Okonomiyaki Okaru — Restaurant in Osaka

Okaru is tucked away in an arcade near the BIC camera store. Google maps doesn't do a good job with directions but if you're walking from the main Namba station/BIC camera intersection, walk towards the arcade and turn right from a corner pachinko parlor. The store front has おかる on it. Someone posted a photo of the store front, so check that out.

On to the food. I'll include a photo of the English menu. Yes, there's an English menu! I got the tako (octopus) okonomiyaki. The preceedings up to eating was great and a show. The server prepares the feast for you in front of you, whether it be the okonomiyaki itself or yakisoba or whatever else fancies your tummy's growling. Protip: if it's your first time eating okonomiyaki then I suggest you let the server do their job. Don't try and flip it or break it up. I watched this Korean family do that and the server had to restart the process.

The tako was so flavorful compared to a lot of other places I've tried. It blended into the many other ingredients and accentuated the flavor as tako has the ability to absorb a lot of what it's cooked with. The toppings given were generous and the mayo is used artistically to create as picture. Mine was Osaka Tower.

I did queue up for this place. It was a good 25min wait on a Saturday evening circa 8-9pm. I also went during CNY weekend (Happy New Years!!). But it's totally worth the wait. It's a medium sized restaurant with all indoor seating and they do have a restroom. Each booth is geared for 4 people and they had a larger room for 5+ parties. IF YOU BRING CHILDREN MAKE SURE YOU WATCH THEM! THE GRILL ON THE TABLE IS ALWAYS HOT! I can't stress that enough. This place is great for families but please don't let your child whimsically touch whatever they please. They...

Day 1 of our Osaka trip, we came to Dotonbori looking for dinner. Decided to come to this shop at the small street rather than popular chains. Happy that we did. The staff was friendly and the ambience feels more authentic. The crowd was also mainly locals. We came on a Friday night at 5 plus. There were four groups ahead of us but had to wait for close to an hour i.e. for the first seating to leave. We sat at a small table with hotplate and ordered one okonomiyaki with seafood, yakisoba with pork, and fried squid with cabbage.

The staff came and cooked the food in front of us. It was a great experience. We got Doraemon painted on our okonomiyaki with mayonnaise. Nice! Food smelt and tasted great. Salty, sweet, and umami laden. You could add more seaweed or bonito flakes if you wanted. You cut the food up and serve using a small spatula.

Price was reasonable too. You have to be patient with the queue and the food preparation, but it is to be expected in the...

We tried to get there way before 12pm on a Sunday but coming from Kyoto to Osaka for the day and the schedule and trains did not allow. Showing up at 12:07pm meant the first "batch" of customers was let in and we had to wait for one hour before our turn. The weather outside was so nice and the people in line were friendly so we waited and I must say we are so glad we did.

The Food experience might have been the best on our entire two week Japan trip. Of course we can not compare it to our $ 100-200 high end dinner attempts this trip but the cost/value/taste/ambiance is everything one would want when trying to get a true feel for what Japan has to offer. The Okonmiyaki is a must and we also ordered a noodle shrimp dish that was cooked in front of us and was simply delish. A side dish of chicken skewers tasted fantastic also. So all 3 dishes where complete home runs. The service was outstanding. We have to figure out a way to go back before we...