Category:Bistro
What a fun place! And the food is good too.
I took my mum there who came to visit me from the culinary wastelands of Austria and I had the intention to provide her with some unique and special food experiences. What better place to choose than Abeno Too?
Abeno Too is a Okonomiyaki restaurant. If you –like me until very recently –have no idea what Okonomiyaki is,here a short explanation with the help of my dear Wikipedia which describes it as being a Japanese savory pancake. The real fun thing is that it is cooked in front of you on the table. The first challenge is not go get burnt,but it seems like everyone has to touch the cooking surface at first to check if it really hot (believe me it is!). And something else –you are supposed to store your coats and bags inside your seat at Abeno Too,just in case you wonder.
My mum was a bit doubtful upon entering the restaurant but she soon was convinced and very happy. We tried the cold sake served in a traditional wooden box (masu). If you –like me until very recently –have never drunk cold sake out of a traditional wooden box,I recommend it! You are supposed to drink out of the corner because you then engage the taste buds on the tip of your tongue which intensifies the flavour (that’s what the very nice waitress told me while cooking my Okonomyiaki) Interesting,eh?
We started with Hiyayakko (chilled tofu with bonito flakes and ginger) (4.95) which was lovely and fresh and moreish. Excellent were also the Yaki-Gyoza with asparagus and black tiger prawn (5.95) that were grilled on our table. 5 between us were clearly not enough.
The most exciting part clearly was the Okonomyaki with pork,kimchi and prawn (11). It was topped with Japanese mayonnaise (I could not detect any difference to European mayonnaise I have to say),sea weed and bonito fish flakes which seem creepily alive when added onto the Okonomyaki. Nice nice nice!
Not quite sated yet we shared a dessert,the (4.95) –consisting of green tea ice cream,sweet rice dumplings and Adzuki beans. This was not terribly exciting but still enjoyable and not too sweet.
All in all it is a great dining experience,it’s fun people watching,it’s fun to watch the friendly and efficient staff cook in front of you and the food is very tasty indeed. My mum loved it and so did I.
(for pictures and a more Japanese approach to reviewing Abeno Too please refer to noodlecapricciosa’s post)
- Food:8/10
- Service: 7/10
- Atmosphere: 7/10
- Value for money: 7.5/10
- Chances of returning: 90%
- Verdict:Okonomyaki rules!!
That’s a lovely place,tried this as well…couldn’t agree more with your verdict!
Ah,went over with Wife a year ago during (another) hot summer afternoon. For some reason,the ventilation failed and we were sweating buckets even before making our order. Everything went downhill from then on.
The irony is that I don’t remember much of the food as I was trying not to sweat into my food. lol. Have you got a chance to try the Abeno Okonomiyaki along Museum Street?
.-= London Chow´s last blog ..Awana review –London premier Malaysian restaurant =-.
God this sounds awful,with all the cooking plates and no air condition…I have not tried the other Abeno place but it’s on my list of things to do. HOw is it?
oh yes,this is a really good food in ABENO TOO
Dear barbaramaria,I am glad you enjoyed it there too!