About 16 minutes by car from Naha Airport. This Spanish restaurant is located in a hotel called “The Naha Terrace” in Omoromachi, the new center of Naha City. If you are tired of the traditional Okinawan cuisine, you should definitely try La Cima’s Spanish cuisine using island ingredients! The atmosphere is elegant, so you can spend a wonderful evening!
Point 1: What is the location of Tapas & Charcoal Grill “La SIMA”?
(Looking down on the Annex from the Naha Terrace Hotel building. The ivy-twined building beyond the pool is the Annex.)
Tapas & Charcoal Grill “La SIMA” opened in 2019 on the 3rd floor of the Annex of the Naha Terrace hotel, which opened in August 1999.
The Naha Terrace is a resort within the city, and is famous for its garden pool and resort-like atmosphere despite its location in the city of Naha.
The hotel is located in the east of Naha city, about 15 minutes on foot from Yureru Omoromachi, but it is in a residential area, one street off a wide main road, and there are many hills and ups and downs, so if you have large luggage, it is better to take a cab if possible.
The guest rooms are located on a hill, or perhaps the cabs go up the steep slope.
The Annex, where “La Cima” is located, can be reached from the third floor of the hotel building via a beautifully landscaped garden.
The Annex also houses a Japanese and teppanyaki restaurant, a store selling goods carefully selected by the hotel, and the flagship store of “Lodgers,” which is part of the oldest supermarket in Japan, Plaza House, where you can find clothing, sundries, food, and other imported goods that are different from the rest! The store is located in the center of the city.
Point 2: What is the menu like at Tapas & Charcoal Grill “La SIMA”?
(Inside the La Cima restaurant. (Inside La Cima restaurant, an elegant space with soft indirect lighting.)
I was guided into the La Cima restaurant. Perhaps because it was still before 6:00 p.m., there was only one customer in the restaurant.
On a table with a resort-like atmosphere, knives, forks, plates, etc. were laid out, and candles were lit, creating a nice atmosphere.
Just sitting there, I felt as if I was at a tropical resort.
(Salad with prosciutto and fruit. Stylish and delicious!)
The menu at Tapas & Charcoal Grill “La SIMA” can be roughly divided into oysters (oyster menu), tapas, appetizers, salads, charcoal grill, Spanish omelets, ajiro, rice dishes (such as paella), and desserts. rice dishes (such as paella), and desserts.
Among them, I ordered a tapas plate with three kinds of dishes (2,000 yen), semolina flour fritters of fresh soft-shell crab (3,000 yen), prosciutto ham and fruit salad (1,700 yen), a dish of camembert and island tofu ahijo (1,450 yen), and brown sugar catalana (700 yen).
For drinks, we ordered a glass of Divino Cava Brut wine from Spain (1,100 yen), which is a sweet sparkling wine that is easy to drink, but be warned that by the time the food is served, you will be drunk all at once!
The restaurant uses a Spanish charcoal grill, the first of its kind in Okinawa Prefecture, to grill ingredients quickly and vigorously to bring out the best flavor from the ingredients.
(Semolina flour fritters of live soft-shell crab. (Semolina flour fritters of live soft-shell crab, served in the shell.)
All the dishes were of high grade, but I especially recommend the soft-shell crab. The soft-shell crab, which can be eaten whole, is very tasty with the flavor of garlic!
It is served with lemon and tangy sauce or with mild French salt.
The crab was so delicious that we felt the price of 3,000 yen for about four crabs was too cheap.
(Island tofu and camembert ajillo.)
A unique Spanish dish using Okinawan island ingredients was the “Island Tofu and Camembert Ahijo”.
It was a delicious and creamy dish that made good use of ingredients with similar textures.
However, since it came out toward the end of our order, our stomachs were already quite full, and we were disappointed that we did not get to eat the bucket that was served with it.
If we could have eaten the bucket with the ajillo, it would have doubled the deliciousness of the dish considerably.
The quantity of each dish is quite large, so I think it would be just right for three women to share.
Point 3: What about dessert at Tapas & Charcoal Grill “La SIMA”?
(Brown sugar catalana. It goes great with the refreshing ice cream on top!)
Tapas & Charcoal Grill “La SIMA” offers five kinds of desserts. I was quite interested in the “Island Salt Chocolate Terrine” (900 yen), but I ordered the “Brown Sugar Catalana” (700 yen).
I was expecting a “hard pudding,” but it was a bit different from what I imagined, more like a rich cheesecake. The surface was caramelized, and the refreshing ice cream was a perfect match!
I didn’t feel the brown sugar as much as I expected, but I thought, “I can eat this no matter how full I am!” I thought, “I can eat this no matter how full I am!
The total bill was about 11,000 yen for two people, which I thought was reasonable or a little cheap for the atmosphere, quantity, and quality of the food.
In fact, there are many locals who use the restaurant for business entertainment and anniversaries.
