Abeno in Camden

Had an excellent meal here with family, service was brilliant - loved the different okonomiyaki we tried and the hot dessert too!

A really friendly place and a great place to get a proper Japanese experience in London, can't wait to visit again!

Simply delicious okonomiyaki. Really comparable to Japan

So good that you have to make a reservation to get a table. Super friendly staff 👍🏻

Wonderful Okonomiyaki, service and experience. Many options to choose from and you can even get Hiroshima style Okonomiyaki with noodles. There's vegan options available and like any great Japanese restaurant there's so many brilliant drinks to choose from. Everyone from the staff was really nice and helpful. This place brought us back to the fond memories we have from traveling through Japan. Definitely recommend it!

The only Abeno currently, providing amazing okonomiyaki and would definitely recommend that as the dish to get if it's your first visit.

It's been a while since I last had okonomiyaki, it was really delicious! ! Thank you for the meal! ! The music playing in the store was nostalgic and we had a great time! ! It's high recommended restaurant!!! If you want to japanese Okonomiyaki you must try here!! Very very nice taste!!!

Superb discovery! This restaurant was recommended to us by a friend who had already had the opportunity to try it during a stay in London. All ingredients are quality/organic. The atmosphere is excellent. You are greeted by all the staff upon your arrival and upon your departure, in the Japanese style. The staff is very welcoming and pleasant. The food was delicious, my palate discovered some new flavors! I advise you to do it well in advance if you want to reserve a table, they seem to have a lot of demand! Price-wise, we got it for around $60 for two (£30 per person: 2 starters, an Okonomiyaki, a drink, no dessert). I highly recommend this restaurant!

Recommended by a Japanese friend. Four of us went, including another Japanese friend. We ordered 2 staters and okonomiyaki. The okonomiyaki were above my expectations, not too oily. All the dishes were delicious and the menu says food is organic. The vegetable on-soba was just right, sauces were well balanced. The only drawbacks are the narrow aisles in the restaurant and since food is cooked in front of you, you come out smelling like a chef. We will return to try out the rest of their extensive menu and pancakes. Booking is a must, the take a deposit in advance, it’s ver popular.

Great food, great staff, small and cosy, not bad pricing for the experience

We visited at lunch time and fortunate enough to get a table in this cozy yet limited-space restaurant. I’ve ordered an om-soba, and gyoza. The gyoza are cooked before our eyes which is very interesting. The om-soba presented nicely and the seasoning just perfectly balanced. We’ll definitely come again for the matcha ice cream :)

Amazing service Amazing food If I could give more stars, I would 👌🏻

This place is INCREDIBLE! 6 stars! Well done! Food amazing! So delicious. Cooked at the table! The staff were so kind! We walked in with no booking but they managed to get us a table after a short wait. It was our first time and they took the time to explain he menu in great detail and did t make us feel silly for not understanding. The man cooking for us at the table was really lovely. The food really was an experience. It all was! At the end all the staff thanked us for coming and said good bye. I wish there was one of these in bracknell! I'd love to go again and try more of the menu! It's a must visit!

Lovely little restaurant a stone's throw from the British Museum. Some dishes are cooked at the table, on the large central plate. In addition to the excellent preparations, the attentive and kind service is striking. A place to return to!

Delicious okonomiyaki and super nice staff.

Cute little restaurant. The server cooks the food for you which is a nice experience. We didn't get the table for long. 1hr and half, so it felt a bit rushed especially it took about 20mins before our order was taken.

We haven't found this outside of Osaka, Japan (you can find okonomiyaki but not this creative and delicious). Matcha ice cream was just ok but the sundaes looked pretty cool. Appetizers way better than they have to be given the star of the show. Caveat emptor everything you wear will smell until dry-cleaned. Worth it!

First time at this restaurant and would 100% go back for more. The food was absolutely delicious and the staff were kind, friendly, and professional. The atmosphere was warm and cheerful and the okonomi-yaki was soo good, great quality and so much care goes into the preparation of the food, which happens on the hot plate in the middle of your table. Great experience! :)

Delicious food, calm atmosphere, really attentive friendly staff, we really enjoyed ourselves would highly recommend to everyone!

Amazing meal & experience Visited in February 2019

Overated, I’ve had better home made okonomiyaki. It was also extremely salty to the point of giving me a headache. The Om-Soba tasted like regular over salted chow mein wrapped w a piece of egg and lots of ketchup and Japanese mayo/ okonomiyaki sauce. The serving staff were nice.

