This time, I visited a cheap Izakaya restaurant in Ikebukuro. The place is called "Okonomiyaki Yamakoya", although it's more like a teppanyaki restaurant than an Izakaya. I ordered the homemade green onion chashu (570 yen + tax) which I was curious about. It was soft and flavorful, and it tasted so good that I felt like I wanted some white rice to go with it. So, I ordered a bowl of white rice (210 yen + tax) and made an instant chashu rice bowl. Next, I tried the Clam White Wine Butter (620 yen + tax) which was delicious. The combination of clams and butter was amazing. Moving on to the main dish, I ordered the Butatama (780 yen + tax) and Mixtama (980 yen + tax) okonomiyaki. My friend from Osaka took charge of mixing it. Looking back, I was already quite satisfied before even getting to the okonomiyaki. The total bill for two people was 4,471 yen (including tax), but with a 10% off coupon from Tabelog, it came to 4,024 yen (including tax), which is 2,012 yen per person. Despite the individual prices not being cheap, the total bill turned out to be quite affordable. I was surprised by the high quality of the chashu, even though it's an okonomiyaki restaurant.

Date and Time: Holiday around 18:00 Visit: No reservation, no waiting time Purpose: Dinner Number of People: 2 Atmosphere: Lively Attire: Casual Order: Mentaiko Monjayaki, Natto Kimchi Monjayaki, total around 1,500 yen.

Everything was delicious! I thought okonomiyaki all tasted the same, but my concept was completely overturned! It's not about being fluffy or using trendy ingredients or being Instagrammable, everything is just delicious. I want everyone to try it!

Visited for the first time with a friend on May 26th (Friday) at 1:00 PM. Located near the Metropolitan exit of Ikebukuro Station, close to the south exit under the elevated tracks. Opted for the weekday lunch buffet for 1,980 yen, which included 3 types of okonomiyaki (pork, mentaiko, spicy squid) and 3 types of monjayaki (shrimp, mentaiko mochi, mixed) with 2 drinks each, totaling just under 3,000 yen per person. It was a bit disappointing that they didn't have the mentaiko cheese monjayaki and the heat control was a bit difficult, but the buffet had a variety of delicious options. The female staff in the restaurant were efficient and left a good impression. Despite being an okonomiyaki restaurant, they also offer curry, omurice, hamburg steak, ginger pork, and chicken nanban set meals for under 1,000 yen, making it convenient for solo diners as well.

This restaurant serves delicious teppanyaki, okonomiyaki, and monjayaki. Customers can cook their own food on the built-in teppan at their table. The side dishes such as grilled hormone, scallops, and oysters were all tasty. The monjayaki had a flavorful broth which made it easy to eat. I wished they had Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki, but overall, I was satisfied with the food. The seating is mainly for four people, so if you have a group of five or more, it's best to reserve the central seats in advance!

It was the most monjayaki with the least amount of dashi in my life! The monja feeling was 30% healthy, but more like a vegetable stir-fry? It had a mountain hut vibe, and the staff were wearing checkered shirts as uniforms. The staff were friendly. It was my first time seeing iburi-gakko mixed in!

I had always wanted to try okonomiyaki for lunch. I had only seen it on TV, with people saying "Eat okonomiyaki with rice!" So today, I decided to make it happen and went to a restaurant called Yamagoya next to Big Guard. When I arrived, I saw that they were already closed, as it was past 3 PM (lunch is until 3 PM, last order at 2:30 PM). The only photo I took was of the lunch menu, which caught my eye with the "Okonomiyaki Set Meal" for 820 yen (tax included). I was intrigued and decided to go in. Once seated, I looked at the menu again. It seemed that you could also order just the okonomiyaki, or pay an extra 170 yen for rice, miso soup, and salad to make it a set meal. The back of the menu listed all-you-can-eat menu options for parties. The salad, made of shredded cabbage and corn, was served first. Then, the okonomiyaki set meal arrived. White rice, miso soup, and okonomiyaki - a sight I had never seen before as a Tokyo-born and raised person. The okonomiyaki was cooked in the kitchen and brought to the table, which I appreciated as I didn't want to smell like it for work. It was delicious! The sauce was sweet and rich, making it a perfect side dish to eat with rice. It reminded me of yakisoba bread, so if you like that, you'll enjoy it. My wife had the "Creamy Omelette Rice with Egg" for 880 yen (tax included), topped with green seaweed, a nice touch from an okonomiyaki restaurant. Overall, a satisfying meal!

All-you-can-eat and drink is fun and a good deal. I visited this shop that I had always been curious about. I had the dice steak lunch on this day, but I also want to try the okonomiyaki lunch and yakisoba lunch. The modern-yaki was delicious, so I came back for a second visit. I had been interested in this okonomiyaki restaurant for a while.

