Kansai-style takoyaki review~! I went to the alley that opened in April 23rd! Name: Gindako Highball Alley Nearest station: 3 minutes walk from Akihabara Station Price range: 3,500 yen~ Opened in April 23rd, a new alley with Japan Revival Izakaya, Gindako, and Oden Takeshi gathered together! I had heard of Gindako before, but it was my first time eating it! The Kansai-style takoyaki was totally different from what I had imagined, with a crispy texture and a whole new taste! But it was delicious! It goes well with highballs! A must-try menu item is the tebasaki (chicken wings), it's really recommended! The interior is spacious, with smoking booths available, and you can order from the three different shops!

The lively restaurant was full of customers. We had the classic takoyaki and oden. The takoyaki came in a set of 4, so we could always enjoy them hot. We visited with two people today, but since the portions are small, even one person can enjoy a variety of flavors. It was nice.

On a Sunday before 8:00 PM, my husband and I visited a unique place where you can enjoy dishes from 'Tsukiji Gindaco', 'Nihon Saisei Sakaba', and 'Odenya Takeshi' all in the same restaurant. However, we were in the mood for takoyaki, so we mainly ordered from Tsukiji Gindaco. Here is what we had: - Appetizer: Marinated chicken and greens - Negi ginger sauce takoyaki (4 pieces) - Takoyaki with sauce (4 pieces) x2 - Cheese mentaiko takoyaki (4 pieces) - Teritama takoyaki (4 pieces) - Negi tako takoyaki (4 pieces) We had a total of 24 takoyaki. It was our first time dining in at Gindaco as we usually get takeout, and we were glad we came. The Negi ginger sauce takoyaki looked perfect and tasted amazing with its crispy texture. If you want to experience the true freshness, I recommend trying the Negi ginger sauce or Negi tako takoyaki, although the classic sauce takoyaki is also a must-try. We also tried the meat-wrapped rice ball from Nihon Saisei Sakaba, and for drinks, we had the following: - Ao highball - Earl Grey highball - Fresh ginger highball The Ao highball had an elegant taste and paired well with all the dishes. I'm curious about Nihon Saisei Sakaba and Odenya Takeshi, but I have a feeling I'll end up just eating takoyaki again next time. Thank you for reading until the end. If you're interested, please follow my Instagram accounts: Dining out: @kizokuneko516 Home cooking: @kizokuneko0516

I have been to various branches of Gin no Takoyaki, but this was my first visit here. It is conveniently located near the station, so you can stop by quickly to eat and then head home. On this day, I had planned to go home after visiting one place, but my friend said they were still hungry and wanted to eat something else. We were looking for a place near the station and happened to find this one, so we decided to check it out. The restaurant was almost full even though it was past 9 pm. I was worried we wouldn't find a seat, but luckily there were two seats available. We ordered the classic takoyaki, and it was delicious. I didn't have any alcohol, but I thought it would be nice to have some while chatting and eating. If I have the chance, I will visit again. Thank you for the meal.

The takoyaki restaurant located on the fourth floor of this building closed after opening during the pandemic, but then reopened again at some point. I visited with a friend on a weekday night to give it a try. The layout seemed similar to before. This time, they had a different style where you order from the staff instead of self-service for takoyaki, oden, and yakitori. It felt like being at a food stall, which was fun. We sat at the counter in the takoyaki area near the entrance and looked at the menu. There were only five variations of takoyaki, including the normal one, with each serving being four pieces in a compact size. We ordered all the takoyaki flavors and some oden as well. The takoyaki was freshly made and delicious, with a crispy outer layer and a unique texture. We finished 20 pieces between the two of us. The large size lemon sour was only 200 yen all day, so we ordered it first, but we got tired of it quickly and switched to a different drink for the second round. This ended up making the bill not as cheap as we thought. The restaurant was quiet around 6 pm, but it gradually became more lively as time passed. I wonder if it will become a staple in Akihabara's streets next?

