Sama Sama lunch costs a reasonable ¥980, and includes curry, soup, salad, rice and soft drink.

Okinawa has many restaurants that serve grilled food, but almost all of them are  of the steak/shrimp variety. That’s where Naoko McIlvride saw her chance on the market. Her decision to open a seafood grill was easy, especially when one considers that she spent much time in her childhood in Indonesia and especially on the island of Bali where grilled fresh fish and other seafood is a staple. So her Balinese Seafood BBQ & Grill Sama Sama was born.

She opened her restaurant in Chatan’s Hamby area on Mar. 1. To ensure the authentic taste of her meals, she hired an Indonesian cook from Bali, imported original spices from Indonesia and mixed up some of her own.

As fresh fish is the key point, her chef roams local fish markets every morning to ensure that the fish they

Kids have their own playroom with plenty of toys to keep them busy.

Sama Sama is located near Araha Beach in Chatan’s Hamby area.

serve is absolutely the freshest. As a specialty, they are also ready to prepare fish brought in by a customer for as little as an extra \500 and up depending on the size of the fish.

Naoko says that Indonesian cooking uses a lot of spices. “Most people think Indonesians use only hot spices, but that’s not true,” she explains. “There are a variety of sweet and sour spices, and peanuts are also common. We also created our own Sama Sama spice, that I would highly recommend.”

One Indonesian specialty on the menu is “Sate,” which is a bit like Japanese yakitori, but served with peanut sauce. “But because there are people who are allergic to peanuts, they always serve our own Sama Sama sauce with them on the side,” she explains.

Another special feature is that the customer can choose the fish and they way it is prepared, including the choice of spices.

Sama Sama is open both for dinner and lunch.  For lunch they serve a great all-you-can-eat buffet. For only \980 you can choose from three kinds of curries or soups, yellow or white rice, salad, dessert and soft drinks.

Her future plans include starting a breakfast service soon, but details are still under consideration.

There’s an outdoor terrace in front of the restaurant. Plenty of green plants and fish tanks with exotic fish swimming about create a southern tropical atmosphere. Kids will enjoy a special play area with plenty of toys, and then there’s even a stage to play music with a keyboard, guitar and amplifier provided by the house. Sama Sama can accommodate private parties of up to 50 people. Clicking the “like” button on Sama Sama Bali Seafood BBQ Cafe & Grill restaurant facebook page earns you a free drink or an ice cream.

Sama Sama is located on the bank of a canal near Araha Beach in Chatan. They have free parking, English menu and English speaking staff, Yen, dollars and major credit cards are accepted.

Sama Sama is open every day except on Wednesdays, for lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and the dinner is served from 5:30 p.m. to midnight with the last order at 11 p.m.. Teatime is from 3 to 5:30 p.m.

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