Asakusa Sometaro. A popular okonomiyaki restaurant with long queues. This place is also very popular among foreign tourists. They have papers written in English explaining how to cook the okonomiyaki. This is my first review even though I have visited several times. My recommendation here is the Shumai-Ten. At first glance, it has nothing to do with shumai. But when you cook and eat it, it surprisingly tastes like shumai. Mix minced meat, onions, and garlic with the base flour in a bowl. Spread oil on the hot plate and create a border with rice cakes. Pour the mixture into the center and cook it. Shape it and cook both sides until they are nicely browned. When it's ready, sprinkle soy sauce on top (^_^) Cut it diagonally and enjoy the mysterious taste of shumai. Previously they had pork cutlet and somen-yaki, but they are no longer on the menu. There is no air conditioning here. The inside of the restaurant is hot! (There is a notice at the entrance as well) Please be careful if you are sensitive to heat. Thank you for the meal.

It feels like a shop from the good old days! I ordered the pork and green onion okonomiyaki. It's not a modern-style okonomiyaki, but I enjoyed the taste of the past. The inside of the shop is very hot, but there are several fans installed. It was quite sweaty, haha. The customers were about 20% Japanese and 80% foreign tourists. Even the Japanese customers looked like tourists, so I wonder if it's mostly a shop for tourists!?

The atmosphere at this okonomiyaki restaurant is amazing! My husband visited a few years ago and it left a lasting impression, so we decided to revisit. We went during the weekday of Golden Week, and I was worried about how long we would have to wait, but we only waited about 5 minutes when we arrived after 6 pm. About 70% of the customers were foreigners. The exterior of the restaurant looks like something out of a Studio Ghibli film, and stepping inside felt like traveling back in time in Asakusa. The interior is mostly unchanged from the past, making time feel slower during our stay. Although there was a sign saying no photography, the staff told us it was okay to take photos of the food. The tables are different from regular teppanyaki restaurants, with a large teppan and a bit of space around the edges for plates. They no longer serve monjayaki, but my husband and I enjoyed the okonomiyaki and yakisoba. The okonomiyaki had a firm texture and was not too big, so we were able to try another variety. Payment is cash only, and the restroom is Japanese-style. It's a place I would like to visit again when I want to relax.

I was planning to go to a craft beer shop nearby, but I was lured in by the delicious smell here! There were many foreign customers, and I think I waited in line for about 30 minutes. The specialty dish, "shumai tempura," was a taste I had never experienced before and it was delicious! It was like a shumai with mochi inside! The yakisoba also looked delicious as everyone at the surrounding tables had ordered it, so I would like to try it next time I go!

Today was Asakusa. I decided not to make a reservation for dinner and chose this place, which seems to be quite famous among foreign tourists. Okonomiyaki Sometaro. The atmosphere is full of Showa era nostalgia. It's quite popular, so we waited about 20 minutes to get in. You cook the okonomiyaki yourself on a thick iron plate that retains heat well. The quality of the ingredients like scallops is quite good. The sauce for the seafood okonomiyaki and the okonomiyaki itself seem to be a unique blend. Despite being a tourist spot, the food is simply delicious. The signature dish, the shumai tempura, has a taste reminiscent of daikon mochi. The atmosphere, taste, and service were all well-balanced, making it clear why this place is featured in guidebooks.

When it comes to Asakusa in Tokyo, Monjayaki is famous, so I visited this restaurant, but they weren't serving Monjayaki at the moment (laughs). So this time, I ordered Okonomiyaki and Yakisoba! I ordered shrimp tempura, green onion tempura, yakisoba with mixed ingredients, scallop butter, and red bean paste roll! This restaurant had a DIY style where you cook it yourself! The staff kindly taught me how to cook it♪ It was nice to be able to eat it the way I liked it♡ They had my favorite red bean paste roll!! I was already full, but I have a separate stomach for red bean paste rolls (laughs) The red bean paste roll was delicious♪

The restaurant seemed popular, so I had high expectations, but it was disappointing. When I asked the staff for recommendations, they said it depends on personal preference, so they couldn't give an answer. The service and food were mediocre, but the bill was quite high.

Today, I visited a famous okonomiyaki restaurant in Asakusa, Tokyo called "Furyu Okonomiyaki Sometaro". According to Wikipedia, it is the oldest okonomiyaki restaurant in Japan, established in 1938. The building has a lot of history and charm, attracting tourists from all over the world. The interior is spacious, and you can cook your own okonomiyaki and yakisoba on the hot plate. I tried the unique okonomiyaki with plum paste, which was surprisingly delicious even without sauce. The yakisoba was simple but tasty, made with fresh vegetables and pork. I also tried the shumai okonomiyaki, which was a creative and flavorful dish. Overall, it was a great experience and I highly recommend this restaurant to okonomiyaki lovers.

