A Happy Pancake — Local services in Osaka

On the third day, everyone split up to do their own thing in Japan! I picked Umeda on a whim, had my love fortune told at Tsuyu-no-Tenshin Shrine, grabbed a delicious unagi don, and since it was sweltering, I waited at a nearby café. But, of course, I had to register with a QR code and queue up…so I hurried off to another place, then thought, “You know what? I’ll just go to the highest-rated spot!” and ended up at this café I’d been eyeing. The pancakes—maybe they were soufflé-style—were super soft and flavorful, and the cheese on top paired perfectly with the herbal iced coffee. I decided to stick around a bit longer, charging my phone and reading while ordering another pot of black tea. Maybe it was the country’s rich tea culture or the contrast of cool air and the bright, sunny window…but the book I read that day really spoke to me, making it such a precious, joy-filled time. Everything—the plating, the vibe, the taste, the service—was...

A Great Pancake Spot in Osaka We found this pancake place in Osaka, and it was such a nice surprise. It’s clean, bright, and has this jazzy vibe that feels more like New York than Japan. Really cool atmosphere. The days we have visited we arrived after 10am and it was easy to get a table for four of us, I have not seen anyone queuing and waiting for a table which is very common in Japan. The pancakes were awesome—super fluffy, and we tried a bunch, both sweet and savory. Sweet once were light and fluffy and had some amazing flavours available. Savoury ones were so light I could eat two plates.Their iced coffee was refreshing and went perfectly with the food. The staff were friendly, and the whole place just felt welcoming. If you’re in Osaka and want great pancakes in a chill spot, this is it. We’ll...

The service was terrible.

The staff constantly left three tables dirty and didn’t bother to clean them for at least 20 minutes, which created a huge delay for everyone waiting to be seated.

We ended up sitting down after one full hour, even though we could have easily been seated 30–40 minutes earlier if the tables were cleaned on time.

It seems like this might be some kind of management policy, but if the place can’t handle the number of guests it can seat, the management should consider hiring more staff to ensure smoother service.

On a positive note, the pancakes were delicious, and they arrived about 15 minutes after we ordered, which was reasonable.

Unfortunately, the overall experience was overshadowed by the poor organization and long...