Un Poco | Yokohama

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At Daniel's Wine Club we only write about places we genuinely love. This one is personal: un poco, in Honmoku, Yokohama, is one of my favourite restaurants anywhere in the world.

It is in Honmoku-cho 2-chome, set back a little from the road, behind a small door that is easy to walk past. I fell for it the moment I stepped inside, before I had worked out why. I have been going back ever since.

A tiny room that somehow never feels small

Nine seats, and time that slows down

There are three counter seats and a table for two at the front, and four more seats in the back room. Nine seats in total, which makes this one of the smallest restaurants you will ever eat in properly. And yet you sit down and nothing about it feels cramped. It is not the size of the room. It is the air in it.

Take the counter and you watch every plate being finished in front of you. Take the back room and you get something closer to a hideaway. Alone or with one other person, it works equally well, which is rarer than it sounds.

Simple, delicious, and deeper than it looks

From tapas to paella, there is no wrong order

“Simple, delicious, and deep” is how un poco describes its own cooking. Western creative is the closest label, but in practice Spanish tapas, Italy, France and whatever fish came in that morning all end up on the same plate without arguing about it.

The signature is the un poco tapas plate: several small dishes arranged together, more than enough to make the first glass of wine a happy one. The lamb, and the cheese plate regulars call poko-chi, are the other two orders you will see going out again and again. The paella is slow work and worth the wait. On days when the fish delivery is good, the blackboard carries dishes that exist only that evening.

None of it is showy. What stays with you is the handling of spice and heat, the part that is genuinely hard to do. One Japanese reviewer wrote that there is no chance of reproducing this at home. That is exactly right.

Miyamoto san

One person running the whole thing, quietly

The restaurant is run single handed by its owner, Miyamoto san. Prep, cooking, service, all of it. Somehow the conversation at the counter never drops either. There is a straightforward passion for the food behind a very gentle manner.

The room and the person who runs it match almost perfectly, and that is why nothing here feels staged. What you get is what he actually is.

East European wine, in Honmoku

Where you can drink our bottles

The wine list here leans east. Romanian producers, and others you will struggle to find anywhere else in Japan, sitting on this small counter. The wines we import at Daniel's Wine Club can be drunk right here at un poco in Honmoku.

A white with acidity and mineral edge against the spiced tapas; a soft, fruit forward red with the paella or the meat. Miyamoto san's cooking turns out to have a real affinity with the earthiness of East European wine. If you are not sure what to pour, ask him.

Taking it home

Takeaway, for the nights you would rather stay in

un poco does takeaway too. Useful when the nine seats are full, and useful when you simply want to be at home. Open a bottle, and an ordinary evening at your own table becomes a slightly better one. Order by phone or by Instagram DM.

Getting there and booking

un poco is on the ground floor of Sun Grace Honmoku, in Honmoku-cho, Naka-ku. It is a small one person operation, so booking ahead is the kind thing to do.

• Address: Sun Grace Honmoku 101, 2-313-7 Honmoku-cho, Naka-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa
• Hours: Wednesday to Friday 17:00 to 22:00, Saturday and Sunday 12:00 to 22:00
• Closed: Mondays and Tuesdays
• Seats: 9 (three at the counter and a table for two at the front, four in the back room)
• Payment: cash, credit cards, PayPay, transport IC cards
• Bookings and takeaway: 080-9526-1306, or Instagram @unpoco_yokohama_bar

Opening hours and closing days can change. Check the official Instagram or call ahead before you visit.

In short

un poco is not a big restaurant and it does not perform. It has nine seats, one person cooking, and wine that belongs with the food. Put those three together and you have something most places never manage.

If you find yourself in Honmoku, open that small door. And if you mention that you came from Daniel's Wine Club, we think the evening will be a good one.

Written by BERES Daniel, Daniel's Wine Club