Only minutes from Sendai Station, on a street lined with 30 story office buildings and apartment complexes, sits Ohisamaya. This macrobiotic vegetarian restaurant and shop offers farm fresh organic offerings, giving you a healthy and delicious taste of home cooking. Open since 1981, in Ohisamaya's food you can taste a whole lotta love, from the farmers that so painstakingly grew the delicious Miyagi rice to the friendly aunties in sharp head kerchiefs that so skillfully cook and serve gorgeous, colorful plates, created with care.
The restaurant is filled with warm wooden tables and a counter seating about five, from which diners can watch the action in the clean, well-stocked kitchen. I ordered the plate of the day, and was utterly delighted with what came: autumn eggplant with gluten chunks and bell peppers, simmered daikon, satsuma sweet potato salad, Moroccan green beans, steamed carrots and komatsuna greens, and slices of fruit, along with brown rice, pickles, and miso soup chock full of vegetables and tofu. Every bite was a delight, with different flavors and textures in each mouthful.
Ohisamaya has three major guiding tenets: organic, ecology, and connection. They want you enjoy whole foods, from roots to skin, born under the sun and rain.
As I sat at the counter, one of the shop staff struck up a conversation with me, asking after my camera and my visit to Sendai. She was so friendly and warm, and as I expressed my delight with the plate lunch, she said how glad she was that I enjoyed it. At 1200 yen, it was a sumptuous and voluminous meal, and worth every yenny. They have several other options on the board, including a pasta lunch and a curry lunch, both coming with plenty of fresh veg.
For dessert, several sweets are available. Though the menu changes, when I visited, there was cheesecake, carrot cake, carob cake, and "tree nut" cake, whatever that is. I guess not peanuts. They all clock in around 400 yen, and use ingredients like domestic flour, organic eggs, maple syrup, dried local fruits, and olive oil. Some are topped with soy cream.
As for drinks, choose from organic coffee, organic ceylon tea, hot or iced soy milk, soy hot chocolate, dandelion tea, azuki bean coffee, and more. Drinks run around 600 yen.
Adjacent to the dining area is a well stocked natural foods shop (open only until 5 p.m.), with an assortment of organic local vegetables, as well as tea, toiletries, cleaning products, and dry goods.
Ohisamaya has three major guiding tenets: organic, ecology, and connection. They want you enjoy whole foods, from roots to skin, born under the sun and rain, and that maintain to the connection to the people and the land that brought you your food. Eat and rejoice!
