Exploring downtown gourmet! Taito Ward, Asakusa edition Visited the popular seafood monjayaki restaurant "Asakusa Monja Zenya" for the first time! It was a sunny autumn day, perfect for a leisurely stroll in Asakusa. My partner wanted to eat monjayaki, so we headed to a popular monjayaki restaurant in the downtown area of Asakusa. Unfortunately, the seafood monjayaki shop we originally planned to visit was unexpectedly closed. However, we found another highly praised shop called "Kaisen Monja Mosuke" along the Nakamise shopping street, which is directly operated by the long-established wholesaler "Ozuma" from Toyosu Market. The shop had a modern and stylish appearance, with a blue noren curtain at the entrance. They receive fresh seafood ingredients directly from Toyosu Market every morning. We arrived around 1 pm and the place was almost full, but we were lucky to find a seat. We started with grilled whole squid with butter and soy sauce, and a salad with spring greens and Korean seaweed. We also ordered bottled beer to quench our thirst. The squid was fresh and delicious, with a rich flavor of butter and a chewy texture. The salad had a crunchy texture and a nice aroma, complemented by the sweet and sour Korean seaweed. For the monjayaki, we chose the mentaiko (spicy cod roe) and cheese combination, which turned out to be a luxurious choice at 1,710 yen. The dish was quickly prepared by the staff, and when it arrived at our table, we were amazed by the generous amount of mentaiko and cheese. The monjayaki was cooked perfectly, with a savory and rich flavor. The broth was made with 11 types of seafood, meat, and vegetables, creating a delicious base for the dish. The combination of the creamy bechamel sauce, black pepper, and nori seaweed made the monjayaki incredibly tasty. My partner, who is usually price-conscious, was impressed by the quality and flavor of the seafood monjayaki and said that he would like to visit again. The addictive flavor of the delicious monjayaki made us want to come back for more!

I visited this restaurant on a holiday night during a trip. I like monja, but I lack confidence in cooking it myself... I usually avoid it, but this shop has staff who cook it for you, so I felt at ease! It was a busy time, and I felt bad for coming alone, but I enjoyed chatting with the staff member who cooked it while having drinks!

The Butter Chicken Curry Monja was creamy and delicious. The Mochi Mentaiko Cheese Monja was also tasty, but I was expecting a bit more dashi flavor. It was a busy day with long lines, but I was able to get in earlier than I thought, so it was lucky!

I used to go there a few times about 3 years ago. I went back after a long time, but the customer service was terrible this time. First, the man at the reception was rude in both his attitude and guidance. He said, "One person must order at least one dish," which I understand, but even after ordering, the food took a long time to arrive. I ordered monjayaki, okonomiyaki, and a drink, but the drink took about 10 minutes to come, and no food was served. So I added mushroom grill and potato salad to the order to get something to eat sooner. In the end, I waited for 50 minutes, and all the dishes came out at once. They were all cooked at the same time, so I couldn't eat slowly... I tried to order an additional drink, but it took a long time to come, even though I thought water might be faster. The taste was the same as before, delicious, and I had a good impression of the place because of the good customer service in the past, so I was very disappointed.

Eating monjayaki in Asakusa after a long time. Monjayaki outside Tsukishima is generally lukewarm, greasy, and watery. I had the five-ingredient monjayaki with beef tendon topping and green chili peppers as a snack. Oh, it's the first time I've left monjayaki uneaten. It was too sweet, too rich, and I couldn't eat it at all. I felt bad because the cute waitress cooked it so diligently, but it just wasn't for me. Thank you for the meal.

Holiday. I arrived 15 minutes before opening, but there was already a line. Even though I was 10th in line, I easily got in on the first round. The staff cooked the monjayaki for me, so it was easy! - Mentaiko mochi monja with cheese topping - Squid ink monja with cheese topping As expected from the Moheji group, consistently delicious. - Mixed plate with grilled meat, seafood, beef tendon, yakisoba, a traffic jam of ingredients. The seafood was generously sized and delicious, with a half-cooked egg on top! The batter was eggy and fluffy. - Cucumber with meat miso. The meat miso was white and chunky, almost entirely garlic. Sweet, rich, and very tasty! - Chilled tomato with onion dressing. Plenty of condiments like onion, myoga, green onion, and kaiware. Refreshing with ponzu, perfect for summer. - Grilled whole squid (seasonal recommendation) - Grilled chicken tenderloin - Cucumber with plum and wasabi dressing Come to think of it, the typical Moheji squid appetizer was missing! Was it because I ordered the whole grilled squid? It's understandable that this popular spot always has lines and is full, but the service was too slow. Despite waiting multiple times for items that never came, I was rushed to leave quickly when the time came, which I didn't understand... As a result, I didn't have time to order everything I still wanted to try, leaving feeling unsatisfied. Thank you for the meal! ^_^

