Miso Meshiya Marutama is a popular restaurant in Naha City. As the name suggests, it is a restaurant that focuses on "miso" as its concept.

The key feature here is that all dishes use miso—specifically, Tamanaha Miso, a long-established miso brewery in Shuri.

Open from 7:30 in the morning until lunch and dinner, this restaurant serves dishes made with miso, a familiar ingredient to Japanese people, which naturally brings a sense of comfort and relaxation.

This article will introduce you to the interior, menu, and popular dish, the hearty miso soup set meal, of "Miso Meshiya Marutama"!

*The information in this article is based on interviews conducted in April 2024.

1. This is what Miso Meshiya Marutama is like.

Miso Meshiya Marutama is located in an area of ​​Naha City where offices and residences are lined up.

At first glance, the shop looks like a stylish cafe. While "miso" generally evokes images of traditional Japanese cuisine, the exterior pleasantly defies those expectations.
The interior, like the exterior, looks just like a cafe.
Another notable feature of Miso Meshiya Marutama is that it's open from the morning.
Before opening the shop, owner Nakanishi said that friends visiting from outside the prefecture often told him, "There aren't many places open in Okinawa in the morning." He often saw people eating breakfast at chain restaurants or convenience stores, and the term "breakfast refugees" came to mind.

(Shop owner, Mr. Nakanishi)

As someone who enjoys trying different foods, I thought, "If you're traveling, you should definitely eat at a restaurant that's unique to that area, even if it's just for breakfast." So, since its founding in 2016, the restaurant has been open from the morning to serve breakfast.

Nowadays, the store attracts not only local customers but also tourists from outside the prefecture, and even many foreign visitors.

2. Menu of Miso Meshiya Marutama

At Miso Meshiya Marutama, we offer our menu in three parts: breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
As the name suggests, the key feature of this restaurant is that miso is used in every dish.

Moreover, they are particular about using miso from Tamanaha Miso, a long-established miso brewery in Shuri. Tamanaha Miso was founded in the 1850s and is a miso brewery with a long history and tradition, having presented miso to the Ryukyu Kingdom during the Ryukyu Kingdom era.
Breakfast options include a hearty miso soup set meal, a red pork miso ginger stir-fry set meal, and the Marutama Gozen set meal. Since it's breakfast time, the menu is designed to be easy on the stomach.
For lunch, in addition to the two items from the breakfast menu excluding the Marutama Gozen, they offer a mixed ground beef hamburger steak (made with red pork and Wagyu beef), Yanbaru young chicken breast cheese cutlet, Marutama Mainamuduchi, and a one-plate miso rice dish. Compared to breakfast, there seems to be a greater emphasis on hearty meals.
For dinner, we offer four items from the lunch menu, excluding the one-plate miso rice and the mixed ground pork and wagyu beef hamburger, as well as red pork loin and thick-cut pork steak.

3. Marutama, known for its miso soup set meal with plenty of ingredients.

Marutama's signature dish is the "Hearty Miso Soup Set Meal (from 1,080 yen)." It's literally packed with ingredients, including shimeji mushrooms, island tofu, green vegetables, red pork, and egg. While "drinking" is the appropriate word to use for miso soup, the sheer number of ingredients in this dish makes "eating" a more fitting description.
The miso soup itself has a perfect balance of richness and saltiness. The white rice is also delicious, and the rotation of miso soup and rice is just perfect. The generous portion of miso soup warms you from the inside out, and especially in the morning, it feels like a fire is lit within you. I find myself thinking, "Ah, I wish I could eat this miso soup set meal every morning."
Another recommended dish is the "Benibuta Miso Ginger Pork Set Meal (from 1,300 yen)". The homemade miso ginger sauce coats the meat, making it a dish that will have you wanting more rice. It uses "Benibuta," a brand of pork from Okinawa, and the combination with the miso makes it a dish that shows attention to detail.

4. Miso Meshiya Marutama Basic Information

Upon entering the store, you'll find a sales corner immediately to your right. Here, they sell "Tamanaha Miso," the same miso used at Miso Meshi and Marutama. They also have miso cookies and miso balls that allow you to make miso soup simply by adding hot water, making it a great place for a quick purchase.
The owner, Mr. Nakanishi, comes from a family that runs a Tamanaha Miso business on his mother's side, and as a fan himself, he uses Tamanaha Miso in all of his dishes because he wants more people to know about it. Why not pay a visit and experience the profound depth of miso for yourself?

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