Ajinoya

5e, voire 6e fois que je retourne dans ce restaurant dont la réputation n’est plus à faire.
Recommandé par divers guides, dont le guide Michelin depuis 2016, les éloges sont parfaitement justifiées.
Mais du coup, ça se mérite…
Pour pouvoir pousser la porte de ce restaurant, attendez-​vous à faire au minimum 20 à 30 min de queue.
[Au Japon, on né réserve pas vraiment sa table, surtout s’il s’agit d’un restaurant de «street food», car à la base, l’Okonomiyaki (dont c’est la spécialité ici), est un plat populaire…]
Si vous avez été assez patients, vous serez installés autour d’une plaque chauffante sur laquelle les serveurs viendront préparer votre plat devant vous (excepté les Yakisoba, qui sont préparées uniquement au comptoir).
La carte, disponible en anglais, chinois ou coréen, propose des dizaines de combinaisons possibles pour vos Okonomiyaki (sorte d’omelette au chou additionnée d’une saveur de votre choix: porc, bœuf, poulpe, calamar, crevettes, fromage, mochi, etc…).
Comme nous étions 4, nous avons opté cette fois-​ci pour leur «Set A» comprenant une «mixed okonomiyaki» (au porc, bœuf, calamar, crevette et poulpe), une okonomiyaki mochi/​fromage (apparemment, une association très appréciée des femmes), une grosse portion de Yakisoba, une Negiyaki (sorte d’omelette à la ciboule) + 8 Akashiyaki (sorte de takoyaki).
Bref, que des trucs «Yaki» (grillés)! :o)
Et comme d’habitude tout ça était à tomber! Le chou fondant à souhait, les yakisobas délicieuses, et cette histoire de mochi/​fromage, je dois avouer que ça fonctionne bien…
Je rêve déjà d’y retourner encore et encore…
Après, le lieu en lui même n’a pas vraiment de charme. Vous êtes installés dans des box autour de tables de 4 places (genre open-​space) ou si vous êtes chanceux, au fond sur des tatami (mais ça né m’est pas encore arrivé une seule fois). Et la popularité du lieu et la queue dehors font que du coup, vous êtes un peu servis à la chaîné…
Mais bon, on sait que ce n’est pas un restaurant 3 étoiles et on vient justement pour cette ambiance populaire…
D’ailleurs, attendez-​vous aussi à sentir le graillon en ressortant…
Mais les japonais ont pensé à tout! A la sortie il y a un «pchit» à disposition avec lequel vous pouvez vous asperger pour enlever l’odeur désagréable! ^^
Voili, voilou.

Great place, very tasteful kind of omellete — okonomiyaki. We had B set, with 3 courses.
The chef behind grills is very talented, and the taste, ah, wonderful.
Come here with hungry and open Mind. Don’t change the place because of the queue, it’s worth it.

The atmosphere of this restaurant is exactly what I was hoping for. it was lively, people were happy, and the room was filled with excitement. I ordered a set meal with my guest that included mixed okonomiyaki, yakisoba, and negiyaki. We also had some mixed pickles. The pickles included daikon, red radish, and mustard greens. The flavors were quite nice and went well with the beer. The yakisoba was some of the best I’ve had in Japan. It was the highlight of the meal. The okonomiyaki was prepared at the table for us and was just ok. The batter was very egg heavy and it gave the okonomiyaki more of a quiche profile than the batter and egg mixture I have had at other shops. It was good, but not worth coming back for. The negiyaki was a big disappointment. While the beef included in it was flavorful, a huge chunk of fat was included that was about the size of a golf ball. We left that part behind and ate the rest which was underwhelming.
Atmosphere: A
Service: A (quick and friendly)
Food: C (average at best, not worth going back for)

Ajinoya is frequently referred to as «the second best okonomiyaki in town» by the locals, and in this town being second best at anything is actually more of a plus than anything.
The few things that separate Ajinoya from the «best» okonomiyaki establishment in town are that you normally don’t have to wait 40 – 70 minutes in line to get in, they’re slightly less (and understandably) English tolerant than the other establishments in town, and their service is a lot more up close and personal due to their personalized hot-​table layout (as opposed to the long counter setup)
The pork okonomi and beef tendon negiyaki here are to die for, and nothing quite possibly feels better than washing them down with a cold tall one. The establishment does get a star docked from its overall rating because I went in early August (i.e. the hottest period of the year) and their air conditioning was broken, making sitting in front of a hot-​table very very agonizing were it not for the cold beers and the good food.
Do yourself a favor and head on to Ajinoya if the lines at «the other place» are ungodly as usual.

Best Okonomiyaki and definitely under-​rated here. Queued for nearly an hour but the experience was so wonderful.
It was a bold adventure, as the staff don’t speak much English. The setting is not high-​end or very clean, but the taste of the food, the mastery of the chef, and the authenticity are beyond words.
I had the traditional Okonomiyaki with three kinds of sea food. Topped with dancing octopus flakes, the pancake was sizzling, with so many fresh ingredients, so tender and savory, that I finished the whole big serving without any problem…

Decent food at a tourist location price. Facilities are a bit old, service is good.
Try mixed noodles.

味乃家 has been in business for 4^th generation/​65 years. They must be doing something right with their Okonomiyaki (Japanese savoury pancake containing a variety of ingredients)
Okonomi means whatever you like. So basically there is so many combination you can do. Or you can just get the standard recommeded signature combination. This reminds me of pizza?! Osaka is where Okonomiyaki originated from till they were available all over Japan or around the World.
We ended up coming to Ajinoya because of it’s convenient location in Namba. There was a long line… and it was 2 pm. This place must be good? I left my sister waiting in queue while I went around and found some takeout to feed us (Takoyaki heaven here!).
The staff here was really helpful even with our limited knowledge of Japanese language. We pointed to the photos and ordered #1 (Deluxe 1300 Yen) and #5 (Ladies’ Fave 930 Yen). Our waitress just took the batter to our table and started whipping the ingredients into the mixing bowl then the batter was ready to cook at the hot plate at our table. We were told not to touch anything… so me and my sister just staring at our pancakes and waiting and waiting. till the waitress came and flip them again. And when our okonomiyaki were ready to eat then we were allowed to use the metal spatula to divide up our too huge pancakes.
There are condiments for one to dress up your pancakes before eating including mayo, bonito/​seaweed flakes and sauces.
We should have just order 1 to share but I was glad that we got #5 as it has rice cakes on top, as I love rice cakes!
I did enjoy the experience. Especially if one looking for something that can really fill you up and it was fun to drink some beers while eating with friends.
I would recommend coming once if you want to have a taste what Okonomiyaki really is in Osaka but there are so many other food to eat… I probably would have skip next time unless they offers me a mini version!