This place is about a 10-minute walk from Asakusa Station, heading towards the Kappabashi direction. I've always wanted to come here, but it was always closed... Today it was open! It was around 2 pm. There was no line, so we were able to get in right away! It used to be crowded in the past. Inside, it feels like a pretty old building with tatami mats. And most of the customers were foreigners. It's a self-grill style. But if you ask, they should grill it for you... Maybe there aren't many people now... Should we grill it ourselves? No one asked. They gave us instructions on how to grill. I worked as a teppanyaki chef for 10 years, so it was no problem for me. The dishes I ordered were Butatama (pork and egg) for 990 yen, Gomoku Yakisoba (mixed yakisoba) for 990 yen. I wanted to order beer monjayaki too, but they didn't have it... Is it just for now? What caught my attention was the teppan (iron griddle). I've never seen this kind of teppan before. It doesn't stick at all, and it conducts heat very well. Even if you grill it on high heat, the outside doesn't burn and the inside cooks perfectly. The okonomiyaki tastes normal, but I think the popular item is the Shumai Tempura. I made a mistake... The yakisoba. It's made with dark, dry noodles and a sauce that tastes like the traditional Worcestershire sauce. The noodles go really well with this sauce. It's delicious. This is my favorite yakisoba... Thank you for the meal. Next time, I'll try the Shumai Tempura...

Established in 1937, this is a super long-established okonomiyaki restaurant! The traditional exterior exudes a sense of history, and since there is no air conditioning, it can be hellish in the summer due to the heat of the teppan grill. On this particular scorching hot day, I was sweating profusely as I enjoyed my okonomiyaki! Customers are required to take off their shoes before entering, and you get to cook the okonomiyaki yourself! They provide you with instructions on how to cook it, which makes the experience quite enjoyable. The okonomiyaki was fluffy, not greasy, and delicious! It likely contains garlic, which adds to its rich flavor and overall high quality. The specialty here seems to be the shumai tempura, but unfortunately, I missed out on trying it. They also offer monjayaki, but it wasn't available on the day I visited, so it seems to be served on specific days. The focus here is definitely more on okonomiyaki than monjayaki. For dessert, I tried the anko roll, which was amazing with its smooth red bean paste and chewy skin. It was a bit heavy for a dessert, but it was so delicious that I finished every last bite. The restaurant is always bustling with inbound tourists, so I hope to visit during a less crowded time next time!笑

About 30 years ago, I remember being taken to this place by a local. I was born in Kyushu, where there was no monjayaki at the time, so it left a strong impression on me. The appearance of the restaurant has remained the same, with a nice atmosphere. The interior is like an old traditional house, with a Showa-era feel. Photography inside the restaurant is prohibited, except for what you order. Before COVID-19, many foreigners visited, and it was so crowded with tourists that regular Japanese people couldn't get in. I think now is a good opportunity to visit. As it gets hotter, there may be issues with air conditioning, but please endure it with a fan. The intense heat from the iron plate will hit you directly, so the fan is important. I had mentaiko monjayaki with pickles, beer, and highball. It had been a while since I cooked monjayaki, but they gave me a guide paper on how to cook it, and after reading the first three lines, I remembered right away. It starts with spreading lard on the plate. In the past, we used to pour sauce before cooking, but here they say it has changed to adding dashi beforehand. I enjoyed the crispy parts with a small spatula. The Dewar's highball helped me cool down from the intense heat. Thank you for the meal.

This time, I used it for dinner. I was unsure of what to order, but this time I ordered fresh squid tempura (from Ishikawa Prefecture) and green onion tempura with pork. The fresh squid tempura (from Ishikawa Prefecture) comes with cabbage, egg, squid from Ishikawa Prefecture, fried tempura bits, and shiso leaves in okonomiyaki style. We enjoyed cooking it on the hot plate and it was delicious. The restaurant has a charming Showa-era atmosphere. The staff's customer service was also polite. It is a okonomiyaki restaurant located near Asakusa Station on the Tsukuba Express line.

