Fukutaro from Namba, Osaka makes its debut in Tokyo, at Solamachi

Tokyo has many many okonomiyaki restaurants. However, “negiyaki”, negi leek-filled okonomiyaki, is quite hard to find, even in these places.

The standard seasoning for regular okonomiyaki is a dark sauce. But for negiyaki, it is usually soy sauce!

“Fukutaro”, from Namba, Osaka has opened a branch in Tokyo Solamachi. The long-awaited restaurant is always filled with excited customers to try the famous negiyaki!

They have lots of variety in the okonomiyaki and negiyaki menus.

The open kitchen gives a spacious feel

When you enter the restaurant, there is a counter on the right side and tables on the left and in the back. Behind that, there is an open kitchen.

From where I sat by the counter, I had a great view of the kitchen. I enjoyed watching the staff prepare the food, as I waited to be served.

Healthy and refreshing! Soy flavor pork negiyaki

At first, I was planning to order Suji-negiyaki, beef tendon negiyaki. But unfortunately, they were already out of suji. Too bad!
After studying the menu for sometime, I decided on the pork negiyaki.

It must be about ten years since I last had negiyaki… it’s that rare in Tokyo!

As the restaurant was packed, it took about twenty minutes for the negiyaki to be ready. I asked for it to be placed on the hotplate on the counter.

The waiter who brought it to me recommended eating it without any additional sauce. So, I cut a piece with the metal spatula, and took a bite of the piping hot savory pancake.

Ouch! It’s hotter than it looks.

The negi together with the soy sauce flavor is perfect!
The texture is very different from the dark sauce regular okonomiyaki. I’m enjoying the light mouthfeel!

The quantity of negi leek is quite amazing. So much crunchiness! Compared to the regular okonomiyaki, it uses little wheat flour, creating a much lighter feel. I’m really enjoying this healthy negiyaki!

Thin slices of pork are topped on the negi. The crunchy meat has a nice soy flavor. Both the flavor and texture of the pork are perfect!

Negiyaki is the perfect alternative for when you’re craving okonomiyaki, but don’t want anything too heavy.

The one thing that I noticed was that the staff were not totally efficient, probably because it was a newly opened restaurant. But I’m happy I was able to enjoy the delicious negiyaki. After all, that’s what counts!

writer：Yoko