Roger writes:
The only okonomi-yaki restaurant in London. Apparently the food has been somewhat "westernised", but it's still pretty good and different from the usual run of noodle bars.
Food
The basic food is okonomi-yaki, a sort of batter-cake cooked at the table. This takes some time to prepare, so appetisers are also served. The portions aren't particularly large, but everything I've had there has been good, including several dishes I haven't seen served in other Japanese restaurants.
Japanese beer is available, as is a very limited selection of wine. Expect to pay between 25 and 30 pounds per person, for dinner, more like 10 pounds per person for lunch.
Busyness
Tends to be full for dinner - definitely worth making a reservation. Generally much less crowded for lunch, and hence better service, especially for a small party.
Since the tables are four-person and each have a hotplate in the middle, it's not possible to push them together; a large party here will end up as several parties of four, or be close-packed round a single table (split up the party if you can in this case).
The staff are friendly, but sometimes get overworked (especially in the evening) and lose the plot slightly. On the other hand, since they are attempting to be traditionally Japanese, "failing to notice" their errors will get you excellent service.
Agro writes:
In my course of work I get to travel around our capital visiting lots of locations. Truth-be-told I should really hang out in the City but I can't help head to the West End. It's my spiritual home; there are comic stores there, good tech shops and possibly most importantly, excellent restaurants. What a link! I should be on telly, though with my mug, maybe best to stick to radio. Still I'm detracting from the story, or at least from the restaurant in question. I'd passed it twice by now. Each time on my way to the Tokyo Diner, a lovely little shack of a Japanese eatery, where they refuse to take a tip and you can eat well, sip on endless cups of green tea and stay as long as you can make your meal last. This place, the new place, named "Abeno To" on Museum Street, has the typical "this is what our food looks like, honest" pictures on a board outside the front door. This wasn't what caught my attention. There were actually Japanese looking people inside. That's always a good sign, at least better than a picture of an egg floating in noodle filled bowl.
This Sunday a friend an I found ourselves both hungry and in the vicinity so we decided to give it a try. We arrived at about 6:15pm. The usual tourist rabble was in full effect so we were surprised to be given a choice of seats around the central console. We took to a corner, seating ourselves on the large wooden boxes they use as bench/seats. Looking around, I saw one of the more Asian-looking customers open the lid of his bench and take his wallet out of his jacket he had stored there. Taking this a cue my friend and I stowed our jackets similarly. This is a novel idea, and in London, a good one too. No-one was getting at our belongings while I had my arse on the lid.
Our waiter approached us soon after we were comfortable to introduce us to the style of cooking, the specialities, we could expect to eat here.
"Have you eaten here before?"
"No"
"Well then, you've got to try these, they are excellent; we get the ingredients, mix them together and cook them in front of you. They look like omelettes but they don't taste like them"
After he'd walked us through the various like-omelettes-but-not options with such glee it seemed silly not to partake. I ordered the Osaka style, a super portion, with noodles. I was hungry.
Sure enough we were soon shown the ingredients, a bowl with lots of vegetables chopped finely and an egg floating in it. Our waiter then stirred it all together and when he was sure our hot plate was hot enough, plonked the mixture on. The not-an-omelette was looking awfully like an omelette. Next came the noodles, stirred in their own oily source, placed on top so the not-an-omelette looked to have a scraggly flattened hair cut. Finally the bacon; a great batch of tiny thin strips were transferred from a spatula to the hot plate, one at a time. When they had taken on just enough heat to go from red/brown to pink they were carefully laid out on top of the noodles.
The tricky bit followed. With practiced easy and the employment of two steel spatulas our waiter/cook flipped the not-an-omelette over allowed it a moment to cook quietly, then turned the heat down and covered the whole thing with a metal lid.