It's been a while since I visited Somataro. It's a bit far from Rokku, which used to be a popular tourist spot. Nowadays, it seems to attract a lot of people from the continent and those interested in morning grass viewing. We used to frequent the relocated oden shop and other places for drinks. Personally, I really liked the steamed noodles in the yakisoba here before Fujiyama yakisoba became popular. The texture of the noodles seems to have changed now, they used to be firmer and a different color. Eating yakisoba in the tatami room is the best. The shumai tempura is also a favorite of mine, a dish created by the previous landlady during the post-war meat shortage. It's a simple combination of pork, shumai filling, and flour, but it's a historical culinary gem that remains unchanged. In the messy and run-down setting of the Kitanashuran from Tunnels, this place is highly recommended.

I visited the famous okonomiyaki restaurant, "Furyu Okonomiyaki Somataro," without having to wait in line. The interior of the restaurant was designed like an old folk house. I tried the following dishes: - Negi Tempura (800 yen) - Shumai Tempura (850 yen) I received a lesson on how to cook the shumai tempura, but the owner mostly did it for me. Instead of meat, they use mochi, so it is served with soy sauce instead of sauce. It had a flavor similar to shumai and a chewy texture. It was delicious.

I have been wanting to visit this place for a while, and finally got the chance. I arrived 3 minutes before opening and was the first customer. It can get pretty hot in the summer since there is no air conditioning, but the fan helps a bit. I ordered the "shumai tempura" for 800 yen and the "gomoku yakisoba" for 900 yen. The "shumai tempura" was unique and delicious. It consisted of sliced rice cakes with onions, ground meat, and garlic mixed into the batter, then cooked on a lard-coated griddle and seasoned with soy sauce. The flavor was simple yet incredibly tasty. The yakisoba had brown noodles with a sauce flavor, cooked on an iron plate. I ended up staying until closing because the atmosphere was so welcoming. Thank you for the great meal.

I arrived at the restaurant on a Saturday afternoon in July, just before 1 pm. The exterior had a Japanese feel to it, resembling a clean house like an izakaya or a sweets shop rather than an okonomiyaki restaurant. Inside, there were at least 6 tables for 4-6 people each, and we were able to enter the restaurant without waiting. Upon entering, we had to take off our shoes. The menu consisted of okonomiyaki, shumai-yaki, yakisoba, monjayaki, and various sake accompaniments. Unfortunately, the monjayaki was only available for weekday lunches, so we couldn't try it. We decided to share the shumai-yaki, which had a strong garlic flavor and was made by mixing onions, ground meat, and mochi, then grilling it with soy sauce. The staff quickly brought us the mixture after we ordered. The style here is self-grilling, but they provided us with a paper with instructions on how to grill and adjusted the temperature for us. It was quite fun to mix and grill the ingredients, flipping them over carefully every 5 minutes. The shumai-yaki was recommended to be eaten with grilled soy sauce, which was drizzled on in the last minute. The shumai-yaki had a chewy texture with a simple yet surprising shumai-like flavor. It was not overly seasoned but still very satisfying. The okonomiyaki had a crispy exterior and a mild flavor, with various ingredients like squid and pork making it enjoyable. Two pieces were enough to make us quite full.

Thanks to everyone. Sometaro, a famous restaurant in Asakusa that won the Kitanaushuran star. Recommended by Yagihashi from Ogiyahagi. The interior looks like a drama set. There's even a signature from Atsumi Kiyoshi. Edogawa Rampo also visited! The 70-year-old building is reinforced with duct tape. It has the atmosphere of old Asakusa. The okonomiyaki is incredibly delicious, no complaints. Definitely going to visit again.

Finally got in after many unsuccessful attempts. I thought it might not be possible this time either, but as I got closer, I noticed a small lantern dimly lit. Inside, there were several Westerners and only a few Japanese, including us. They said the monjayaki is only available until 3 pm, so we ordered okonomiyaki and yakisoba instead. The yakisoba was surprisingly delicious. The okonomiyaki was also very tasty. As closing time approached, we couldn't order more, but I'm glad we finally made it!

This is not toast, it's called shumai-ten. It's made by surrounding minced meat and onions with mochi and baking it. It's a great companion for beer. The atmosphere of the restaurant is amazing, and the staff cooks the shumai-ten and yakisoba right in front of you. You can enjoy them with a small glass of beer. "This is classy. Got it?"

The atmosphere exudes a strong sense of history. I was told by the staff that this building was moved from Chiba Prefecture and has been standing for 70 years. When you add the years before it was moved, it has been around for a total of 90 years. The interior of the shop is adorned with signatures of famous people, creating a space where I feel grateful to be in. I saw a unique okonomiyaki grill for the first time, and it exuded both history and charm. There are many foreign customers, and for vegetarians or those who dislike lard, salad oil is also available. For those who find sitting seiza style uncomfortable, chairs are provided as well. Just for your reference.