Maguro Koya in Nara

Very good! And the owners were so nice! It's hot inside, but I enjoyed it all the same!I got the double slice of fatty tuna rice bowl with spring onions!

Awesome bluefin tuna in authentic small restaurant. Would come back if I am back in Nara to try other dishes.

We came here after seeing the deer, and were very pleased with the meal. The owners are a cute couple who didn't speak much English, but were able to take our order without issue. The sushi was very fresh and delicious. We would definitely come back here if we visited Nara again - thanks!

Have been looking forward to eating here for a long time. The Otoro was good but a bit flavourless. The karaage and the chutoro were far superior choices. Overall it was a magical tuna party and made me very happy. Easy recommend!

the taste of food from this restaurant so delicious.. i’m very recommended this restaurant if you come for other country.. you can find the restaurant by google maps

All taste amazing but teriyaki tuna and otoro is a MUST MUST TRY!!

Best fatty tuna I've ever eaten. Melt-in-your-mouth delicious.

Amazing how you can get a quiet place with delicious food just slightly off the main tourist trails.

Nice couple really friendly, they have menu all around tuna. Flavor is good and product is fresh. People has been in business since 1977 (41 years now), price I would consider it cheap for the product quality. One consideration is for those really worried about a clean place, this wouldn't be yours since it shows more than just tear and wear, place have not had a deep clean in some years (it could be 40), if that doesn't bother you it will be a great experience.

The 41-year-old family owned restaurant serve excellent tuna meals for decent prices. I had a medium fried tuna with very tasty soy and vinegar sauce, rice, pickles and miso. 5 stars. Service was great.

Order the double Oo toro (Oo toro tekka don doburu) you will not regret it, they provide generous portion of the Tunas, thick, juicy, and melt in your mouth, this is soooooo much cheaper than buying in other places, and tastes so good

Found this restaurant while searching on Google and I was not disappointed. Went with my family and we ordered set meal for lunch. Ate 1. Deep fried tuna, 2. Half cooked tuna, 3. Tuna sushi rice bowl, 4. High quality blue fin tuna sushi rice bowl. All dishes were fantastic. The high quality tuna melt in your mouth. My personal favorite is deep fried tuna 900 yen and tuna sushi rice bowl 1600 yen. Must try if you are near Nara park!

Really great and fresh tuna! Those fatty tuna just melt inside your mouth. I tried 3 dishes, the fat tuna, teriyaki tuna and deep fried tuna with onion. They were all very tasty!

Very good and affordable food! Served by an elderly couple (wife could speak English, was v impressed). We order two set lunches at only 800 Yen each (comes with large pieces of tuna fish, totally yummy and value for money)

If you like tuna, this is a hidden gem in Nara. Good prices, great food and the service - provided by an elderly couple - is outstanding. They even remembered us and returned a transportation card I accidentally forgot there the day before. Totally recommended...

Wonderful food, wonderful atmosphere! I would happily make this my first stop when coming back to Nara!

Lovely food, lovely couple running it. The seared outside, raw inside tuna is great. Pickles are smashing.

Best meal! We had tuna sashimi on rice and the tuna was delicious and buttery! The miso soup and pickles that come with it were really good as well and we got free tea which is typical in Japan. The atmosphere inside was really nice as well. Don't expect a super clean and fancy interior, but you get awesome food for a great price!

Found the place via Google. I got Chuutoro sashimi, Isoage and Tataki. Was super delicious. Loved it!

Wooow! Do not miss this place. This couple run the restaurant for 42 years and you immediately see they do it with love. <3 The food was amazing! We took one menu with bluefin tuna otoro (rice, miso and pickles included) and 2 tuna meals ( each 800 yen). It was ideal amount for hungry couple. :) The price was amazing for the quality they serve.Thank you and wish you all the best.

Maguro Koya was amazing! The owner is so incredibly kind (and speaks wonderful English for those non Japanese speakers). The 10 piece Otoro was some of the best we had in Japan and at a very good price. I can’t recommend enough!!

I came here on a rainy Wednesday evening after spending the day in Nara Park and before our overnight bus back to Tokyo. At first we were the only people in this joint, but soon after another foreign couple took a table. The restaurant has a slight hole-in-the-wall atmosphere and it's run by this one guy who makes the food, cleans, and serves you. He didn't really say much, but seemed friendly enough and just listened to his folksy Japanese music while we ate. The food was good and a reasonable Japanese portion (not American portions)! He offers both a cheaper and more expensive version of tuna. It was peaceful and I enjoyed taking my time here.

Prob one of my fave lunch-ing experiences while in japan. :) We were in Nara petting the deer and eating mochi, then wanted some real food and found this place. It is a no frills, few tables/bar seating little restaurant. They serve all things tuna in different grades.We got: 1. The Ootoro negitoro Don: think real high fatty tuna minced or chopped like a spicy tuna roll (wo the spicy part). It was super delicious and the wasabi was on point. The sushi rice wasn't very vinegary but it was still good. 2. Chuutoro tekkadon: this consisted of cut pieces of middle fatty tuna and was super delicious. Melt in your mouth tuna. (Both of the bowls came w pickled veggie and miso soup)3. Karaage: 5 large pieces of battered and fried tuna. So good. Came w a little side of cabbage. We came at 1:40 pm on a Wednesday. I guess they go on break at around 2 pm. They turned customers down around 1:45pm to close the shop for a break. So make sure to get here in time if you're coming for a late lunch. :)

Very good. Nice elderly couple runs the shop and are the best. Good fish for a good price. Will come back to Nara just to eat here.

