Okinawa American Village restaurant & cafe picks: Horizon Curry Works and Jivago Coffee Works
While we were in American Village, Okinawa, Japan,
we stopped by a curry spot for lunch
and then headed downstairs for coffee after the meal.
They’re in the same building,
with Horizon Curry Works on the second floor
and Jivago Coffee Works on the first.
This is the building—cafe on the first floor, restaurant on the second.
Since lunch came first, we headed upstairs.
The entrance to the curry restaurant is seriously eye-catching.
Very fitting for American Village—it’s decorated in a fun American-style vibe.
Maybe it was because we visited in February,
or maybe they leave it like this year-round,
but there were still Christmas decorations up.
Judging by the wall packed with bottles,
it looked like the place turns into more of a bar at night.
There’s terrace seating too,
and honestly the outdoor seats seemed even more popular.
We had a bigger group,
and I also wanted to stay out of the sun, so we sat inside.
There’s an aquarium near the entrance,
and we got the large table right in front of it.
There were lots of cute little fish in there,
and keeping our baby next to the tank actually helped a lot—
she was so busy watching the fish that lunch was a little easier for us.
They had several high chairs available,
and blankets ready for guests sitting outside too.
Even the little sauce trolley on the table had character.
The whole place had a slightly pub-like atmosphere.
The entire time we were eating,
a Japanese family at the table behind us kept making eye contact with our daughter
and entertaining her from afar, which was honestly so sweet.
The menu was huge—B4-sized huge—but the text definitely wasn’t.
Even though it’s a curry restaurant, they serve way more than just curry:
taco rice, salads and pasta, seafood dishes,
acai bowls, purple sweet potato desserts, and more.
Definitely one of those American Village restaurants with a surprisingly wide menu.
They also had a ton of drinks and alcohol options.
We ordered one salad to start
and one curry per person.
I think this was the Caesar salad,
but by the time I was feeding the baby, it already looked like this,
so this was the only photo I got.
We also tried a non-alcoholic beer.
It was my first time having Orion non-alcoholic beer, and it was actually really good.
Why is Japanese beer always so good?
All four of us ordered the stone-grilled cheese curry,
and just picked different toppings for each one.
The curry rice comes out piping hot in a stone bowl,
and they torch the cheese topping right at the table.
I’d had amazing yaki curry in Mojiko before,
so I ordered this because I was craving that flavor again. Would it live up to it?
This one had crispy chicken instead of tonkatsu as the topping,
but honestly… where was the crispy part?
It was more like soft, juicy chicken on top.
And this was the plain basic curry with no extra toppings.
The curry itself tasted good, but the rice portion was huge,
so the sauce got absorbed into the rice pretty quickly.
Instead of staying nice and saucy, it ended up a little dry.
The tonkatsu was decent too, though not especially memorable.
Still, I didn’t walk out feeling disappointed,
so I’d say it was a solid place to eat.
People say Okinawa food can be hit or miss overall,
but this was definitely worth eating.
After lunch, we came back downstairs and the weather was just too perfect.
That clear air with no fine dust? Seriously the best.
You love it too, don’t you? Why are you so adorably chubby?
Next stop: coffee at Jivago Coffee Works on the first floor.
The menu is clearly posted outside.
They ask you not to grab a seat first—
you order first and then find a table.
So if you order and there’s no seat left,
I guess you’re getting takeout whether you planned to or not.
That said, there’s a shared table out front,
so if it’s not raining, freezing, or unbearably hot,
that would actually be a nice place to sit too.
The industrial interior has a great look,
and honestly this feels like the kind of cafe that would be popular even in Korea.
They serve Dutch coffee and sell coffee beans too,
which made the whole place feel pretty serious about coffee.
A very solid cafe in Okinawa American Village.
They also had a pretty good variety of breads and desserts,
but since it had been about three minutes since we finished curry upstairs,
we were way too full to try any. Tragic, honestly.
They even sell their own cafe merch.
I guess that makes sense since it’s such a well-known, popular cafe
in American Village.
Ordered and waiting for a table to open up.
We only waited a little,
and then the big table all the way in the back opened up.
There were five of us including the baby, so we really needed a roomy spot,
and we got lucky with a super spacious table.
It was right by the window too, so we could look outside.
Though to be fair, the first thing you see is mostly people’s backs.
Since every adult has to order one drink per person,
we got four drinks. The bright yellow cups were so cute.
The cafe logo is adorable too.
Of course, we ended up taking plenty of photos with the baby too.
Does anyone know how to take just a few baby photos and stop there?
Our daughter even took a shot of coffee.
Just kidding—this was the extra cup they gave us to keep it from being too hot,
and she was busy chewing on the rim.
Oh, and one more useful thing—there’s also a small restroom inside Jivago Coffee Works.
It was right next to the large table where we sat.
It’s definitely compact,
but it had plenty of toilet paper and everything you’d need.
If you’re sightseeing around Okinawa American Village
and trying to decide where to eat and where to grab coffee,
this is a super efficient route for families too:
Horizon Curry Works → Jivago Coffee Works.
Definitely give it a try.