There are lots of restaurants to chose from in Nara, as our hotel was close to Naramachi we headed their and looked for somewhere suitable.
It was Sunday night in high tourist season, we did not have a reservation, consequently the first couple of places we tried were full. We finally found a place called Shikamaru, which is an Izakaya specialising in BBQ food.
Shikamaru was a lively place, the kitchen was fully visible to the diners so there was always something to watch.
Most Japanese restaurants will give you Otsumami to eat while you look at the menu, at Shikamaru they gave us Natto, which is fermented soya beans and pickled cucumber.
The sashimi plate was very good, with Octopus, Salmon, Tuna and Yellow Tail.
When we ordered the squid they brought a mini BBQ to our table.
They served my friend Ken a grapefruit highball.
We went to the Hana Bar for drinks, which is a very classy cocktail bar in Naramachi. The proprietor will make just about any drink you want and has a wide variety of non-alcoholic drinks. We visited Hana bar before we went for dinner and we returned afterwards. The bar only seats about 12 people and at times during the night it was full, a notice on the wall states that’s open until Midnight.
Hana bar served us with Ostumami of dried candied fruit and nuts.
Happy punters in the Hana Bar at the end of a great night eating and drinking in Nara