Kissa Tagawa Review Summary

Having lunch while waiting for our hotel check in at 3pm... We didn't know where to go, and we are in a neighborhood that's hardly tourism driven - there was almost no foot traffic. It was v quiet. We walked to where we thought we saw a Japanese Curry house before, but realised we went to the wrong place.

But boy am I glad we did. The best mistake I've ever made.

Tiny place with two fourtop tables and a bar, run by an old woman. The restaurant was filled with nostalgic pictures

Cate and I ordered a medium sized curry - no Katsu, no nothing. This is natsukashii Kare - the best Kare sauce I've ever tasted (in all my trips to Japan and various countries that make versions of Japanese Kare!), and we got it served what might be the largest bowl of curry I've ever had, deftly ignoring that we both asked for medium (extra large sounds actually intimidating). We had a fried egg on top, a raw egg to mix into the rice, and at the bottom of the bowl, a few pieces of perfectly tender, melt in mouth beef, all served with unlimited Fukujinzuke pickles. She even gave us a small yakult - probably for the spice, as this was a spicy curry for Japanese - I was very pleased to say. That's my style!

We devoured all of it, and I told her that her curry was the nostalgic kind, and delectable. I wonder if we can sneak in tomorrow for some late breakfast here?

I could have this every week, no exaggeration. I saw her staff come back in with metal delivery boxes and dirty dishes - she obviously delivered food to local businesses!

Cate and I had big smiles and felt so satisfied with everything, from the simple ambiance, to the owner's kind attitude and laughter. A real Oba-chan run eatery. This is a must have when in Nara...

It is only open for lunch. This is obviously a passion of the owners, and not a business for business sake. I've really fallen in love, and have added it to the list of restaurants I want to visit every time I'm in Japan. I've put below pictures of the place, as well as a small 360 video to show how tiny it is!!!

We'll be back!

Best curry I've ever had. Medium is a lot of food. It doesn't have a katsu, but not needed.

This place is located in a peaceful neighborhood area and it seems quite popular among the locals. We visited this place a few months ago and we were the only tourists in there. There was a bit of a language barrier but fortunately there was expat in there who helped us translating to Japanese.

Let me just say the food portion is MASSIVE. I enjoyed every single bite even though my stomach was already very full. 2 of my friends couldn't even finish their foods. I thought the curry tasted REALLY tasty even though I found the beef portion a little too tiny. Oh, they also gave a us a bottle of Yakult to accompany the dish.

While the food was good, it was the atmosphere that was super lovely. It's very comfy and makes me feel like home. Despite the language barrier, ALL of the staff were super niiiiiceeeee & helpful. I would 100% love to go back here again whenever I come back to Japan, hopefully with a better Japanese speaking skill this time around. :)

Very sweet lady. Cozy atmosphere. Large portions. Very cheap (700jpy). Delicious food.

Fantastic local place to enjoy Japans national dish! Super sweet staff! Sugoii!!