"An El Celler and Etxebarri alumnus cooking northern Okinawa in 16 bites: a destination counter among the fukugi trees of Bise that turns island produce into something quietly thrilling."
PAUL opened in December 2023 in Bise, a fukugi-tree village near Motobu in northern Okinawa, by owner-chef Hisayuki Paul Matsuoka. Born in Okayama in 1985, Matsuoka trained in Michelin-starred kitchens across France and Spain, including El Celler de Can Roca, Etxebarri and Central in Peru, and under Albert Adrià, before settling in Okinawa during the pandemic.
The restaurant is a counter built around a single tasting menu. For the wider field see the Okinawa dining guide.
The cooking is what Matsuoka calls new Okinawan: the island's seafood, vegetables and fruit reinterpreted through the techniques he learned in Europe and South America. The format is a single 16-course menu of small, precise bites that changes with the season and what the local producers bring in, so the kitchen commits to one progression rather than an à-la-carte list.
See more of the region's fine-dining tables in the Okinawa guide.
The room is an intimate counter set among the fukugi trees of Bise, well north of central Naha, so getting there is part of the occasion. Staff explain each course in English, and the pace is unhurried. It suits a couple or a pair of friends making a trip of it rather than a large group, and the mood is calm and personal.
There is one route: the 16-course tasting menu, around 20,000 yen, built from whatever Okinawan seafood, vegetables and fruit are at their best that week. Trust the counter and let the progression run; the dishes are small, technique-led and explained as they arrive. For other options, see the fine-dining picks across Okinawa.
PAUL suits a proposal or a once-in-a-trip dinner: an intimate counter in northern Okinawa where a Europe-trained chef cooks island produce across 16 courses. See more proposal tables and the Okinawa dining guide.
Not for a casual meal or a quick stop near Naha: PAUL is a long set tasting menu on a counter up in Bise, north of the city, built for diners who want to make the trip and settle in, not for a fast or central dinner.
PAUL is the work of owner-chef Hisayuki Paul Matsuoka, born in Okayama in 1985, who trained in Michelin-starred kitchens across France and Spain, including El Celler de Can Roca and Etxebarri, and Central in Peru, as well as under Albert Adrià. He settled in Okinawa during the pandemic and opened PAUL in December 2023 to cook what he calls new Okinawan cuisine.
PAUL is at 372 Bise, Motobu, in the Kunigami District of northern Okinawa, set among the fukugi-tree-lined lanes of the Bise village rather than in central Naha. It is well north of the city, so the journey is part of the experience. The restaurant is an intimate counter, and as it runs a single seating menu it should be booked well in advance.
PAUL serves a single tasting menu of 16 small, precise courses, priced at around 20,000 yen. The cooking reinterprets Okinawan seafood, vegetables and fruit through European and South American techniques, and the menu changes with the season and what local producers bring in. Staff explain each course in English, and the pace is unhurried, so the meal unfolds over a full evening.
For diners who want a destination meal, yes. PAUL sits up in Bise near Motobu, well north of Naha, and the counter runs one set 16-course menu of new Okinawan cooking from a chef trained at El Celler de Can Roca, Etxebarri and Central. It suits a proposal or a special trip rather than a casual central dinner, and it should be booked well ahead.
Via omakase.in - Bise, Motobu
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