About Us

Growing up, Okinawa seemed like a magical place in movies and books. I moved to Japan in 2008 and was able to eat Okinawan food for the first time in a local Okinawan restaurant near my apartment and fell in love with it. The food is unpretentious, straight forward and delicious. I wanted to share this cuisine with everyone and hopefully the food will help you relax and feel warm inside just like it did with me.

The name Sanmai comes from 2 terms:

-Sanmai niku (三枚肉) means pork belly in the Okinawan dialect.

-Sanmaime (三枚目) translates literally to “the third page” and is slang for a person who jokes around or is a fool. The term originally came from Japanese theatre. The billboard would first show the title of the movie, second would be the handsome main actor and then third would be the funny supporting actor.