Best fatty tuna, hands down.This place is very, very tiny BUT worth the wait. We ordered a meal set with giant, beautiful slabs of tuna with rice, pickles, and miso soup. The wasabi was grated fresh and absolutely refreshing. I almost cried eating here it was that good.Go out of your way to eat here, you won’t regret it!!(The photo shows how the fat in the tuna starts to melt just from room temperature ❤️😭👏🏼)(This review is from September 2019)

It s one of the best melt in your mouth Otoro. Like chewing butter!!!! The owner is also very nice. Worth money and time visiting this restuarant.

Delicious bluefin tuna sashimi, literally melted in my mouth.

I'm back after 2 years since my last visit to Nara, the fish is as good as I remembered. It was juicy fresh and succulent, with rich flavours. The owners speak some English, and have both English and Chinese menus available.

Kind of a divey place, but the food is awesome. We had delicious ootoro tuna. The owner is super nice as well. Would definitely recommend.

This place specializes in tuna dishes and they do an amazing job. The shop is small and quaint. A real hole in the wall and totally worth the find. Had the ootoro sashimi, baked and deep fried tuna. All the dishes were great. For the quality, it was reasonably priced too. Total was 3,800 yen.

Visited 4 weeks ago and came here from a friend's recommendation. The tuna Don here is amazing. Probably the best I've ever had in my life.

Found this shop at Tripadvistor top 3 ranking. This small shop provides high standard of fresh tuna and fatty tuna. A sweet couple runs the shop. They are very nice and friendly. You can order beer here and free hot tea. If you want other drinks you can go to the vending machine outside the shop to buy. Food is great. Fresh, tasty with very reasonable price. Only a few table here so lunch and dinner time would be packed. The small toilet is the only downside and its not pretty. Overall experience is good. Will go again when visit Nara next time.

I saw the other person's review where they said this was one of the best places they been to in Japan after 2 weeks and damn are they right. The quality of the fish is so good I has to order too meal sets. Owner is super friendly and has a nice small run down vibe. Highly recommend after petting some deers.

Awesome little shop run by an elderly couple. The Blue fin tuna sashimi I had was unreal, best tuna I've ever had by a mile. Would come back any day to relive that meal.

Don't let the unimpressive restaurant front deter you from trying this place. It is operated by an old couple. They sell high quality tuna, ootoro, at very good price! The place is very small on the inside, more suitable for small groups

The most delicious sashimi I have gotten the pleasure to taste. It's not just a meal it's a hole experience. Worth every single yen.

Absolutely delicious ootoro bowls. The place is small and easy to miss. There is limited seating and the wait may be kinda long since it is run by one chef who does the cooking and cleaning himself. This is a must try spot for anyone in the area. You can get the dish chopped or whole. Order the double layer one for an amazing experience

disgusting place. everything is extremely dirty, plates and glasses are sticky, they never cleaned once the kitchen in 50 years. They don't wash plates and glasses, they put them in the water for 1 second and they serve food on them to the next customer. stay away from this place if you care about hygiene

Amazing restaurant specializing in tuna and run by a sweet old couple. We arrived at 6pm on a Wednesday and there was no wait. Highly recommend.

Fantastic food in a quaint establishment run by a friendly couple.

Delicious sashimi meal. Local Japanese restaurant.

That’s a Must visit restaurant.The Queue outside is a little rough but totally worth it.The misu soup was the best I’ve ever had, the tuna was so fresh and tasty.In my opinion - there’s no need to buy the torro tuna (the expensive menu) even though the waitress recommend it.Prices are more than fair and the draft beer was amazing!

Easily the best meal I’ve had in Japan. I ordered number 11 (1600¥) and it was delicious.

The fatty Tuna was amazing! It just melted in ur mouth, so yummy. Didn’t know the shop ONLY serves tuna so was a bit worried when we got there but the quality was just amazing and makes me starting to like tuna now. Also, the old couples there were really friendly. Went there at around 6pm on a Monday and there were plenty of tables.

Small restaurant operated and owned by an elderly couple. They were so amazing and hospitable. The tuna dishes were so delicious, we tried them all just because they looked amazing. Definitely visit here when in Nara, it was a joy eating here! Most fresh tuna I’ve had in Japan!

Run by old couples, cook in front of you, super fluent English, delicious food, great hospitality, reasonable price vs other restaurants around : 900 for a set of Tuna (tuna, rice, miso soup, pickles). One recommendation that images of dishes should be included in Menu (very important for foreigners)

Probably the best bluefin tuna I’ve had. Maguro Koya is a short 7 min walk from Nara Station, and we went there for brunch (store opens at 11am) with a family of four. Authentic hole-in-the-wall restaurant run by an elderly couple for the past 41 years. Highly recommended when you visit Nara!

Good food at reasonable prices. Owners can speak English

Very friendly staff, run by a little old couple. They only serve tuna, in various forms. We enjoyed the deep fried tuna, and the tuna sushi was fairly nice. Portions are a reasonable size for the price. A lot of tourists there, but not sure how typical that is for places in Nara. They are well catered with English and Chinese menus.

I had THE BEST tuna dishes here!!! the owner is so nice and welcoming. it was so casual it feels like we come over to eat at his house. will definitely be back here! :-)!!