Editor's note: Nawlins relaunched at a new location on Yokosuka-kaigan dori in September 2023. We've updated the place details, but the article/photos refer to the previous location.
The first Creole restaurant in Yokosuka, Japan, is now bigger and better than ever! Nawlins BBQ House, formerly Nawlins, celebrated its Grand Opening the weekend of May 31st. Now serving real, slow-smoked American barbeque, Nawlins BBQ House is now the first in Yokosuka to offer 21 Craft Beers on tap.
With its new location closer to Naval Base Yokosuka’s Womble Gate and conveniently located off of Blue Street, the new building welcomes patrons to a sit down menu service accommodating approximately 100 customers between two floors. If you’re lucky, enjoy dining out while listening to a live band!
A mouthwatering menu of comfort food awaits you. In addition to the usual favorites such as gumbo, catfish, po’boy sandwiches and fried chicken, Nawlins BBQ House now offers a regular line-up of barbeque. Texas Style Beef Brisket and Carolina Pulled Pork options are the bomb-dot-com! The smoked Baby Back Ribs, St. Louis Cut (sternum bone, cartilage, and rib tips removed with the shape being rectangular), and Spare Ribs are a heavenly delight you won't even notice the barbeque sauce smeared on your cheeks.
Pitmaster Chuck Morrow has been in the barbeque industry for the last 15 years; not only is the slow smoked barbeque carefully prepared daily for melt-in-your-mouth perfection, his secret barbeque sauce recipe is also a force to be reckoned with. It is so delicious you’ll want to dress your French fries and Red Beans & Rice with the glorious sauce. Be sure to save room for dessert! In addition to Bread Pudding, Hot Lava Cake, and Sweet Potato Pie, Nawlins BBQ House will start serving Pecan Pie and Peach Cobbler in the near future!
Come for the BBQ and wash it all down with your choice of the 21 Craft Beers on tap. Whether the brew is Local or Stateside, each individual is one of a kind, displaying the creativity and passion of its maker and the complexity of its ingredients. Six to eight of the beers on tap are brewed by Baird Beer, a family company crafting “in small batches with painstaking care, passion and both reverence and irreverence for tradition.” My personal favorite is the original Nawlins Own House Beer Amber Smoke, the perfect pair to the delicious smoked BBQ! If you’re new to beer, try the sampler tray of four miniature glasses. The current beer menu is available in English and Japanese and includes the Brewery name, Prefecture (or State), Beer name, Style, ABV% (Alcohol by Volume), and IBU (International Bitterness Unit scale). If you’re still undecided, the beer manager or wait staff will be more than happy to provide suggestions based on your palate. If today is just not the day to pair your BBQ platter with beer, you can always enjoy a tall, iced glass of Nawlins sweet tea!
Proud Owners of Nawlins BBQ House, Charles Hall and Chuck Morrow, are normally standing by to ensure your dining experience has been a pleasurable one. If not in the kitchen, they’re roaming around greeting new and returning patrons. As you walk into the restaurant, you can either settle in at the bar counter or head upstairs to the nice open floor plan for family-style table seating. Enjoy watching American TV on the big screen, listening to live music, or simply browsing the internet when hooked up to their free Wi-Fi service. Doesn't it all sound great?
Nawlins BBQ House is open seven days a week! Hours are 11:00am to 10:00pm Sunday through Thursday; 11:00am to 11:00pm Friday & Saturday. Follow them on Facebook to view the scrumptious options for lunch and dinner, live music schedule, or the latest and greatest on their craft beers on tap. Just a few blocks from Yokosuka-Chuo Station, locals, sailors, and their families alike can now enjoy good ole American BBQ right here in Japan!
