Afro Nest - Naha, Okinawa

Located off the main street of Kokusai-Dori in downtown Naha, Afro Nest is not your usual bar. First of all, all the workers are really friendly and they have AFROS! While there are wigs provided for customers who want to join in on the fun, the staff spare no expense (a quick search reveals that an afro perm costs around 10,000yen) to metamorphose their manes into flocculent 'fros (was it too much to try for the alliteration?). For a reason unexplained (because I didn't ask or remember?), they also all wear orange/red overalls, which thinking about it now, reminds me of Super Mario.

Secondly, they have (at least they did in 2012) a 3-hour all-you-can drink (nomihoudai) option for the fiscally irresponsible price of 2000yen! I was told that every drink marked with a star was eligible, which seemed like half the drink menu! Afro Nest is located in a basement floor so you need to keep your eyes at street level while wandering the back alleys for the sign pictured below. The picture next to it is of the staff members: I did not ask why they put a picture of Leonardo DiCaprio. Sorry.

Pictured below is the Jerk Chicken which as you can see, has white wine poured on it and set ablaze BEFORE you eat it. Since this was the first time I had jerk chicken, I was not sure if this was customary or something they do for dramatic effect. If nothing else, it made for a good picture. What little I do know about jerk chicken is that it is spicy, and while it was not dangerously spicy, it was still quite good. As much as restaurants in Japan succeed at the presentation of food, it seems that food that is actually spicy, save for wasabi, is not remotely spicy. Someone with more experience (a seasoned veteran perhaps?) with jerk chicken may have a different opinion of Afro Nest's particular version, but I had no complaints because honestly, it's tasty chicken and they set it on fire. 

The second time I went back, I ordered the Afro Rice, which is their fancy version of one of my favorite Okinawan-American fusion foods, taco rice. It is what it sounds like: the fillings of a taco on top of rice instead of inside a tortilla. This version is an upgrade to usual taco rice, not just because they went and made it into a tower of rice, ground beef, salsa, and cheese, but they added a fried egg, which transforms it into some kind of loco moco-taco rice hybrid! Compared to some of the horrific attempts at making something resembling a loco moco that I have seen in Japan, I was surprised that I have never seen this variant before because it's brilliant!

Aside from the food and drinks, the atmosphere of Afro Nest is light and friendly as well as full of heart. One of the nights I was there, some of the customers were having a birthday party which featured the manager playing "Happy Birthday" on the melodica while the cake was brought out, followed by another staff member reading a sentimental letter written by the guest of honor's friends while the quintessentially sentimental Oda Kazumasa's 言葉にできない (Kotoba ni dekinai) played softly in the background. The one who read the letter, the youngest staff member (I think he was 19 at the time), "Anakin", also claimed to be good at monomane (imitation) as shown in the pictures below where he does his best 魔貫光殺砲 (makankosappo), literally translated as Demonic Piercing Light Murder Gun or "Special Beam Cannon" as performed by Piccolo in Dragon Ball.

I regret that it took long for me to start blogging as over a year has passed since I have been to Okinawa and many of the details of my visits to Afro Nest are not as clear as they used to but hopefully, I was able to convey some small part of how much I like and must recommend it. I will try to edit this post as I get more information and/or remember more (or when I go back again).There are a few tables but, unless you're with a large group or having a special event, sit at the counter to get the full experience and faster service.

 沖縄県那覇市久茂地3-9-11 アーバンビルB1   050-5796-3326
Okinawa-ken Naha-shi Kumoji 3-9-11 A-ban Building B1 050-5796-3326
19:00 - 5:00 (7pm - 5am)

Afro Nest's Facebook page