I came for the okonomiyaki and it is worth. The taste is good and the staff is very friendly

Very good indeed ! Japanese staff and the real thing!

I don’t know what prevented me from visiting my favourite restaurant 10 years ago, but I’m glad that I decided to get lunch as I passed today. Today I ordered the tofu and kimchi okonomiyaki and the Kyoto parfait. The okonomiyaki is flavourful, beautiful crunch with the cabbage, lovely soft tofu, and slight smoky char. The kimchi binds it all with a slight piquancy. The parfait blew my mind. Two delightful ice creams (apparently their matcha has won awards), with a smooth whipped cream, red bean paste, chewy mochi, and crunchy rice crisps. The texture alone was stellar. The best part, the sweetness was just right, never cloyingly sweet. It felt like eating a class of pure imagination. It still is one of my favourite okonomiyakiya ever.

London’s Hidden Gem ! Amazing food !

Outstanding food and service. Will definitely be back. Arigato!!!

Very lucky to get a table at this busy restaurant where they cook the food ON YOUR TABLE! Lovely staff, really delicious food. We had the speciality, okonomi-yaki, a Japanese crispy fried pancake, thick with lotus root, carrots, cabbage, red onion, mushrooms, greens, some flour batter and tempura bits. They top it with Japanese mayo, a citrussy Japanese Worcestershire-style sauce, seaweed dust and amazing bonito flakes which curl/dance in the heat! Also steak teppan-yaki which Rhug estate fillet, absolutely melt-in-the-mouth. Added a side of steamed, marinated aubergine with radish. Scrumptious, wish we had had time to eat more but we had to dash. Highly recommended.

This is quite possibly the worst dining experience I have had in London after 5+ years. Just wow. One of our friends had a childcare emergency and could not make it - the waitress threatened to take his deposit for free. I understand venues have their booking policies - but most venues I've been to also understand that life happens. We were subsequently "scolded" for not ordering enough food to meet the pricing quota/ not ordering dessert/ not using the chopsticks to cut the Okonomiyaki the way the waitress liked. The table next door was aggressively confronted about not paying service charge - it should be optional. To be fair the food was not bad and the waitress was quite mindful separating the veg and non-veg sections - if you have food allergy I feel like they can be trusted to not kill you. However, do check the menu before you rock up because you'd be getting FAR from the bang of your buck.

Hidden gem! Great food and value for money. Organic ingredients which is a major bonus. The staff was very friendly and created a really positive atmosphere. Will come back!

Very rich, genuine Japanese. Great value for the price. Close to British and Covent Garden. They are also charming!

A really lovely place and the staff were really friendly. Just make sure you wear a t-shirt/ thin top as it can get really hot.

Amazing experience and amazing food. Everyone is super nice in this restaurant

One of my favourite London restaurants. A taste of Osaka next to the British Museum.

Japanese restaurant with the griddle in the center of each table, where they basically cook most of the dishes on the menu before your eyes. There are many items on the menu but in the end they are all similar and particular things, strange I dare say, but in any case I managed not to go out fasting and even eat a small piece of meat. The beer is good and the sake too.

Food was so amazing and fresh! Loved the Japanese city pop and our hostess from Osaka ❤️

We had an amazing time. Great good & service. Would def recommend. 🇧🇪🇳🇱

It's worth the experience. With a large omelet and some noodles, 2 eat well served.

Love the okonomi-yaki here, great for vegetarians with veggie and tofu options, top service and the atmosphere is good. Isn’t the first and won’t be the last time I visit.

Really nice restaurant. Staff is nice and polite. If you like Japanese food and the food being made in front of you, this is the place to go. Bonus points for being next ro the British museum.

Excited about cooking methods The staff recommended it very well. For the first time eating here ❣️❣️

Just exceptional . A unique taste of Japan transported to London . Amazing food , great service , superb value for money .. a true gem . Don’t miss this experience

Very different type of Japanese food. Okonomiyaki is great. Probably a bit overpriced though. Service was good, they cook the food on the table in front of you but it's not quite teppanyaki.

Had a really good experience here. First time trying okonomiyaki and it was superb. I loved the service from the staff as they were extremely friendly and personal. They asked if we knew what Okonomiyaki and explained to us briefly what it is. Most of the meat and veg are organic which is a plus. The matcha ice cream is a must try as well. Amazing.

Very authentic and unique as far as London goes.

We had a very good waiter who cooked delicious okonomiyaki right in front of us. The experience was awesome. The food was great and the service was excellent. Would recommend visiting this place if you plan to visit the British Museum.

