Address: 47 Museum St, London, WC1A 1LY, United Kingdom
Phone: +442074053211
Rating: 4.7
based on 340 reviews.
Food Quality
Pros:
"One of the best food experiences in London! Genuine service, tasty food and original recipes!"
"Excellent okonomi yaki. Tasty and moderately priced compared to similar restaurants."
"Such an amazing experience. Authentic (and some Western twists) Okonomiyaki cooked at your table."
"Exceptional food, the best I have had in ages."
"Stand out dishes were the Chicken Karaage and the Ozomoyaki (give slight preference on the osaka mix over the tofu mix I had)."
"Abeno does a great job of serving up authentic tasting okonomiyaki."
"They may not look like much but they're extremely filling and satisfying."
Cons:
"The food is strictly average for the price - both in terms of quality & quantity."
"For simply an Okonomiyaki restaurant, it is waaaay too expensive!"
"The food was all good but didn't really amaze me."
"The teppan-yaki was lacking in taste and quite expensive for what we got."
"The food was overpriced."
"Food wise it’s a disappointment especially for the price asked."
"Not authentic okonomiyaki. The pancake is not crispy and crumbles easily when you cut it."
Service
Pros:
"Staff very welcoming, friendly and excellent at explaining the menu and choices."
"The staff are extremely friendly and offer both an authentic take on Osaka-style Okonomiyaki as well as mixtures that suit the western palate."
"The waiter - his name was Michael - was so kind and patient with a large group of us with various allergies and constant questions."
"The staff were super friendly and the food was amazing."
"The service was probably the best I have ever witnessed in my life."
"Staff is very nice explaining clearly as this is our first time to this restaurant."
"The staff who served us were fantastic. The chef who cooked the special Sakura, cherry blossom, okonomiyaki in front of us was clearly very talented."
Cons:
"Will not be visiting again"
"Extremely rude staff. We came here for a friend's birthday with a birthday cake that we want the restaurant to bring out after our meal, and were told we need to pay a £3 per person 'cake fee'."
"Service was really bad, an old lady with curly hair was brutal and rude."
"The only reason why this review is bumped down to a 4-star was because of the dessert."
"The way the gratuity (12.5%) was snuck in on the bill without me seeing the menu itself was downright dishonest."
"After being shut down and we asked for menus, Matthew threw the QR codes on the table and said 'if you had greeted us when you came in you would have gotten the menu'."
"The staff were really nice but quite slow and you really need to try hard to draw their attention!"
Atmosphere & Decor
Pros:
"The waiters are very friendly and the atmosphere is really authentic☺️."
"An incredible concept, unique in London, bold flavours and doing it since 1993 in this restaurant."
"It's a really authetic Japanese place."
"Decor is cute and service is fast."
"Every single thing about this little piece of Osaka in London is perfection."
"Athmosphere is cozy and chilled!"
"Very tasty and atmospheric. I really like the concept of cooking food in your presence."
Cons:
"Despite a decor that could do with a refresh and cramped conditions."
"Haven't been here in a long time but seating area are a bit tight/cramp."
"The restaurant can be really hot when its summer since they do not have any air conditioning."
"Only down side is cramped space between tables."
"The only thing I can fault at Abeno is the atmosphere (a bit generic)."
"Unfortunately the AC was too cold for the room and not justifiable with the hot stove in front of you."
"Not suitable for a single person though, they don’t have space for that."
Value for Money
Pros:
"Very affordable."
"Food was delicious and reasonably priced."
"We ordered 1 side, 2 big okonomiyaki between 3 adults which were good portions and fair prices."
"The food was incredible and reasonably priced."
"For everything we had, the bill was superb value for money."
"The bill was fair."
"An absolutely excellent authentic Japanese experience for a great price."
Cons:
"Prices are on the higher side (£15 for a super deluxe) and will get you satisfied but not full."
"It’s not cheap, each Okonomiyaki will set you back £15-£20."
"It’s not cheap, each Okonomiyaki will set you back £15-£20 and as a hungry man, I could easily eat 3-4 of these but I stuck to one because times are tight."
"Only real negative is the price. Compared to what you'd pay in Japan, this is a bit much and I wouldn't say it represents true value for money."
"The already high prices deterred me from ordering a larger size."
"Avoid Abeno at these ridiculous prices unless they decide to lower their price to OKAN's price of approx £11!"
"Different food, tasted good as well but too pricy."
Reservation & Seating
Pros:
"Book in advance as it’s impossible to walk in and get a table."
"Tip: reservation is recommended."
"Probably good to make a reservation in advance."
"This restaurant requires reservations due to its size limitations."
"Just be sure to book your time slot, as we hadn't and so had to wait around the local area for a couple hours."
"Definitely make sure to book in advance, so you can be guaranteed a seat."
"You’ll need to reserve a table there, they’re very popular."
Cons:
"But they told us our reservation was from 17:30-18:45 and they were extremely annoyingly and unreasonably precise about this."
"The lady that greeted us told us that if we wanted to sit we had to be finished with our food in 45’."
"A bit harder to get a table these days though - virtually no chance as a walk-in; need to reserve weeks in advance."
"At 18:36 we tried to get some dessert and they said no because there was not enough time."
"Get ready to wait for a table as well. Totally worth waiting."
"Still it won’t affect the overall experience, definitely will come back but need to make sure you made reservation as it’s too famous and busy and not too many seats available."
"Tried making dinner reservations the weekend before, all booked."