Cafe Itadaki — Restaurant in Brookline

If you have food allergies or restrictions, AVOID THIS PLACE. We decided to give this place a try after shopping in the village. My child has a sesame allergy, so before ordering, we asked if the soup she was ordering had sesame and told them she has an allergy. The person taking our order checked with the kitchen, and they assured us the ramen was safe and sesame-free. Long story short, after two bites of soup, my daughter started having her telltale symptoms of an allergic reaction. We asked again, and they again told us there was no sesame, but it was clear that the broth had tahini or some other form of sesame in it. We left quickly and spent the next three hours closely monitoring her. We didn't have to use the epi-pen or go to the hospital, but it was very close. Fortunately she had only take two bites, which probably made all the difference. It's incredibly frustrating when restaurants don't take food allergies seriously. You have to check ALL ingredients, including labels on the broths and sauces you get from outside suppliers. The lack of care makes me wonder in general about their food safety practices. And they were very dismissive when we asked again, even as she was having symptoms. In terms of the food, it was fine, but nothing spectacular. The matcha was tasty, but unfortunately I won't enjoy it again, as I won't be patronizing this place ever again. I prefer to eat at restaurants where they're careful enough to at least know what's...

Let me give it to you straight: 4 stars. But: there are two crucial things you have to keep in mind. One: I am an extremely experienced local guide who’s traveled the earth. Two: this will get better! I like to tell a brief story for my reviews. I walked by that place once upon a time and it was empty. Where the old Pomodoro had been before. I thought to myself “a Japanese cafe”. Then: cafe Itadaki appears a place of my dreams. When you enter you see they kept a lot of the old tomato store that was in there before. Crucially this amaaaaazing bar counter in the middle o I walk in and am greeted by a kind of kind host slash waiter. I’m getting what I want and I’m not talking a challenge for me as a local guide haha that’s another story but an Onigiri spicy tuna and Omorico. Guy gets it out quick, cuts open the Omelette that’s on the rice for the show and lets me indulge. I think he must’ve noticed from my aura that I am a local guide but who knows. The onigiri is a low to no brainer - very affordable and a large portion. I think it is only like 3 bucks. They could’ve added more filling but in the end this would’ve increased the price. That’s onigiri pricing 101 right here! The Omorico was fine but not great a little bland. Please improve here. The atmo: omg for anyone who knows anything about me, it’s the atmo. It is a nice cut e cafe style place I like it! I mentioned the counter top...

Like many others I was very excited when Cafe Itadaki opened however I was fairly disappointed.

Omurice always looks great in pictures but can taste very different depending on how well it is made. The eggs were perfectly fine and well made if not a little under seasoned. I cannot say the same for the rice.

The rice single-handedly ruined the entire dish. It was lukewarm and made beforehand long before I ordered. This would not be an issue however the rice itself was soggy and very low quality. The rice was bland consisting only of ketchup and 3 pieces of chicken. There was no vegetables, or seasoning, just red rice. Most of what I read was that it was under seasoned, but I would say it has no seasoning besides ketchup. The Deme-Glacé sauce was fine but basic.

The pricing has the Classic Omurice at $14 and Deme-Glacé version being $18. That’s a lot for what is basically gravy.

Rice eggs and sauce at this price and quality feels like an insult. If I’m being honest I would rather have paid $14 for just the eggs and sauce without the poor quality rice and I would have liked this much more. No rice would have been better than what was served.

Atmosphere and location is great being in Brookline. And everyone was nice but it just can’t make up for...