Fantastic service! Great to have a restaurant dedicated to Okonomiyaki.

Delicious food, and service was amazing!

Great food and atmosphere! Prepare to wait if you do walk in, but worth it.

Besides the smokey atmosphere, the service and food were extraordinary! We were served by the most lovely attending lady (I think her name was Elize, but couldn’t hear). She was simply stellar!

Second visit for the experience live cooking of okonomiyaki. This time i try the pork and prawn okonomiyaki

Fantastic food. I could recommend dishes but it would simply be a list of everything we ate!

It has the weirdest and most bizarre “rule of first come first serve” for walk-ins. We have 3 people and 2 of us arrived first. We wanted a table (there was 1 available at the time) and they don’t allow us to sit down unless there’s exactly 3 of us. Conveniently my friend came just 2 mins after, but they gave the table to someone else and had us wait for another 30 mins (after we’ve already queued 20 mins for the spot). Decided not to eat here and never come back again

Great restaurant service and food is lovely. First time I had okonomiyaki at a friend's recommendation well worth trying.

This is the first Japanese restaurant in London where I felt as if I was in Japan. I have had not so great experience in Japanese restaurants in London in general but this place really offers authentic Japanese food and authentic Japanese service. I went there with my friends for my birthday celebration and we all had a great time. I now understand why you have to book at least two weeks in advance! This place is one of a kind and I highly recommend 👍👍

Loved it! Great food, great service. Will be back for sure.

Lovely service, explained the food and origin of it really well. Very helpful explaining what types of things we could order. Food was really delicious too!

SPECTACULAR!! Hard to put in words just what a wonderful experience this was. The food was delicious and had us all closing our eyes and pausing conversation to take in the flavours. Beyond even the incredible quality was the service. The waiter - his name was Michael - was so kind and patient with a large group of us with various allergies and constant questions. We were there late and worried that they needed to close and he made sure we did not feel rushed and got all the desserts we wanted. He explained all the dishes perfectly. My parents are getting on in years and he was so patient with them and willing to repeat anything he said. It’s really a rarity to come across an experience like this. It was just a perfect evening. It felt like we had made a trip to Japan for the day. The prices were incredibly reasonable. Just 10/10 no improvements necessary just thank you.

Incredible food and service. I was particularly amazed to find a high-quality, clean baby changing station in the MEN'S room (as a man here with a newborn). All new parents should come here.

Fantastic experience, first class service and gorgeous Japanese food cooked and served at your table by a wonderful waitress!

Posto incantevole, personale gentilissimo e cibo veramente buonissimo. Tappa obbligatoria a Londra, pochi posti offrono esperienze del genere.

Food is very good, we loved the gyoza and omasoba but portions realllllly small for the price. We spent £180 for four of us and were still hungry after. Also not a fan of the huge deposit (£10/head) and no cancellation system.

ELITE!!! Amazing friendly and attentive service and delicious food, highly recommended!

The authenticity and knowledge of the lovely people of restaurant "Abeno" have made visiting this place an unforgettable experience. Having previously eating at an okonamiyaki restaurant in Japan - this is the next best thing in Europe. The people are lovely and cook your food fresh and skillful at the table. The only slight downside was the temperature inside. It was pretty hot. Furthermore we have enjoyed ourselves immensely and will definitely be back. Thanks Abeno staff!!!

Very tasty, reasonably priced, fun to see food prepared in front of you

I love abeno! Their service was incredible, all the staff members are very polite and the food is incredible. I love the yokohama sundae in particular.

Took a chance and turned up without a booking and managed to get a table for two. Food and staff were fantastic. Never experienced this type of Japanese cooking before. Will definitely return again

If you want okonomiyaki in London, you don't have a lot of choice. The good news is that Abeno is really very good. Its default is Osaka style, but for a bit extra you can get them to add noodles and turn it into Hiroshima style (our preference, partly because my wife and I had our first okonomiyaki on Miyajima). Lots of choice of toppings, but the classic pork and seafood is a winner. The people were very friendly and professional. This is a great place, and I booked out next visit at the end of the dinner. If I was being very picky, I'd say the gyoza needed to be fried in a bit more oil, and the okonomiyaki could have had a bit more katsuobushi on top. But minor niggles in an otherwise excellent experience. Visited late Oct-23.

Excellent service, friendly staff, great food and a unique experience overall. However it's very crowded and fully booked for days in advance

Such a great place for an authentic japanese experience. We enjoyed it very much and so will you.

