When I was in Tokyo I got to eat okonomiyaki (お好み焼き) at a restaurant known as Sometaro Okonomiyaki (染太郎). More details here: http://migrationology.com/2014/03/tokyo-travel-guide-for-food-lovers/

Okonomiyaki (お好み焼き) is sort of a craze food in Japan; It is that’s very common to eat along with beer, but at the same time it’s a favorite for the kids as well. I have to first admit, that I’m not a huge fan of pancakes – I’m much more of a rice kind of guy – I’ve never really liked pancakes all that much in my life. But when I was in Tokyo, I needed to eat okonomiyaki. I had seen it outside of Japan many times before, but I had never tried it myself. Located very close to the hotel I was staying at Tokyo, I found a restaurant known as Sometaro Okonomiyaki (染太郎). We arrived a little bit early before they opened for lunch, and there were already a couple of people waiting outside to get in. So of course that’s a good sign for restaurant from the beginning.

First of all Sometaro Okonomiyaki (染太郎), is just an awesome looking restaurant. From the outside it looked like a crumbling shack, and there was an orange tree that covered half of the roof. Walk inside and it feels like you’re entering into a hut, but the restaurant opens up, and has an extremely warm and friendly feel to it. I loved the wood floors and the beautiful antiques that were decorated throughout the restaurant. The staff are also extremely friendly and happy to see us in the the restaurant sampling their delicacies.

There were a number of different pancakes styles on the menu, and we chose the house specialty, which was called something like asonomiyaki (not sure exactly), and then we also went for the classic okonomiyaki (お好み焼き). The asonomiyaki was a combination of pancake batter, mixed with cabbage, some pieces of seafood like bits of octopus, a few assorted other vegetables, and noodles. Everything was fried on a hot skillet in front of us, and assembled into a pancake like round shape. One thing you have to love about eating okonomiyaki (お好み焼き) in Japan, is how it’s cooked right in front of you, so that you can enjoy the atmosphere of the restaurant while you eat.

Once both of the savory pancakes were cooked, the waitress first helped us to cut it, like a pizza, into four slices. She then proceeded to decorate it by squeezing on some mayonnaise, adding some sauce that was like a light teriyaki sauce with worcestershire sauce, and finally sprinkled on some seaweed flakes on to the top. You can you can think of okonomiyaki (お好み焼き) just as a savory pancake, fried battered that’s mixed with an assortment of vegetables, some pieces of seafood, and some noodles mixed in. It’s a mishmash of both ingredients, and probably cooking techniques and styles of a number of different cultures as well.

Overall okonomiyaki (お好み焼き) is good and tasty, and Sometaro Okonomiyaki (染太郎) was an absolutely awesome restaurant, but I’m not a huge fan of the dish. To me it sort of lacks spice. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not bad at all, in fact it was very good, but I’m just more of a guy who loves to eat things like rice and curry, or sashimi – something with a bit more protein and meat. Okonomiyaki was sort of like eating a fresh bag of potato chips, kind of junk food tasting. That was my first experience in Japan to eat okonomiyaki (お好み焼き), and more than the food, I enjoyed the atmosphere and the experience of dining at Sometaro Okonomiyaki (染太郎).

Open hours: 12 noon — 10:30 pm daily
Address: 2-2-2 Nishiasakusa, Taitō, Tokyo 〒111-0035, Japan (http://www.sometaro.com/)
Price: Not bad prices here, we had two okonomiyakis for around 1,400 JPY ($13.78)

Music in this video courtesy of Audio Network

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45 Comments

  1. i guess you dont like this dish even if u say u like it 😛
    just by your face and that LITTLE AMOUNT of mayonnaise on it lol

  2. I've always seen it topped with bonito flakes..doesn't look like it would be my fav either..but would love to try it..

  3. You know when he acts like he's in heaven when he drinks water it's most likely normal. But when he says something is not bad with a plain face it's probably lethal.

  4. It look fun cooking yourself for it so you don,t look bad to do it your own dinner I like that Very good God bless.

  5. you didn't add enough okonomiyaki sauce if it wasn't flavorful enough for you

  6. When I went to Japan several years ago, I didn't like the Okonomiyaki either. It's an interesting dish that doesn't mesh when actually made.

  7. Japanese food culture is so interesting and intriguing. It feels like that even most of the street food and fast food is healthier than say Northern American or European. It also is amazing to see these small restaurants and street shops with their owners. Japanese food is definitely something I hope to get the chance to try in Japan. Not a chance that the westernized versions could ever live up to the original.

  8. Hmm, when I've had okonomiyaki, it was always served with a sprinkling of katsuobushi as well as the sauce, furikaki, and mayo.
    Your first one looked a bit less cooked than the ones we have had, though a runny egg is always delicious!

  9. Watching this video of yours in almost 2019 and sooo different from how you review now

  10. Assumiing there lived a man of eating everything , I believe him unable to love every cuisine served in every corners of the world. Anybody can't help but to have limited palate. So does Mark.

  11. He may want to try to eat "Okonomi-yaki" in western part of Japan, easpecially in Osaka or Hiroshima. In those cities, he can enjoy authentic cuisine and he'd definitely lean his body.

  12. you can make your own okonomiyaki recipe like you put like flour and water inside it you put wonton chips inside and you put a bacon inside and you put cabbage with the okonomiyaki and one egg on top and you put fried noodles on it and dont forget furiakake with it I seen a okonomiyaki in japan I went with my mom and dad sister and my grandma dont forget back then in 2004

  13. He never liked anything non-spicy in general….. So deal with it. Japan is not a spicy food haven, except for a dab of wasabi.

  14. Watching these now it's such a totally different vibe from what you do now the Innocence that you had right here 8 years ago you still have it now. You've managed to keep and capture that essence I've enjoying something brand new every time you do a video. It's one of the things I love the most about your videos and I've been watching you for a very very long time. I have come across some really fantastic eateries because of you so I thank you for the work that you do but I know you enjoy it so the pleasure is all yours right! hahaha

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