I happened to try a restaurant for lunch, but it was closed, so I wandered around and found a okonomiyaki restaurant with a wide variety of menu items. They even offer a drink-all-you-can course during the day, and students were having a great time. There were also office workers and language school students nearby, so it seems to be a popular spot. I decided to go with a simple hamburger steak set. It took a bit of time since it seemed homemade, but when the hamburger steak arrived, it was topped with a sunny-side-up egg and generously covered in demi-glace sauce. The hamburger steak was cooked well and had a rich flavor. The miso soup that came with it had a nostalgic taste. It was just as good as the hamburger steak at a hamburger restaurant. I might try the okonomiyaki course with drink-all-you-can next time.

I used the all-you-can-eat and all-you-can-drink course for okonomiyaki and monjayaki. I have been using all-you-can-eat and all-you-can-drink options when eating okonomiyaki and monjayaki outside since my student days, haha. The atmosphere of the restaurant was nice, and both the okonomiyaki and monjayaki were delicious. The speed of serving alcohol was also good, which was helpful.

Okonomiyaki set for ¥720. Comes with rice, miso soup, and salad (¥170 extra). The okonomiyaki had a delicious cabbage flavor. It was my first time visiting since the state of emergency was declared, but the restaurant was operating as usual, which was reassuring.

Chicken sauté set meal for ¥680. Comes with rice, miso soup, and chicken sauté with tomato basil sauce. The dish is topped with a generous amount of whole tomatoes. I wish the basil flavor was a bit stronger. So far, the honey mustard chicken sauté is my favorite from their series.

Chicken sauté with Genovese sauce ¥680 Comes with rice and miso soup Grilled chicken with Genovese-style sauce. Not a very strong smell. There is also a honey mustard sauce, which might be tastier. Will they keep serving this 680 yen lunch special...?

Terimayo set meal for ¥680. It's like a daily special set meal, offered a bit cheaper. It's good for when you're in the mood for strong flavors. You can usually find a seat, but it can get crowded at times so be careful about timing.

We walked from Takadanobaba to Ikebukuro with friends, combining it with a diet. Along the way, we decided to take a break and have a beer at this restaurant. They offer monjayaki starting from 650 yen and okonomiyaki starting from 700 yen, where you can grill it yourself. I enjoy grilling my own food, so I liked it. This time, we only ordered 3 dishes for 3 people, but I thought it would be nice to try the all-you-can-eat option next time for 3,000 yen including drinks.

Okonomiyaki set for 720 yen. I had lunch here on a Saturday and it wasn't too crowded. It seems like an okonomiyaki restaurant, but they also offer hamburger lunch, ginger pork lunch, and fried chicken lunch, giving it more of a diner vibe. The okonomiyaki was delicious. It came with rice, miso soup, salad, and a drink. If you just order the okonomiyaki, it's 510 yen, so I think it's a reasonably priced place. The only downside was that the staff seemed a bit lacking in energy.

Okonomiyaki is fluffy and just the right size, so everyone can try various menu options together. The yakisoba noodles are slightly thick and firm, giving them a street food-style taste when cooked on the hot plate. The menu is diverse and we had a fun time drinking there!

Date and time: Holiday around 18:00 Reservation method: Online booking Purpose: Dinner Number of people: 2 Atmosphere inside the restaurant: Lively Attire: Casual Ordered dishes: Mentaiko mochi monja etc. Total cost around 1,800 yen.

I really wanted to eat okonomiyaki! We found a place called Yama Koya in Ikebukuro where you can make your own. When I tried to make a reservation over the phone, they said they were fully booked and couldn't take any more reservations. They told us to come directly and wait. When we arrived at the restaurant and asked about the wait, they took our name and contact information and said they would call us when a table became available. It would have been nice if they had mentioned that on the phone earlier... We went back to Ikebukuro Station and killed some time. However, it was nice that they would call us when a table was ready. The restaurant had a cute mountain hut-like atmosphere, and the staff seemed to be mostly part-timers. We ordered cheese monjayaki with Baby Star and mentaiko toppings, pork and soba toppings, squid yakisoba, oyster butter yaki, beer, and homemade plum wine. The monjayaki was okay, not particularly delicious. The squid yakisoba had a nostalgic taste reminiscent of street food. The oyster butter yaki was really tasty! And when the okonomiyaki arrived at our table, it was fluffy and crispy, very delicious! I topped it with plenty of sauce and enjoyed it. I would definitely come back for this! The homemade plum wine was surprisingly good too, especially when mixed with soda. It had a juicy and nostalgic taste that reminded me of home. I wish they had put more plum wine in though, as the amount felt a bit lacking. I enjoyed it nonetheless and would love to come back for more okonomiyaki and plum wine in the future!

Okonomiyaki set for ¥820 Comes with rice, miso soup, and salad

Okonomiyaki set for ¥820. It comes with rice, miso soup, and salad. The pork and cabbage okonomiyaki set. Sometimes I just crave okonomiyaki... But really, only once in a while...