Abeno

My friend and I came to this place as recommended by the reviews and friends, what we didn't expect was the unreasonable wait!!! When we arrived there were THREE empty tables!!! But we were not allowed to sit in these tables as they were for groups of 3 to 4 dinners only, since it was only two of us, we had to wait till the bar is free !!!! So we waited for 25mins( please note this was a weekday and it was already 8pm) while these 3 tables remained empty for at least 35 minutes, and by the time we finished, there was still one table remained empty!! What's the point !

Another unhappy experience is the seating, we were sitting on the stool - storage unit with no foot step, as I am 5 ft 4 and my feet didn't touch the ground! While you can not move the seat without asking 3 other people to get up for you (cos you are siting on a 2 meter long storage unit with 3 other people), as a result, my knee was very painful through out. The ventilation is lacking and you smell like the food afterwards, I know somewhere else offers you the same quality of food, price with good dining experience, I certainly will not come back.
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Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 2
Wednesday, January 27, 2010

I really don't understand some of the comments here... What do you expect to pay in a central London restaurant? £4 plus tip?

A Japanese friend took me to this place, I was pretty sceptical having read a few reviews previously. However, I was really surprised by how much I liked it. I felt genuinely excited about having found an interesting and new culinary experience in London - which doesn't happen that often.

This is not a place for formal dining or romantic, sophisticated encounters. It's not particularly a "destination", book 3 weeks in advance, special occasion type place. This is a place to meet some friends for a relaxed evening, have a few ice cold Kirin beers and eat some fresh, interesting and tasty food! Then go and drink some cocktails...
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Marcus
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Although i want to like this place, i found it just a bit too much of a rip off. Okonomiyaki is supposed to be a cheap, filling meal. Abeno has no competitors so i guess they think they can charge what they like.

£10 for a 'Super Deluxe' Squid Okonomiyaki, with an additional £4.50 for a handful of noodles is daylight robbery, especially when a far bigger and superior product costs a fraction of that in Japan. the ingredients are not exactly expensive.

The side dishes were all quite good, but again bad value for money. The biggest rip off is the edamame - £4.50 for a portion, which was really shocking. We ordered the prawn and Asapagus gyoza £4.95 for four.. Nice, but again overpriced. Kimpira Gobou - literally a couple of mouthfuls in a tiny dish for £3.65. To be fair, the agedashi doufu was a lot more generous, and wasn't a bad rendition.

The meal wasn't bad at all. But having grown up in Osaka, the home of Okonomiyaki, i think i'll wait till I go back there to have it again.
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Mark
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 4
Wednesday, August 19, 2009

When eating okonomiyaki in Japan (including the home of okonomiyaki, Osaka), I used to ponder upon whether okonomiyaki would be popular in the UK. Well, it certainly seems to have caught on here.

I had no complaints about the quality of the okonomiyaki, and although the dish would never include chicken in Japan ( pork is the staple, but in London there are many who cannot eat pork, I imagine), it actually works quite well, for the omusoba as well.

Of course the price is preposterous for a dish so relatively simple (and cheap in Japan) and the large size did not appear so huge (but then I am a glutton). I would be happy to pay the price for the novelty of eating okonomiyaki in London, but it is a little steep for repeat visits.

The service is a little slow but quite thorough in the cooking of the okonomiyaki. The benches that open up so you can store bags and coats inside ( true Japanese-style!! ) really should be brought into more British eating establishments....!
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Oliver Gordon
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 3
Thursday, June 26, 2008

Lovely staff but can be slow.

They use really fresh ingredients. We had seafood 'omelette' and was impressed. The om soba (ie noodle wrapped in omelette) was less tasty.

Agree with other reports that it is pricey for what they are- but isnt that most of London restaurants?

Warning however that you will smell like you have worked in a kitchen for the whole day when you leave- bit stuffy inside too
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Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 7
Wednesday, May 21, 2008

More central location than the original Abeno (which is near the British Museum) makes this branch much more convenient. Good value and authentic Japanese food in the form of fried noodles and savory pancakes. Bentos too.
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Exotissima
Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 8
Tuesday, April 08, 2008

This is a different type of Japanese food as we usually know it in the West. In Japan, it is a cheaper and more filling option to the rather expensive and elegant sushi, sashimi and tempura. It is great to be able to taste it in the heart of London.

Fantastic! We have eaten okonomiyaki in Japan and experienced all styles of this Oriental tortilla. Abeno makes Osaka style okonomiyaki and it is absolutely excellent. A huge tortilla with cabbage, pickled ginger and egg mix to which you can add a choce of meat and vegetables. Service is very friendly and prompt and you can also try some other dishes as a starter as well as variations on the main theme. We loved the desserts, again, quintessentially Japanese!

To add to the experience, the food is cooked on a hot plate in front of you.
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Caterina
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Monday, April 07, 2008

A great experience for those who think japanese food is restricted to raw proteins and rice. We went there last night, we ordered the tofu and vegetable teppanyaki which was grilled on the hot plate in front of us expertly with umami flavour permeating the air aorund us. My partner had the Osaka-mix pancake which was mixed in front of us from raw ingredients and cooked. we also ordered small side dishes of chili prawns and kimchi which were unremarkable. Best to stick to the mains. The soba noodles wrapped in an omelette was really tasty looking and very large and enough to share between two.

Highly recommended for those who like to see everything prepared from scratch in a bespoke way infront of you.

Bill for 2 including drinks came to £33.
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BS
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Thursday, February 14, 2008

We went to Abeno Too (near Covent Garden) and it was excellent. The staff are very friendly and explain the ingredients etc as they cook it freshly in front of you. Very tasty and more than enough to go round. It gets very busy however so we even had to queue for a table at 6pm (on a Saturday night).
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Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Sunday, November 11, 2007

My husband and I happened upon Abeno located on Museum Street as we were leaving the British Museum. This was our last dinner in London as we headed home the next day. I can readily say we were very happy with our choices of prawn okonomi-yaki, kimchi, rice and tempura shrimp. We found the staff very friendly and helpful. Each table has its own built-in hot plate, so the okonomi-yaki was cooked directly before us. Overall we enjoyed a very satisfying experience. Next time we travel to London we plan to return to Abeno!
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Laura
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Sunday, September 09, 2007