Okonomiyaki Sakaba O

If you leave Osaka without having this dish at least once, you would have been deemed as not having visited Osaka at all. Okonomiyaki is a signature dish in the Kansai Area, a savoury Japanese pancake made with batter, cabbage, and various toppings. While there are also other regional styles like Hiroshima-style, the Osaka style is the most popular one

While researching the best Okonomiya in the Dotonbori area, the name which kept popping up was Namba Okonomiyaki Ajinoya Honten, so we decided to pop over and try to get a table. Reservations were not available, but when we reached there, there was a queue of about 15 groups just before me, and it was close to 730pm. We waited in line for about 20 minutes, and the line moved only once, so I started to Google for another Okonomiyaki place which is not too far away

Just a 1-minute walk down the same street, I found Okonomiyaki Sakaba O, which also had a short queue of 5 groups before me. With a relatively positive 4.6 review on Google, we decided to give them a try instead

The queue was moving relatively faster in comparison to the other shop, as it took us about 10 minutes to reach the entrance of the steps. The restaurant is located in the basement unit and guests queue from the door, all the way upwards to the street level. We were able to look at the menu while we waited, and they do have 1 English menu for foreigners. In total, we waited for about 45 minutes to an hour for a seat in the restaurant

The restaurant itself is very small, with the main space occupied by the cooking island, which has close to 3 staff working within the island itself. Another staff member walks around the restaurant to serve customers who are not sitting at the counter seats. There is only 1 separate table at the back of the restaurant, which is not a counter seat. There are only 10 seats around the counter, and another 5 seats at the standalone table. There are small baskets on the shelves for customers to put their belongings. The other storage available will be the space under the benches, which will be able to keep your belongings from smelling like barbeque food. The space is tight between groups, and it is not the most comfortable space, so most customers finish their food and leave

We were served our drinks first in chilled beer mugs, which were very thirst-quenching in the smoky environment. The iced oolong tea was great without sugar, while the orange juice was quite sweet and thick. There is a small hot plate in front of each seat with a small metal spatula for eating the food

The first dish we got served was the gyoza, which was cooked within the cooking station and brought to our hot plates when it was ready to be eaten. The gyoza were well pan-fried with a nice crisp layer at the bottom. The gyozas are bite-sized but are burning as they are hot from the stove, so it is better to let them cool down on the plate. They also provide white vinegar and chilli oil for dipping, but I chose to eat them by themselves. The skin was crispy, and the minced meat was soft and moist, but I feel there was too much dough compared to the fillings

When the Okonomiyaki was cooked, they were transferred to our hot plate to be eaten. The Okonomiyaki was cooked perfectly with a nice crispy bite on the base and a great smoky flavour from the cabbage, pork belly and egg. The sauce was thick and savoury without being too overpowering for the meal. They were also very generous with the toppings of the bonito flakes, which gives the Okonomiyaki an additional layer of umami flavour. It was a very good bite of eggy flavour with charred cabbage and crispy flour, and I could easily eat 1 Okonomiyaki by myself

We also ordered an additional Tonpeiyaki, which is made with tender pork, cabbage, and green onions wrapped in a soft omelette. Pretty similar to an Okonomiyaki in flavours, the Tonpeiyaki does not have the flour dough, so this dish is slightly more watery without the crispy texture. This was a soft egg roll with strong flavours of the sauce and bonito flakes

Overall, the environment is not one of the most comfortable due to the lack of space, but this is also common for restaurants in Japan. Many famous food bars and ramen bars also fit the smallest groups. Due to the space, expect to smell like food after finishing the meal, as most of the seats are directly in front of the open stove. The food was great and pretty delicious, and the way each Okonomiyaki was cooked was quite perfect. Instead of waiting for the popular places, I would recommend coming here for good food at affordable prices. In hindsight, the Google review for this restaurant is higher than the popular one

Address: Japan, 〒542-0076 Osaka, Chuo Ward, Namba, 1 Chome−7−15 江戸安ビル B1F

Opening hours: 11.30 am to 3 pm and 5 pm to 11 pm