Say "Italian on Irabu Island" and I think some people will first think "huh, why?"
You come to Irabu Island expecting tropical food like Miyako soba, seafood bowls and taco rice, so I think it's natural. I was the same. Irabu Island is still young as a tourist destination, and the choice of eateries is small compared with the main island of Miyako. So there's a sense of feeling a little relieved just to "find somewhere to eat." If Italian shows up there, being puzzled is a natural reaction, I think.
But after going to "PRIMONTE SARAHAMA" once, my thinking changed.
Irabu Island has Irabu Island's own Italian. Pasta combining Sarahama-caught bonito with tomato sauce, a curry plate layering 13 kinds of spices, a rich carbonara. Each plate, cooking island ingredients with Italian technique, turns the question "why Italian on Irabu Island?" into "I'm glad I came here." And the price range, at around ¥1,000–1,300 (about US$7–9), is quite realistic considering Irabu Island's prices.
And the location is in a back alley. Parking your car at Sarahama Fishing Port and walking the winding narrow alleys along the way also lifts the travel mood. I've even seen reviews telling stories of nearly getting lost when a local grandpa pointed and said "it's that way." Including that kind of warmth, the experience of this shop becomes special.
In this article, I'll introduce plenty of the appeal of PRIMONTE Sarahama, including the menu, access and the clever way to use the sets. People looking for a recommended lunch on Irabu Island, please put this shop on your list.
- What Is PRIMONTE Sarahama? An Island Italian Standing in a Fishing-Town Back Alley
- Access and Basics: Opening Hours, Reservation, Car Park
- The Appeal of the Lunch Menu: Pasta Lunch and Lunch Plate
- Rich Cream Carbonara (¥1,100 / about US, with salad)
- Thick-Cut Bacon Carbonara (¥1,100 / about US, with salad)
- Sarahama-Caught Bonito Tomato Pasta (¥1,100 / about US, with salad)
- Shrimp Tomato Cream Pasta (¥1,300 / about US, with salad)
- 13-Spice Spicy Curry Plate (¥1,200 / about US)
- Aoba Oil-Based Pasta (¥900 / about US)
- Good Value with the Set Menus: Starter Set & Dessert Set
- At Night It Transforms into an Italian Bar: How to Enjoy Dinner
- Why I Recommend PRIMONTE: Savour Island Ingredients and a Hideaway Feel
- Nearby Sightseeing: Stroll the Irabu Bridge and Sarahama Fishing Port
- FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions
- Summary: Irabu Island's New Standard Lunch Is Here
What Is PRIMONTE Sarahama? An Island Italian Standing in a Fishing-Town Back Alley
The Italian bar "PRIMONTE SARAHAMA," which opened in Sarahama in March 2022.
"PRIMONTE" is apparently a word that evokes "before the mountain" or "the hill of beginnings" in Italian, but as for the image of the place it's the opposite — it exists quietly deep in the narrow alleys of a fishing town. It's on an alley atop a small rise, and the lunch section of the Miyakojima Keizai Shimbun described it as "like Taormina in Sicily." Indeed, the image of a diner sitting quietly in the back alley of a Mediterranean port town fits.
The journey to reach the shop feels like an exploration, walking round and round Sarahama's old-fashioned streets. Flowers blooming at the eaves, cats, old stone walls continuing. You walk through the air of a "living island," not putting on a touristy front. Just that lets you touch a deep side of Irabu Island, which is interesting.
The interior is a cosy space with about 4 table seats, but the ceiling is high so the impression is roomy. The interior is simple and stylish, with celebrities' autographs displayed too, and you can tell it's already become quite a popular shop. The SoftBank signal inside is hard to get, but free Wi-Fi is available so no problem.
The concept is to "use vegetables and fish harvested on the island, and aim to be the No.1 Italian bar on Irabu Island." Sarahama is a port town famous for bonito fishing, a place that doesn't lack fresh seafood. Dishes that make the most of that geographical advantage line up. The owner's care doesn't stop at the freshness of the ingredients, but extends to the active use of pesticide-free vegetables. The beautifully plated dishes are finished in a way that makes you want to take photos.
Access and Basics: Opening Hours, Reservation, Car Park
First, let me organise the basic information.