Visited on August 14, 2023. The taste was good, and the atmosphere was nice. I arrived a little after 7 o'clock and it was busy due to the Obon period. I had to wait about 10 minutes. The service was not bad, and it seemed like a popular place. The first dish of Monjayaki came out quickly, but the other two dishes took a while, which was a bit of a downside, but still within an acceptable range. They cooked the Monjayaki right in front of us, with skillful performance. They cooked it so well! The finely chopped cabbage was done just right, and the taste was good. I had never thought Monjayaki was delicious before, so trying the authentic one was a bit of a cultural shock. Laughing.

The monjayaki restaurant, which opens at 10:30 in the morning and is run by a fishmonger, has delicious and large mentaiko. When you add cheese as a topping, the saltiness and spiciness of the mentaiko become milder, and if you slightly burn it, it becomes fragrant and very tasty. It was perfect to enjoy monjayaki with beer on a hot summer day.

Zenya-san is located facing a shopping street, making it easily accessible. It tends to have long lines during both lunch and dinner, but when I visited around 4pm, I was able to get in right away. Their pork and leek monjayaki is a bit on the mild side in terms of flavor, but the gentleness of the leeks and eggs becomes addictive. However, monjayaki and okonomiyaki dishes tend to have a casual and cheap image, so the price here, at over 1400 yen, may be a bit high, resulting in a lower cost performance. Nevertheless, the interior of the restaurant is clean and would be convenient for a date or special occasion!

"I heard a conversation like, 'We only need 23,000 yen more to reach our goal' and 'If we get 2 or 3 more groups, we'll make it.' While eating monjayaki. It's great that the part-time workers get along so well, almost like a college circle, but it's sad that they leave the customers feeling neglected."

I visited this restaurant on a Sunday after it moved to the new location. I arrived around 11 AM. I had originally planned to go to Asakusa for some errands, but the crowds were too much so I gave up and came here instead. There were about 4 groups ahead of me, but I didn't have to wait long before being seated in a private room towards the back. The restaurant had both regular seating visible from the street and private rooms and a counter towards the back. I tried the recommended mentaiko mochi with cheese added. The photo shows the seafood okonomiyaki. The mentaiko was delicious, but the real standout was the okonomiyaki. It was light and fluffy, unlike what you can make at home. The staff were also friendly and welcoming.

Visited around 20:30 on a holiday, was the 6th group in line, waited for about 15 minutes to be seated. The restaurant is spacious, so the turnover rate seems to be good. Ordered the mentaiko mochi monja with cheese topping, and the squid ink monja with cheese topping. The amount of mentaiko was more than at the nearby Tsurujiro, but the mochi was less. The squid ink monja had rice in it, like a risotto! Both dishes were delicious!

I visited the restaurant on a regular night. The inside of the restaurant had both semi-outdoor and indoor seating, and it was bustling with many customers. The recommended dish, mentaiko monjayaki, was a luxurious dish made with plenty of mentaiko. My recommendation is the seafood okonomiyaki, which was packed with seafood and very satisfying to eat. The male staff member cooking at the table even chatted with us, making us feel at ease and forgetting our eagerness to eat. If you want to eat monjayaki in Asakusa, I recommend this restaurant.

I had my last day of work at the restaurant today as a college student. The tonpeiyaki made at the table was unforgettable. The atmosphere of the restaurant was great and the taste was incredibly delicious. I would love to go back when I visit Asakusa again.

After enjoying dumplings in Asakusa, next stop was the monjayaki place! I usually visit Kanoya-san (I went there the day before too, haha), but today was my first visit to Zenya-san. Since it's a related store, the menu is almost the same. So, I ordered almost the same as always. Hoppy and beer, cold tofu with chili pepper and dried young sardines, and the classic squid ink monjayaki. The squid ink monjayaki has rice in it and is delicious, but I was full so I asked them to reduce the amount of rice. Thank you, miss! Of course, I also added cheese as a topping. I was curious about the butter chicken curry monjayaki, but it was sold out. They had it here but not at Kanoya-san... In the end, I hesitated and ordered the beef tendon curry monjayaki with cheese topping, and the grated yam dish. The curry flavor made it very appetizing. With mushrooms and cabbage, it felt healthy. Haha, both Kanoya-san and Zenya-san have amazing mentaiko mochi monjayaki and squid ink monjayaki! Especially the squid ink one! I'll definitely come back! Thank you for the meal!

