I’ve eaten at many okonomiyaki restaurants throughout Japan and I was going through Cat St. near Omotesando to look for restaurants that I tend to visit, I somehow ended up near an area full of restaurants and noticed a good size crowd waiting to eat at Okonomiyaki Yai Yai in Harajuku’s Jingumae area.
I realized that I have not tried this okonomiyaki restaurant, so the weather was great and decided that I was in the perfect mood for okonomiyaki. And with this large of a crowd, this place must be good!
Fortunately, despite the crowd of people, the wait in line was not that long. Probably less than half an hour.
So, while you wait, you can check out the turtles… just don’t touch them. Personally, what was on my mind is hoping to get seated in the shade, because it was getting very hot outside.
As I was seated, I realized that the people working knew how to communicate in English. So, that’s a major plus for travelers who want to communicate with the waiters. The menu was also provided in English.
And also the good news, if there is a certain ingredient that you can’t eat or are allergic to, the restaurant can prepare the food without that ingredient.
Upon being seated, depending on how many people are dining in your party, you are going to be seated at a table or booth. I was seated at the booth which is perfectly fine.
Many okonomiyaki restaurants, they will put the batter on and then you are in charge of cooking it. At Okonomiyaki Yai Yai, the cooks are responsible for your dish and then you just cut it with a metal spatula and put it on a smaller plate to eat.
I went for the squid and shrimp Modan yaki and the grill is quite big, so they prepare the okonomiyaki batter and put the okonomiyaki to cook and you can then use your provided eating utensils to start eating.
For those who never ate onomiyaki before, they will let you know if it’s ready to eat.
Okonomiyaki is often referred by westerners as Japanese pizza. Truthfully, I wouldn’t even call it that.
The dish is pretty much special okonomiyaki dish with ingredients, may it be seafood, beef, chicken, cheese, etc. with green onions, cabbage, bonito flakes and all mixed into a batter and put into a hot grill and later coated with Okonomiyaki sauce and mayonnaise.
Okonomiyaki Yai Yai specializes in Osaka-style okonomiyaki and uses 100% domestic wheat.
For the most part, I enjoyed my time eating at Okonomiyaki Yai Yai. I’ve eaten at so many okonomiyaki places but this is probably one in which I noticed a line of people.
It’s also one of the few that works well for foreign travelers because they have staff that speak English but also are able to modify what they make if one doesn’t like an ingredient or has a food allergy.
Also, a major plus is that the restaurant is not expensive and quite affordable, so it’s a great place to take your family.
And while there is table seating and booth seating, I will say that eating at the booth, you get to meet other fellow travelers and can strike a conversation as it takes a little while for the food to be prepared and completed.
Just remember that the grill is hot, don’t get your hands or arms too close and if you are bringing children, make sure they don’t play around because those grills are hot.
But overall, a good experience and no doubt one of the more traveler friendly okonomiyaki restaurants that I have been to in not just Tokyo but also in Japan.
Okonomiyaki Yai Yai is recommended!