JR Akihabara Station's electric town exit is right next to the 11-story building "BiTO AKIBA," which opened in November 2019. This commercial building was developed by Dai Building Co., Ltd., known for its slogan "A building that is a building, but not just any building." The name "BiTO" combines the meanings of "beautiful city" and "people gathering in the building." On the 4th floor of this building, Gindaco Akihabara Yokocho was transformed into Gindaco Highball Yokocho in April 2023. This alleyway, produced by Gindaco, features popular brands such as "Gindaco," "Oden-ya Takeshi," and "Nihon Saisei Sakaba," all part of the Hotland group. The alley has a cozy atmosphere with both table and counter seats, making it suitable for solo diners as well. On weekdays, lemon sours are available all day for just 200 yen + tax. During my visit, I enjoyed a lively atmosphere with plenty of seating available. I sat at the counter in front of the takoyaki grill and started with a draft beer (572 yen). I also ordered the Agedashi Four Assortment (902 yen) from the menu of "Oden-ya Takeshi," which included daikon radish, egg, thick fried tofu, and beef tendon. The daikon radish came with grated yam and was delicious. For my drink refill, I chose a highball (330 yen) using a coupon from the app, which lowered the price from the regular 429 yen. Intrigued by the freshly grilled takoyaki, I also tried the sauce-flavored takoyaki (374 yen) with mustard mayonnaise. It was served hot and crispy on the outside, with a soft and hot center. I ended my meal with another round of the special lemon sour (220 yen) from the specialty bar. Overall, I had a quick and enjoyable dining experience in this bustling alleyway with delicious oden and takoyaki.

This day, there was a drinking party in Akihabara from 6 pm. I received a message from my usual foreign sales colleague saying, "I can be in Akihabara by 5 pm, what do you think?" Instead of asking "Can you come?" or "Are you going?", when he said "what do you think?", there was no way to refuse. We met at the Electric Town exit and decided to have a quick zeroth party at a nearby place on the 4th floor of the same building where the drinking party was scheduled to take place on the 8th floor. The place had just opened and had a casual atmosphere with a takoyaki shop on the left, an oden shop on the right, and a drinks corner at the back, set up like a small street food village with a simple wooden design. We settled at a table in the middle and started looking at the menu to order drinks. The staff brought a QR code tag and said, "Please order here!" so we left the ordering to my foreign sales colleague. However, there were menus on the table, so we could still choose for ourselves. We started with drinks, ordering two plum sour cocktails for a toast. We crushed the plum at the bottom with the stirrer that came with it, mixing the sourness and saltiness of the plum with the citrus and salt needed for our sweaty bodies in the scorching heat. It was delicious and exactly what our bodies needed. Since it was a takoyaki shop, we ordered 6 takoyaki with sauce, onion salad, and two skewers of chicken skin sticks in sweet soy sauce. The takoyaki was large and round, topped with sauce, seaweed, and bonito flakes. I had never been to a takoyaki shop with silver octopus before, but I had tried takoyaki with silver octopus at a local store in Mizunokuchi a few times. The local store's takoyaki is deep-fried in a lot of oil, making the surface crispy, while the inside is soft and gooey, very hot and delicious, but this one looked similar but lacked the crispy texture on the surface, and the inside was chewy with hollow spaces around the octopus as if it had shrunk from being heated, and it was lukewarm, completely different. Honestly, it wasn't delicious. The onion salad was just sliced onions soaked in water with dressing, and the portion was small, yet it was overpriced at 462 yen. The chicken skin sticks in sweet soy sauce were skewered chicken skin deep-fried and generously coated with a sweet and salty sauce. The crispy texture and sweet and savory sauce were delicious, but the seasoning was too strong, not bringing out the deliciousness of the chicken skin, but rather the deliciousness of the seasoning and texture. We had another round of plum sour cocktails, and finished with a green tea highball, which was refreshing with a strong green color and a hint of matcha flavor. We each had three drinks, and as it was almost 6:02 pm, we paid the bill, which came to 2,400 yen per person. Hmm, it seemed cheap at first glance, but considering it was only for an hour, if we had stayed for another hour, it would have been 5,000 yen per person, making it quite expensive. And the main dish, the takoyaki, not being delicious was a fatal flaw. I rarely leave food uneaten, but I noticed one takoyaki left. The recipe should be the same as other stores, so why is there such a difference in taste!