Oden Ore-no Dashi — Restaurant in Tokyo

When my wife told me the restaurant that she had made a reservation with did not have a table for her and her sisters when they arrived, I thought that was extremely unprofessional, and not only by the Japanese standards. Every now and then something clings onto you driven by your gut and when you are compelled to take further actions, you know a value of yours is crossed. Sure enough when I checked the reviews of this restaurant, it's evident that the attitude of the staff is skewed especially towards foreigners. I see the replies from the owners of the establishment to the negative reviews for this restaurant basically denying or refuting the claims and exhausting the "we were unaware and we will fix it" approach. However, as the saying goes, attitude reflects leadership.

What makes it even more infuriating for me on their behalf is my wife and her sisters including their parents!! were born and raised here and they still get discriminated against ever so passively every now and then. I'm not even gonna delve into what her parents had to go through to survive and fit-in in this "highly advanced, respected, and admired nation."

There will always be those party poopers wherever you go or live. It is infantile to stereotype a group or an entire ethnicity based on one incident or encounter, of course. Though I'm quite convinced what their motive was, the logical side of me tells me to give them the benefit of the doubt and that it was an honest mistake. Nevertheless, they don't deserve more than a star, or any stars for that matter, based on how they conducted themselves from their own unprofessionalism/mistake of not being able to fulfill the most simplest and yet most crucial aspect of a restaurant business which is to honour a reservation made a week in advance. If anyone is wondering why I'm giving 3 stars for food, it's because I actually did not dine here and I'm sure it's at least edible. It's safe to say, though, I'm not ever going...

Dining Experience @ Oden Ore-No Dashi. . Ambience is cozy and intimate. The dark spot-lit place features floor-to-ceiling mirrors on a wall, across from the counter seating and open kitchen opposite. The fragrant aroma of bubbling dashi / soup stock perfumes the air. Guests dine in hushed tones. . Service is polite and efficient. Staff work quickly, conversing in Japanese, English, and Mandarin Chinese, offering recommendations or explanations as needed. They engage diners in conversation, and demonstrate good product knowledge. Cleaning up is done quickly. . Food is traditional Japanese cuisine, focused on Oden / Fish Cake Stew. Their dashi / soup stock is stewed for hours, while the ingredients are prepared fresh daily. Portions are sized for communal group dining and sharing. Prices are reasonable and affordable, budget about JPY ¥5,150 / SGD $47 per person. . The base of the Oden / Fish Cake Stew (JPY ¥2,680) is a robust yet light dashi / soup stock, made with chicken bones, kombu seaweed, shiitake mushrooms, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, katsuobushi / dried bonito fish flakes, sababushi / dried mackerel fish flakes, yakiago / dried flying fish, water, and mirin rice wine. The result is a thin light clear transparent soup / broth, bursting with savoury earthy salty fishy sweet flavour. . The ordering method here is that you choose individual ingredients to build your own Oden / Fish Cake Stew bowl. We selected the Daikon Radish (JPY ¥380), the Ganmo Doki / Fried Tofu Patty (JPY ¥380), the Hanpen / Pounded Fish Cake (JPY ¥280), the Atsuage / Deep-Fried Tofu (JPY ¥480), the Roll Kyabetsu / Stuffed Cabbage Roll (JPY ¥780), and the Tsukune / Chicken Meat Balls (JPY ¥380). Each ingredient was large and well-executed, tasty...

I searched for an Oden restaurant and found that it got good reviews of this restaurant on Google maps. So I went to this restaurant on 25 June 2025 in the evening.

Overall the restaurant seems to be good since it had English menus and the staff could speak English too. The food also was good, it was not that salty. The bar ambiance is also nice. The staff seemed to be attentive and nice too.

Before starting , the staff served me the tofu appetizer that I didn't order. I thought it was complimentary from the restaurant. Then, I just simply ate it together when my order foods.

However when it was billed, the tofu appetizer cost 330 Yen.🤨 Yes, I could pay for it and I understood that everything had its cost. I just don't like the way that restaurant greedy forced the customer to additionally pay what they didn't order.

The even worse part, the restaurant also charged for the seat fee of 330 yen which made me feel bad shock. Actually it is normally the fundamental service that Japanese restaurants will provide to customers.

Therefore my experience of the restaurant was not that great and then I would like to share this one. Then the next customer could prepare or expect what...