Not being American and never having been to Mexico, my exposure to Mexican food has been fairly limited. I’ve had great truck tacos in Austin, had an amazing spread of Mexican at Border Grill Vegas for my wedding and have tried to learn how to make tamales and fish tacos at home, but I really still have no clue. One day I’ll get to Mexico, one day.

Anyhow, my touchstone for Mexican is quite different than most people on Okinawa, I expect. Obbligato is a place that some people rave about, and that other people rant about. For me, it is a means to an end, and that end is a delicious, mostly authentic Mexican meal. I like tortillas, I like beans and I like salsa. I’m easy. But, I just wanted to note that not everyone loves Obbligato, and if you have great experience and knowledge of Mexican, especially home cooked or right from Mexico Mexican, you may be disappointed. For me, Obbligato was pretty close to heaven.

I actually visited this place initially just to pick up cheap tortillas. While some supermarkets carry tiny 5 packs in their coolers near the butter, they are expensive and not so fresh. A friend recommended I go to Obbligato for fresh, authentic tortillas to bring home. Being there already, we had to sample some food, so we had dinner.

Simple casual casa is how I would describe the interior. Split level seating with large booths available.

The Stache got a combo that came with a cup of tortilla soup. It was very good, but a little salty and missing some cilantro zing, which is something I go heavy on in my tortilla soups. But the home made tortilla chips were good and it was spicy.

He got this rather pale looking combo of refried beans, Spanish rice and enchiladas buried under all that sauce. Despite the lack of color, this was a tasty meal.

The combo he got came with two enchiladas, pork carnitas and a beef taco, loaded with lettuce, as well as Spanish rice. It was a delightful meal, but could have stood a bit more depth of flavor in the somewhat dry carnitas. Luckily the sauce from the enchiladas helped out. The taco was great – I was impressed with their house made tortillas.

So good. Fluffy, a bit springy, fresh. Exactly what I wanted.

A real disappointment was their salsa. It tasted of tinned tomatoes – very metallic, thin and not very spicy. It was more like tomato sauce with a drop of Tabasco. They make many things in house here, in fact most things are, from the moles to guacamole, so it was really disappointing to have this.

Prices are about average for cheesy, bean filled Western foods in Japan – higher than back home, probably cheaper than it might be to source and make the things yourself, unless you have base access.

So while some things hit the mark (the tortillas, the enchiladas, Spanish rice, and nachos have been things I have enjoyed greatly) other fundamental things were a bit off, like the salt level of the food (crazy high) and the salsa. But, beggars cannot be choosers while in Okinawa.

There are other Mexican restaurants I certainly enjoy more for some menu items, but Obbligato is consistent in its middle ground, and their tortillas really are great, both at locations of Obbligato and Tortilla Factory.

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Obbligato
Three locations, Chatan, Yomitan and Uruma
Chatan open 11am to midnight daily
Chatan Google map
For hours of their other locations, visit their website

View Eating Okinawa Restaurant Map in a larger map