Japanese Diner Food for Dinner

Summary Style: Japanese Single Sets: 150~250NTD Combo Sets: 260~350NTD Beverages: 100NTD Ice Cold Beer: 120NTD Hours: 6pm-11:30pm Mon-Saturday English Menu: No Japanese Menu: Full Pros: completely different from normal, ice-cold beer Cons: No English, Regular food

Opened in Tainan to cater to the Japanese ex-pat community, Uta Maro is a restaurant that embodies all things Japanese. Everything is Japanese - the menu  (with minimalistic Chinese), the signs on the wall, the draft beer and food is completely Japanese. Even the Taiwanese staff that works there are fluent in Japanese. It feels like a diner that okasan (mom) and otasan (pop) would be proud of.

Located on Mincyuan Rd. between Jhongyi Rd. and Youngfu Rd., this restaurant is not located close to major hot spots – almost by design. It was the only building with lights on in the street when we first arrived. Walking into the restaurant We received stares from Japanese workers still wearing their coveralls from the long working day. We sat at the Japanese style seating sitting crossed-legged in front of a small table.  I quickly ordered a pint of Asahi draft beer which was served the only way beer should be served- ice cold.

Navigating the menu was challenging, but there were some pictures to look which helped in the ordering process. Don’t look for sushi here. Only homestyle Japanese dishes – sweet meat on rice (Domburi), noodles (soba, ramen, and udon), fried pork cutlet (tonkatsu), grilled fish and tempura are just a few of these items.  These main dishes include side dishes of vegetable, miso soup and fruit.

Tina settled on a traditionally Chinese dish called “mapo dofu” or spicy tofu in English. I decided to go with the super set meal which included two main dishes – a fried pork cutlet with curry sauce and a Japanese hamburger. The Japanese hamburger was something I was looking forward to but it was overcooked. The pork with curry sauce was enough to make up for it though. Trying Tina’s spicy tofu I felt like the spicy was left out. It made me wonder if this is what the Japanese like. In short, the food wasn’t spectacular, but more regular everyday food – diner food.

If you’re looking for a late night dinner or up for trying something completely different for a night, Uta Maro may be the place to go.

The storefront with some pictures from the menu.

Two types of seating available – Japanese or western.

Direct TV from Japan, magazines as well as authentic decor

Other reviews:
BoyLondon (Chinese) (He has some nice pics)