- PRIMONTE SARAHAMA
- Address: 49 Maezato, Irabu, Miyakojima City, Okinawa
- Phone: 050-3577-4900
- Opening hours: 11:00–21:00 (lunch around 11:00–16:00, dinner around 17:00–21:00)
- Closing day: Wednesday
- Car park: none (park at Sarahama Fishing Port)
- Seats: about 4 table seats
▶"Please check the latest opening hours and closing days on [Tabelog: PRIMONTE SARAHAMA]"
For access, rent a car from Miyako Airport, cross the Irabu Bridge, and it's about 10 minutes towards Sarahama Fishing Port. Park your car near the ENEOS at Sarahama Fishing Port, and with the ENEOS at your back, go straight ahead. When you reach a pink house, turn along the road, go straight for 1–2 minutes and you arrive.
This is a little confusing the first time. Relying only on Google Maps, you tend to go "huh, is this the right alley?" It's safer to roughly memorise the above route, or to confirm by phone around the time of arrival. With a SoftBank signal it's hard to connect inside the shop, but free Wi-Fi is available so you won't be troubled.
As for reservations, since the seats are limited to about 4, putting in a phone call in advance is reassuring, especially on weekends, long holidays and the tourist season. The case of going on a whim on the day and finding it full is entirely possible. Irabu Island sightseeing often takes a whole day, and "failing at lunch" is irreversible. When your travel schedule is packed especially, phoning ahead is absolutely recommended.
Lunch starts at 11:00, a little earlier than other eateries. Among Irabu Island eateries, many of which start at 11:30, being able to enter from 11:00 helps people who sightsee from the morning.
Besides being closed on Wednesdays, there can be temporary closures too, so it's better to confirm the latest information by phone or official social media before your trip. Coming all the way to Sarahama only for "closed today" is too sad.
The Appeal of the Lunch Menu: Pasta Lunch and Lunch Plate
PRIMONTE's lunch is composed mainly of pasta items and plate items. They all come with salad, and the balance of volume and satisfaction is good.
Rich Cream Carbonara (¥1,100 / about US, with salad)
One of the signature items. An orthodox style with black pepper working firmly, the rich cream sauce clinging to the noodles. Chances to eat carbonara on Irabu Island aren't many, so I want to recommend this to first-timers.
Looking at reviews, there are many impressions of "an orthodox taste" and "the pepper works and it's authentic." A precise carbonara, not excessively sweetened or over-arranged. That you can eat it in this place at this price is quite a satisfaction, I think. Being an island Italian doesn't make it "tourist-spot pricing" or "an arrangement leaning to tropical taste." That's the reason it's well-rated, I think.
Thick-Cut Bacon Carbonara (¥1,100 / about US, with salad)
A carbonara with chunky thick-cut bacon. Characterised by the bacon's satisfying bite and moderate saltiness, this one might land for people who want a meaty feel. If you waver against the cream carbonara, choose by "sauce-focused" or "ingredient-focused."
Sarahama-Caught Bonito Tomato Pasta (¥1,100 / about US, with salad)
Tomato pasta using bonito landed at the local Sarahama Port. The match of seafood and tomato goes without saying, but using bonito is an idea typical of Irabu Island Italian. The umami of the bonito combines with the tomato sauce, and depth is born within the acidity. People who like seafood pasta, this without hesitation.
Shrimp Tomato Cream Pasta (¥1,300 / about US, with salad)
A pasta combining the umami of shrimp with the richness of tomato cream. For the slightly higher price, the shrimp's presence is firmly there. The look is gorgeous too, just right for when you feel like making lunch a little luxury.
13-Spice Spicy Curry Plate (¥1,200 / about US)
PRIMONTE's other signature, the spicy curry. An authentic spice curry combining 13 kinds of spices, characterised by a complex aroma and heat impossible to recreate at home. True to the "spicy" name, there's certainly a tingling stimulus. But rather than too hot, it feels like layers of spice piling up, with a change of flavour every bite. I'd strongly recommend it to curry lovers.
Okinawan standards like Miyako soba and taco rice can be eaten elsewhere, but the 13-spice curry is a plate unique to PRIMONTE. There seem to be repeat customers who say "I came again to eat this curry," and it's that memorable a taste.
