A friend of our recommended this make your own okonomiyaki restaurant down the street from where we live. We decided to give it a try. The restaurant was located just north of National Route 50 along a side road in a predominantly residential area. The location was pretty inconspicuous and we would have never seen it, unless our friend had recommended it.

We came at around 19:00 and were surprised with how busy it was. We were able to secure one of only a few remaining parking spots.

When we entered, the first thing we saw was a large shoe locker area. We took off our shoes, put them into lockers, and took out the wooden keys. The interior of the restaurant was pretty large with a number of sitting tables, where guests sat on the ground and put their legs into a hallowed out area below. There was also a small section with traditional tables and chairs.

Note: We recommend wearing/having socks when you visit.

Dohtonbori Okonomiyaki Menu

The menu of at Dohtonbori Okonomiyaki consisted primarily of okonomiyaki with an extensive range of toppings to choose from. There were also separate sections for monja as well as regional okonomiyaki variations like Hiroshima style. After reviewing the options we decided to try their garlic fried rice, octopus okonomiyaki, seafood okonomiyaki, and an order order of their standard Hiroshima style okonomiyaki.

Cooking Tips

We were a little nervous with the prospect of having to cook our own okonomiyaki. However, they had a nice guide that showed us step by step instructions.

The okonomiyaki came out in a large ladle shaped bowl, with all the ingredients nicely separated. We quickly mixed it up well and spread it out as evenly as we could on the grill. We were impressed with the amount and thickness of the octopus chunks.

We’ve found that mixing the ingredients well is essential to get a well distributed okonomiyaki and insuring that it cooks consistently and evenly. One of the things that we found was to make sure that the toppings were not close to the edge of the okonomiyaki. The restaurant recommends flipping the okonomiyaki several times with five minutes of cooking time between each flip. When the toppings are on or near the edge, they tend to get dislodged during the flipping process.

Note: The restaurant recommends three flips for okonomiyaki at five minutes a piece for a total of 20 minutes. If your in a hurry, this might not be the restaurant for you.

The Hiroshima style okonomiyaki was by far the most difficult to make and required multiple steps. One nice thing about making your own okonomiyaki is that you can cook it to your own preferences. We like our yakisoba to be crispy, so we cooked it a little longer than usual to get a nice crisp.

Dohtonbori Okonomiyaki Food Review

The okonomiyaki at Dohtonbori were delicious. Each of them had a generous amount of toppings and were quite hardy in size. On one occasion we were a little worried that we had overcooked it. When we cut it open, we were pleasantly surprised to find that it was still really moist inside. We can’t wait to try more of them next time.

Final Thoughts

From a business perspective we were really impressed with the business model that Dohtonbori Okonomiyaki has created. We can imagine that their expenses, particularly on the labor side are kept to a minimum since the consumer is the one doing all the work. All they have to do is prepare the ingredients and pass it to the consumer and let them do the rest. The okonomiyaki was delicious, but we were a bit surprised with how popular the restaurant was.

We did a little bit of research and found that they have several hundred locations located throughout Japan.

If you’re looking for a nice place to sit back and relax, this might not be the restaurant for you. This is a very active dining experience that requires constant vigilance to ensure the quality of the final product. However, if you want to try your hand at making your own okonomiyaki, then we highly recommend Dohtonbori Okonomiyaki for its interactive atmosphere, wide variety, and delicious food.

More to Come…

Here is a link to their website.