Osaka Kitchen Shibuya

Walk through a covered overpass from Shibuya Station to the sixth floor of the fashionable Tokyu Plaza Shibuya, and you'll find this up-and-coming teppanyaki spot with an unexpected name for a hotspot in Tokyo. It’s a nod to the chef’s hometown, who grew up in Japan’s “tenka no daidokoro” — the nation’s kitchen — and is now bringing Osaka's charm to the city crowd. First and foremost: let’s talk about the okonomiyaki, the delicious, slightly sweet, slightly salty, and all-around umami-savory pancake loved by the Kansai region. Many venues claim to do it right, but Osaka Kitchen might truly excel. Leveraging 30 years of teppanyaki experience, the chef adds a few tweaks to the dish. Instead of the average yamaimo (mountain yam), he uses the especially viscous yamatoimo to add an extra level of fluffiness. The pancake is brushed with Osaka-sourced Kinmon sauce and scored with mayonnaise. Beyond that, Osaka Kitchen’s Shibuya outlet is all about delicious food, with teppanyaki and okonomiyaki always present. Premium A5-rank Wagyu and famed Kobe beef sourced from Osaka’s neighbor, Kobe, are selected for their quality, not their price. Steaks are simply seasoned with salt and pepper to let the natural, full-bodied red meat flavor shine, served with a dash of truffle salt. Food is freshly cooked at each seat, where chefs master the heat and bring out the best in the ingredients. For the a la carte menu, check the blackboard where seasonal items are written and updated regularly. Really, it couldn’t get any better than this.