Aoba Oil-Based Pasta (¥900 / about US)
An oil-based pasta using whitebait and scallop. A light dish with the sea aroma of the ingredients out front. Perfect for a day you don't want something heavy, or when you want to avoid oily things in the hot midday. Precisely because it's simple, it's an item where the quality of the ingredients shows, and the island ingredients shine.
Good Value with the Set Menus: Starter Set & Dessert Set
To make PRIMONTE's lunch more substantial, adding a set is recommended. You can order them à la carte in addition to the pasta or plate.
Lunch Set (+¥500 / about US)
It comes with a starter, garlic toast and iced coffee. There's a review that the day's starter was marinated octopus and carrot rapée, substantial enough that it seems you could have a drink with just that. There also seems to be a version that comes with prosciutto, island-carrot rapée and salad, and being able to enjoy this for just a ¥500 addition is quite good value, I think.
Having garlic toast makes the wait for the pasta enjoyable too. Filling your pre-meal stomach, the lunch atmosphere becomes course-like all at once. The kinds of starter can change by the day or by the supply, so trying to ask "what's today's starter?" is fun too.
Dessert Set (+¥450 / about US)
It comes with sweet-potato (beni-imo) cheesecake and iced coffee. This cheesecake is reputed as "not too sweet, and rich," and the match with coffee is outstanding too. It was sweet-potato cheesecake when it first opened, then was improved to beni-imo cheesecake, and you can feel the shop's care.
The flow of lunch → dessert set lets you feel like eating a leisurely course meal at a café. Being able to spend such an afternoon moment in a Sarahama back alley is, honestly, quite a luxury. In a small space with only 4 seats, eat at your own pace and enjoy dessert. Amid being chased by drives and sea-bathing in Irabu Island sightseeing, having such a "place to stop" is appreciated.
At Night It Transforms into an Italian Bar: How to Enjoy Dinner
Lunch is casual, and at night the atmosphere changes completely into an Italian bar.
It's a style where you can enjoy small dishes and pizza with wine, and items you can't eat at lunch appear too, like the Irabu-bonito puttanesca pizza. Puttanesca is a standard Southern-Italian sauce combining tomato, olives and capers, and matching it with Sarahama bonito is quite a chic combination.
Since the seats are few, reservations often become necessary especially at night. Dinner on Irabu Island tends to be a hotel restaurant or an izakaya, but a night enjoying wine and island-ingredient dishes at a small Italian bar like this becomes time you can't experience on other trips, I think. If you get the chance to stay over on Irabu Island, it's one of the places I'd want you to try visiting at night too.
Why I Recommend PRIMONTE: Savour Island Ingredients and a Hideaway Feel
Organising the reasons I recommend PRIMONTE for lunch on Irabu Island, it comes to this.
First, that you can eat authentic Italian using island ingredients. Sarahama-caught bonito, local pesticide-free vegetables. Dishes multiplying those with Italian technique become something unique, different from both "island food" and "touristy Italian." Different from the Italian you eat in mainland cities too. There's a taste you can eat only here, where the island air and ingredients combine.
Next, that the back-alley hideaway feel itself becomes part of the experience. The process of heading on foot from Sarahama Fishing Port, the sense of walking the narrow alleys, the accomplishment of "I found it" when you arrive. You can enjoy PRIMONTE with all of this included. Adding the route of "exploring a fishing-town back alley and eating Italian" to the Irabu-Island-sightseeing flow of "seeing the sea, walking the beach, lunch" raises the density of the trip sharply.
And that the cost performance is high if you use the sets. Ordering pasta + lunch set + dessert set in full comes to about ¥2,000–2,100 (about US$13–14). Being able to enjoy a course experience from starter to dessert in this price range is, even among island restaurants, quite excellent, I think.
Since there are only about 4 seats, a leisurely time flows. There's no sense of being rushed for turnover, and you can spend it at a pace of eating while talking and enjoying dessert. Whether on a solo trip or as two, it's an ideal place for people who want to "enjoy a proper meal slowly."
Nearby Sightseeing: Stroll the Irabu Bridge and Sarahama Fishing Port
Centring on PRIMONTE, building a day as a set with the surrounding sights is recommended.
Sarahama Fishing Port is also the starting point for heading to PRIMONTE. A port boasting one of Okinawa's leading bonito and tuna landings, where the air of an old-fashioned fishing town remains. Early in the morning you may see boats returning from fishing. The port itself has become a sight, and "Insha-no-Eki Sarahama" has a fishery-cooperative-run diner too. Just walking around the port before or after lunch lets you meet another face of Irabu Island.
