Ushimado, Setouchi City, is located in the eastern part of Okayama Prefecture next to the Seto Inland Sea, which is often called Japan’s Aegean Sea. It is also famous for its many sunset spots and the Ushimado Olive Garden, from where there are splendid views of the many beautiful islands of Setouchi.

For this article, I visited Rossa Café & Restaurant and enjoyed lunch made with delicious local ingredients and the wonderful ocean view.

The building has a lovely facade with white walls and a red roof. Ladies will surely be captivated at first sight.

Rossa Café & Restaurant – Ocean Panorama

As the venue is large and spacious, the interior and the ocean view seem to blend together.

The special seats on the terrace offer a calm and relaxing atmosphere.

For lunch, I chose the fresh pasta set (1700 yen incl. appetizer & drink).

Okyama’s Delicious Mushrooms

I was served no less than 5 appealing appetizers for starters. My personal recommendation is their famous cold white mushroom soup – it’s superb. In fact, Ushimado is one of Japan’s leading producers of white mushrooms, and they are both plump and yummy!

The main dish was the pasta, and this also had white mushrooms in it. It went perfectly with the gorgonzola sauce, and was nice and mild.

I also had the homemade dessert (for an extra 300 yen). The dessert of the day was blood orange tiramisu, pumpkin ice, and pione grape. All the ingredients were in season and were light on sweetness, but strong on flavor. This was especially true of the pumpkin and blood orange.

The Magnificent Ocean View

The chef and owner of Rossa Café ＆ Restaurant commute an hour a day from their home in Ako City, Hyogo Prefecture. They had a dream of someday opening their own restaurant and when they came to Ushimado, they fell in love with the place at first sight, and it became the location of their restaurant.

The terrace is raised, which gives guests eating outside a panoramic view over the sea. Even the glass coffee cups reflect the sea, so the sea is definitely the main actor in this play.

The owner and chef say, “We welcome guests of all ages and await you here at this amazing location.”

Rossa Café ＆ Restaurant
Address: 6451-12 Ushimadocho Ushimado, Setouchi City, Okayama Prefecture
Open:
Tuesday – Thursday 11:00 – 17:00 (last order 16:00)
Friday – Sunday and public holidays 11:00 – 17:00 (last order 16:00), 17:00 – 21:00 (last order 20:00)
Closed: Monday (if Monday is a public holiday, closed the next day)
Tel: 0869-24-8839
Homepage: http://rossaushimado.com/index.html

Setouchi Finder Photo-writer: Noriko Matsumoto