Visit Osaka: Okonomiyaki Mizuno

Last year in Japan, we went to an okonomiyaki restaurant, and we ended up having to cook our own.   On our most recent trip, my husband suggested we go to Okonomiyaki Mizuno, where they cooked it for you (thank goodness!).

It has been Michelin-Guide recommended for years - I saw the signs on the door state from 2016-2023, and there was a pretty long line.  We waited in line for about 30 minutes.

While in line, a staff member takes your order so once you're seated the okonomiyaki ingredients are ready to be cooked at your table's teppan grill.  We were told that once inside, we can't order anything else except drinks, but a table next to us inside did end up ordering food, so I'm not sure how strict they are about ordering.  

We decided to get the Mizuno Best Select (10,500 yen), which is for a group of 6 people.  

It included 6 okonomiyakis and 1 noodle dish:

Yamaimo-yaki (x2)

The Yamaimo-yaki is made with grilled yams and you can choose your mix-ins (pork sirloin, pork belly, scallops, squid, or shrimp).  This variety is their most popular.  

Tonpiriyaki (x2) 

The Tonpiriyaki (or Tonpeiyaki) is made with pork, veggies, and eggs. 

Amakara-Yakisoba

Yoshoku Modan-yaki 

The Yoshoku Modan-yaki is a type of "modern, Western-style" okonomiyaki with soba, pork, squid, shrimp, and scallops. 

Negi-yaki

The Negi-Yaki was a fave of our family.  It came with huge chunks of pork.  It was so flavorful!

Mizunoyaki

The Mizunoyaki included pork, squid, shrimp, and scallops. 

When making the okonomiyaki, the chefs will ask if you want mustard and mayo, if applicable.

Grilled Pork

They also gave us two plates of grilled pork.  

Although they cook the okonomiyaki in front of you on teppan grills at your table, what I disliked is how other people's okonomiyaki could be cooked on your grill, and your okonomiyaki could be cooked at another party's table, based on space and timing.  

There were other hygiene issues that I won't get into here, but if you take the time to read the Google reviews, you'll get the idea.

Note - if I look up restaurants, I note the overall rating, but I don't read the reviews so I can form my own opinions and not be swayed.  And since my husband picked the spot, I didn't even know what kind of rating it had, but trusted that it was decent.  

I did think the food was good, but had I read the reviews beforehand, I probably would not have dined here, simply based on the mentions of hygiene.  There were quite a bit of mentions about rude service as well, but I had no issues with the employees.  They were not overly friendly, but they were pleasant and helpful.  

The reviews were actually quite mixed, with many people loving the restaurant and the service and the food, while others disliked the spot very much.

It was a fun dining experience overall, and we ate up nearly everything, but if you're planning on dining here, you may want to take the hygiene concerns into consideration.

Okonomiyaki Mizuno

1 Chome-4-15 Dotonbori, Chuo Ward
Osaka, 542-0071, Japan