Sarahama has the "Tomoyori Bonito Processing Plant," making namari-bushi by the "te-hiyama-shiki," Japan's oldest method. This is a truly precious experience, and you can sometimes do a factory tour. Combined with PRIMONTE's lunch, you can use it as "a half-day experiencing the whole of Sarahama, the island of bonito."
The Irabu Bridge is about 5–10 minutes by car from Sarahama. A 3,540-metre spectacular spot where you can take in the whole Miyako-blue sea. Heading to the foot of the bridge as a drive after lunch, and gazing at the sea from the bridge, is a recommended course. Cross the bridge and you can return to the main island of Miyako, so it's perfect for the way of "eating last and then heading home" too.
Toguchi-no-Hama is about 20 minutes from PRIMONTE. One of Irabu Island's leading white-sand beaches, with high transparency and facilities like showers and toilets in place. Enjoying the sea here in the morning and eating at PRIMONTE at noon makes "a day enjoying the whole of Irabu Island."
FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. Are reservations needed for lunch?
Since there are only about 4 seats, reserving by phone (050-3577-4900) in advance is reassuring on weekends and in the tourist season. It gets crowded easily, especially on the day. Reservations are essential for dinner.
Q2. What are the opening hours and closing day?
Opening hours are 11:00–21:00, closed Wednesdays. Lunch is around 11:00–16:00, dinner around 17:00–21:00 as a guideline. There are temporary closures too, so check in advance.
Q3. Is there a car park?
The shop has no car park. Park at Sarahama Fishing Port (near the ENEOS), and it's a 2–3 minute walk from there. Since the alleys are narrow, park large vehicles in the wider space of the port.
Q4. What are the recommended items?
The rich cream carbonara (¥1,100) and the 13-spice spicy curry plate (¥1,200) are the signatures. For seafood, the Sarahama-caught bonito tomato pasta (¥1,100); for something light, the aoba oil-based pasta (¥900).
Q5. Should I add a set?
The lunch set (+¥500) coming with a starter, garlic toast and iced coffee is quite good value. The beni-imo cheesecake of the dessert set (+¥450) is well-reputed too. If you have time, add both and enjoy the course feel.
Q6. What are the payment methods?
It's mainly cash, but the acceptance status of credit cards and electronic money can change, so confirming when reserving is reassuring.
Q7. Is it OK with children?
It is a cosy interior, but it can be used with families too. However, since the alleys are narrow and complicated, care with walking is needed when walking with small children.
Summary: Irabu Island's New Standard Lunch Is Here
PRIMONTE Sarahama is a shop that completely erases the initial unease of "Italian on Irabu Island?"
Sarahama-caught bonito tomato pasta, an authentic 13-spice curry, a rich carbonara. Dishes cooking island ingredients in an Italian context aren't something you can eat anywhere. The back-alley hideaway feel, the fishing-town stroll, the course experience layering the sets — all together it becomes an experience found only at PRIMONTE Sarahama.
Since the seats are few, reserve early. Closed Wednesdays, with temporary closures too. Putting in a phone call before you go is absolutely wise. "I couldn't get a seat" and "it was closed today" are the patterns you most want to avoid during a trip. Just be careful of that, and after that you only need to walk the back alley, take a seat and eat.
I said at the start that lunch on Irabu Island isn't only Miyako soba and seafood bowls, but experience PRIMONTE once and you come to think "I want to come here next time too." A loop awaits — after eating carbonara you want curry, and after curry you want the bonito pasta. A shop that can draw out that kind of repeat desire is also one whose food quality is that high.
The unexpected choice of a back-alley Italian becomes, I think, an especially memorable time within the trip. If you're at a loss for lunch on Irabu Island, please step into Sarahama's fishing town. The plate at the end you reach after passing through the alleys should surely stay in your memory.
Leave Sarahama's narrow alleys and walk towards the port with the smell of the tide. The way the satisfaction after eating and the feeling of "I want to come again" come together is the interesting thing about this shop. Next time you visit Irabu Island, please do wander into Sarahama's back alleys. The air of a fishing town and a plate of authentic Italian await.
The opening hours, closing days and menu of each shop may change. Please be sure to check directly with the shop before visiting.
