It’s rare for sceptical restaurant reviewers such as your author to be positively surprised by totally new culinary experiences. It’s even rarer for them to occur in a venue situated minutes from the British Museum in tourist-heavy central London that you could easily walk past without noticing. Abeno, which bills itself as “Europe’s original specialist okonomi-yaki restaurant,” proves that you should not judge restaurants by either their location or exterior. Come visit and be delighted
Abeno has been on its current site since 1999 but its owners have been plying their trade for 30 years, when they established the original outlet in north London. For those unaware – as your reviewer was until very recently – ‘okonomi-yaki’ – is best translated as ‘stuff you like, fried.’ Put this way, it doesn't sound that enticing, but the principle can trace its esteemed heritage back over 400 years to the Osaka region of Japan (the venue’s name relates to a plain in this part of the country). Abeno’s take is to install a built-in central steel hotplate on each table at its restaurant. Servers bring your required ingredients to the table, explain what they are about to do with them, mix them up, fry them, top them with special sauces and – voila (or the Japanese equivalent thereof) – a savoury pancake is ready minutes later.
This dynamic, of course, makes for great culinary theatre as well as a chance to learn more about the okonomi-yaki philosophy and Abeno’s approach to it. We were privileged to have the co-founder of the restaurant explain it all to us. She emphasised the health benefits of this way of cooking, highlighting the provenance – typically organic – of its products, the role fermentation plays (in creating antioxidants) and the way in which their proprietary sauces can elevate the dishes. Almost twenty different okonomi-yaki options are available, from basic meat versions to the spicy naniwa (pork, kimchi and chilli) we choose. There is even a ‘London’ okonomi-yaki, comprising pork, bacon, cheddar and salmon. Maybe next time. Our choice was superb: light yet flavoursome, with spice playing a judicious and enhancing role.
Sadly, try as your reviewer did, okonomi-yaki do not make for great photography – just enjoy the experience. The good news is that Abeno is about far more than pancakes. Although we also partook in some sashimi (pictured), if there’s a hot plate in front of you, then why not use it? We also thoroughly enjoyed our prawn and broccoli gyoza, while salmon teppanyaki had to be one of the freshest examples of this fish tried in a long time. Even better news, everything Abeno does is well priced. When beers and service were added in, the cost still came to less than £50/ head. Booking is advisable, but don’t shout about Abeno too loudly, or it will become impossible to secure a table.