I visited the restaurant around 6pm as it had just opened. The interior was full of customers, mainly couples in their 20s. After a short wait, I was led to a private room at the back of the restaurant. As I walked further, I noticed a counter seat area. The atmosphere was a bit like a backstage area, with cardboard boxes of vegetables stacked around, but the open kitchen concept was something I hadn't experienced before and I enjoyed it. Personally, I recommend the beef tendon curry monjayaki! A young male staff member cooked it while engaging in fun conversations. There were table condiments available, and the shichimi togarashi (seven-spice chili pepper) was particularly good - surprisingly spicy and perfect for those who love spicy food. It's inevitable for splatters of oil to end up on the counter wall, but it would be nice if they could wipe it off more frequently or provide customers with a cloth to clean it themselves, so that the dirt doesn't become too noticeable. Thank you for the meal.

- Ordered items: Mentaiko cheese topping monja, seafood monja, among others. - Cuisine: The restaurant is operated by a fish market in Tsukiji with a 150-year history. The cheese monja has a creamy texture that is quite unique. The seafood monja did not solidify properly, and in the end, it felt like the seafood and monja had separated. - Atmosphere: There is an unusually high number of customers in their 20s, but there is a wide range of age groups. The restaurant is very lively.

The okonomiyaki was delicious but the attitude of the staff was terrible. We had to wait over 30 minutes for our okonomiyaki and they didn't start making it until we reminded them. The person sitting next to us was also angry and left. A young staff member made the monjayaki for us efficiently and with a smile, but the older male staff member who seated us and the one who took our payment seemed to only care about customers who were already being served. They didn't even acknowledge us while we were waiting. If you go, it's better not to order the okonomiyaki. Don't expect good customer service. Just FYI, when I visited on a weekday night about a year ago when it wasn't busy, the service was good. It might be better to go when it's not crowded.

Seafood Monja for 1780 yen, Baby Star topping for 50 yen, Zenya Yakisoba for 1180 yen, Ginger Ale for 350 yen. There are quite a few Monja-yaki shops in Asakusa, so I was undecided on which one to go to, but all the shops were crowded on Sunday! It's a bit scary to go to a shop where there is not a single person, so I chose this open shop along the street, and it was easy to enter. It was my first time eating Monja-yaki at a shop, so I wanted a shop that would make it for me. Around 6 PM on Sunday, there were about 2 groups waiting, and shortly after, about 4 groups were waiting, but we were able to enter in about 10 minutes. It seems to be connected to Tsukiji and seafood Monja is recommended. They have a one-person-one-dish system, so we ordered 2 dishes for 2 people. The staff at the shop worked efficiently, cutting the ingredients into small pieces and adding the sauce quickly. It was like, "Already done?" That's how Monja-yaki is, I see. It includes salted fish eggs, which I'm not a fan of, but the taste was strong. The ingredients such as squid and shrimp were not in large quantities, so adding extra toppings would be good. It was delicious, with a strong taste of salted fish eggs, a crispy texture from Baby Star, and a mix of sticky and crispy textures. It was a fun Monja-yaki experience. They said we could make the Yakisoba ourselves. It was fun to stir-fry the meat, Chin-gen-sai instead of cabbage, and bean sprouts while frying the noodles. The seasoning was more like nam pla or fish sauce rather than regular sauce. It had a different flavor from normal Yakisoba. It was different from okonomiyaki, but it was a mysterious and delicious dish.

I had always wanted to try this popular restaurant in Asakusa. I heard that the squid ink monjayaki was recommended, so I ordered it right away. The cabbage was finely chopped, and surprisingly, there was rice in it too. The broth is probably made with cream, making it rich. It's more like risotto than monjayaki. There are also large pieces of butter in it, which made it a bit heavy for me. I prefer it when the cream and butter are a bit more subtle. I also tried the mentaiko monjayaki, which was delicious with a flavorful broth! The restaurant has open windows, making it a good choice during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Strolling around Asakusa on a Sunday. We wanted to eat monjayaki, so we lined up at this place. It's a monjayaki restaurant run by a Tsukiji fish market wholesaler. The squid legs are huge! It's quite a task to cut them. The texture is amazing. Truly Tsukiji quality! Next, we tried the mentaiko mochi monja with cheese topping. Instead of sauce, we were asked if we wanted to eat it with dashi broth. The staff made it for us efficiently. The cheese gives it a Western twist. It's delicious. The mochi adds volume. It's no wonder this place is popular.