I'd like to say that if I knew then what I did now I'd have ordered a lesser dish and more side orders. The covered cooking took considerably longer than food that is oh so close to your nose should be allowed to. While waiting I sipped on my wheat derived spirit, which tasted quite smooth and vastly unlike the cheap saki flavour I'd been expecting. Another customer's gyoza arrived. They looked to have been cooked to perfection. I could see them and smell mine but neither could I eat. For a hungry man this was torture, made worse by the arrival of my friend's vegetable noodle dish. I insisted he start, expecting mine to be ready momentarily. It wasn't. Our cook arrived only to flip the thing once more and replace the lid. He saw the desperation in my eyes and offered to refill my glass. I gladly accepted and before long amused myself by watching the arrival and seating of the remainder of the cliental while making idle chat with my friend. Both restaurant and his belly were filling rapidly.
Since this is as much a review as it is a story I should perhaps describe the restaurant and those who chose to eat here. The room where we ate was small, only really the size of my lounge, enough to fit a rectangular centre console with seating for twenty and about four, two and three hot plates. There's another three "seat's four" style tables butting up against the window. The preparations room and kitchen disappeared off to the back so I've no idea as how big that was. The walls are painted white and the wooden box benches match the wooden tables and console. Playing load enough to hear, but not so loud as to bring about insanity, is the Japan-Pop music. It's more pronounced in the loo but in the restaurant it's all but drowned out by the constant chatter of happy eaters.
After an eternity of deprivation my food was ready. A tray of sources and a big silver box was brought forward. Our cook asked if I'd like some toppings. Having never eaten a not-an-omelette before I left it up to his better judgement. I spiral of mayonnaise was followed by another of brown sauce and sprinkles of dried seaweed. To top the lot the silver box was opened and a scattering of fish flakes was the last to be added. These flakes (of fish, rather than the multi-hued stuff my dad feeds his fish with) twisted and shrivelled slowly in the heat giving an almost magical moving quality to the meal. Finally I as permitted to dig in and I can honestly say it was worth the wait.
I've never had a not-an-omelette before but this one was weirdly almost nothing like an omelette in flavour or texture. Meaty, though that may have been the bacon. Certainly a hardy meal, though for just under 10 pounds it was trading more on it's novelty than it's value for money. Still, for a tasty Osaka treat in a trendy West End eatery you'd expect to pay more for less. We weren't pushed towards the door after we'd finished and paid up, despite the rapidly building queue to get in. Leisurely we gathered our belongings and headed out find if another bar I'd passed earlier in the week was to offer the returns and this mystery meal had.
OpenStreetMap - Bing - Streetmap
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50 yards WNW: Plough |
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100 yards NWbN: Museum Tavern |
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100 yards SSW: Bloomsbury Tavern |
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200 yards NbE: British Museum, Bloomsbury |
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200 yards W: Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury |
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250 yards SbW: Craft Beer Co. Covent Garden |
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250 yards NWbN: British Museum |
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300 yards E: Southampton Place, Holborn |
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300 yards SWbW: Earnshaw Street, Covent Garden |
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350 yards SWbW: Centre Point Sushi Cafe |
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350 yards EbS: Holborn (Central Line, Piccadilly Line) |
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400 yards SEbS: Drury Lane, Covent Garden |
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400 yards NbE: Antalya |
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500 yards SWbW: Tottenham Court Road (Central Line, Northern Line) |
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500 yards SEbE: Belgo Kingsway |
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0.3 miles S: Covent Garden (Piccadilly Line) |
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0.3 miles WbN: Joi Cafe |
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0.4 miles NbW: Russell Square (Piccadilly Line) |
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0.4 miles SW: Garlic and Shots |
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0.4 miles E: Kimchee |
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0.5 miles WNW: Goodge Street (Northern Line) |
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0.6 miles SbW: Charing Cross (Bakerloo Line, British Rail, Northern Line) |
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0.8 miles NWbN: Euston (British Rail, Northern Line, Victoria Line) |
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0.8 miles EbN: Farringdon (British Rail, Circle Line, Hammersmith & City Line, Metropolitan Line) |
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0.9 miles N: King's Cross St. Pancras (British Rail, Circle Line, Hammersmith & City Line, Metropolitan Line, Northern Line, Piccadilly Line, Victoria Line) |
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0.9 miles NbE: King's Cross Thameslink (British Rail) |
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0.9 miles E: City Thameslink (British Rail) |