Looking for some vegan curries in Oita prefecture? A 40-minute drive from Nakatsu City and into the quiet mountains of Nakatsu’s Yabakei region will bring you to Satta Yard for some of the tastiest vegan curries I’ve tasted.
Update
The Satta Yard website is currently closed for an extended period with no clear date of reopening. Please check in advance before planning a visit.
Based on the foundations of the Rastafarian diet called Ital cooking, Satta Yard focuses on providing meals free from additives, chemicals, and most meat. While their entire menu is not 100% vegan-, their curries are, with a colourful selection of local vegetables, spices, and sauce for a well-rounded meal ā perfect for a misty cold day. The interior is cozy and warm, with all the quirks and charms of a DIY restoration. With misaligned wood panels, unfinished floors, and a rickety old wood stove burning away in the corner, its hip, rustic interior is strangely the perfect setting for its modern, high-tech kitchen in the back of the restaurant.
I order the curry of the day and watch as a man works away in the kitchen. He’s wearing a tall, knitted hat that’s stacked up high on his head; I can only guess there’s a mass of hair underneath. Together with a woman, the pair busily manage the restaurant together.
After a short time, my curry arrives. Packed with vegetables and roots that are either in season or from local sources, my curry comes with a colourful bouquet of lotus root, roasted carrots, sweet potatoes, daikon radish and pink beets. It’s a perfect marriage of vegetables and a lightly spiced sauce that doesn’t leave the body feeling heavy.
Coffee and Dessert at Mametake
After lunch, I venture back outside. The rain has subsided a bit, and I get back into my car for a 3-minute drive to Mametake, a roaster and cafe. Perched atop a hill in solitary, Mametake is a perfectly square building of wood and green and turquoise window frames.
It has the look of a cabin taking refuge in the mountains. Inside, it’s lit with warm, honey light, and it feels like I’ve entered someone’s studio home. Inside, a coffee roaster hums. There’s a delicate glass case with bags of coffee beans for sale and a thin silver tray displaying small baked goods.
The cafe is divided into several parts, with the coffee bar on one end, the roaster, a small gift shop of tiny calendars with charming illustrations, and a reading lounge area. Sitting down, I order coffee and homemade apple pie. There are baskets of blankets set aside, and anyone can settle in for a book and coffee (and dessert!) for what might easily become a lengthy time. While sitting, I face out the window that displays the landscape below. With a roll of mist skimming the tops of the forest below, it’s easy to get lost in thought in a place like this.
I’ve had a wonderful afternoon of a healthy, light lunch capped with coffee and dessert. It’s a rarity to come by such a food and drink experience and be surrounded by nature. If you plan on making the trip down, I’d suggest dedicating the better part of the afternoon to leisurely experience the peace and calm as I experienced it. Check well in advance the business hours for both, as holidays and other events can effect opening hours. Happy Sunday afternoon!
Satta Yard
Open: 11:00-17:00, FridayāTuesday (closed Wed. & Thurs.)
Website: sattayard.jimdo.com
Instagram: @italsattayard
Mametake
Open: 10:00-17:00, WednesdayāSunday (closed Mon. & Tues.)
Website: http://mametake.com/top
What a lovely Sunday afternoon!! That curry looks delicious! I love lotus root in my food š