything was freshly prepared just for me, and he even checked if I would prefer a vegetarian base for the broths. The atmosphere had a calming effect on this hectic tourist and for a short time I felt at peace.Unfortunately real life kicked in and I had to essentially wolf down the last course because of time restraints, but the host was understanding and accommodating.

Very delicious food and nice service

My girlfriend and I ate here the other night, and it was simply fantastic. We ordered one of the set menu options offered and it was the best food we have eaten anywhere in the country. My girlfriend has a gluten allergy and the owner/host/cook made us feel very secure and comfortable knowing exactly how to customize the menu so that she could eat. Every item was described in detail and the quality of the food/service was unparalleled. To anyone who is passing through Nara this is a must visit destination.

The most amazing meal I've ever had! Not an overstatement!

Terakawa is a small off the beaten path restaurant close to the deer park in Nara. It's menu consists of a series of well thought out unique small dishes and some Japanese standards like yaki soba. I had the signature potato salad which had little bits of cheese and salmon, roe in it, and it was really delicious and different. I also had the signature duck dish, which was pricey, but absolutely worth it. I came alone, and he very nicely adjusted the portion sizes and prices to make dishes for one. This is a very special place with simple surroundings and building, but really great food. Worth trying if you are in Nara.

おいしいですFumi was incredibly welcoming and accommodating. He wrote up a selection of vegetarian items in English for us so we could choose from the fresh items of the day. We especially enjoyed his specialty dish of sesame tofu made from scratch in house; it had a soft mochi consistency in the middle and had a crispy exterior with a delicate flavor. We also enjoyed some cold buckwheat noodles (very refreshing on a hot day) and a selection of vegetable dishes that Fumi kindly split. This restaurant was a surprise find and it was our favorite meal in Japan so far. Our meal was a great value and was very relaxing in a comfortable air conditioned atmosphere.

Nice place. Nice Food. Chef's friendly too! Best make a reservation before coming in because chef works alone.

Amazing food, passionate chef :)