Food: 🚫Makes me want to vomit 🚫Bad 🚫 Decent 🚫Good ✔️Very good 🚫 Heaven's blessing on this world Service 🚫 Average shonen fan (this is a joke obviously their not all bad) 🚫Just getting their job done 🚫 Average 🚫Quite friendly ✔️Very friendly Child-friendliness 🚫Your child will have nightmares 🚫you can bring one here but I would not recommend it 🚫Average 🚫Very child friendly ✔️Great with children and adults 🚫ITS A CHILD RESTAURANT WHAT DO YOU EXPECT Atmosphere: 🚫Set in the sewers 🚫Quite ugly ✔️Fine 🚫Good atmosphere 🚫Is this earth? Just great Japanese food one of the best In London. It doesn't do sushi sadly but it doesn't really matter.

Okonomiyaki: unpronounceable, delicious, Japanese, pancake style omelettes with various toppings cooked for you in front of you by super nice and charming staff. 3 of us shared 3 different ones and then added a teppanyaki to share. Additionally we tried their hot pancake dessert with bean and mochi matcha ice cream which was delicious. An incredible concept, unique in London, bold flavours and doing it since 1993 in this restaurant. Book in advance as it’s impossible to walk in and get a table. 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.

One of the very best restaurants I've ever been to.

Fantastic authentic japanese restaurant with wide selection of okonomiyaki and other dishes. The drink selection is also great and everything is super fresh and tasty. The okonomiyaki is prepared in front of you, the staff is super friendly and helpful. This is the second time I have been here and surely not the last time. You need to book to get a table, and the restaurant is really busy so make sure you plan in advance, but it's worth it!

Outstanding customer service. We had a very pleasurable experience with the staff working here. They explain every dish and the process of them preparing and cooking it which was very handy. Starting off with the deep fried tofu; crispy and lightweight of an eat; thick sauce complimented it well. Chicken kara-age was crunchy… Now onto the main part which was the okonomi-yaki. This was my first time being exposed to this dish so I was quite intrigued. You get a variety of flavours and textures for each one topped with Japanese mayonnaise, soy sauce and katsuobushi (shaved fish) which was like a burst for your tastebuds every time. My personal favourite is the Osaka version which includes kimchi rather than squid unlike the Tokyo and Sapporo. You get the slight acidic taste of the kimchi which makes it the winner for me. The only reason why this review is bumped down to a 4-star was because of the dessert. My birikien sundae includes a small hotcake drizzled in whisky and finished with cream, chocolate pieces, berries, cream and matcha ice cream. The toppings served well to balance out the strong whisky taste, but overall, it was slightly off-putting because of the alcohol. It was small and rather expensive compared to the others. Overall, I’m satisfied.

Love the place. Nice people. Really good food. The only issue is you need to book well in advance. When will another restaurant be open?

Such great tempura and okonomiyaki is world class. I definitely recommend visiting.

The food was incredible. Their okonomi-yaki is a must. The service was observant and timely, and they gave us great advice on what to order. They even prepared a take-home dish that was perfectly coordinated to be ready when we were about to head out. It's hot, and you leave kind of smelling like okonomi-yaki, so keep that in mind when you pick your outfit.

So good. Really authentic okonomiyaki which is made right in front of you on a hot plate, plus variety of other great dishes (highly recommend the aubergine starter). Super friendly service as well, and minimal queue (4:30pm on Saturday afternoon)

Went with my husband and two children - one of whom is the most fussy eaters ever - and we all loved it. Staff very welcoming, friendly and excellent at explaining the menu and choices. Food was delicious and reasonably priced. Lots of dishes for all of us to share. Would highly recommend

One of my favourite restaurant experiences, wonderful food cooked at the table by talented, knowledgeable and friendly staff. A lot to choose from but they are happy to explain what's on offer, also interesting drinks to compliment the food. The best okonomiyaki i've had bar none.

Nice service and the food was very good! I tried the vegetarian okonomiyaki with tofu, and it was delicious. Recommended place, also a vegan option and they take care of vegetarian diets. Tip: reservation is recommended.

The okonomiyaki is amazing! The service is very good and attentive. The space is not very big, so it is advised to book. Although it is on Museum street, in front of the British main entrance, this may be one of the few restaurants that is not a tourist trap.

Joel and the team were incredible! Please go! Just go! Seriously stop thinking and book it now!!

Tbh the experience was worse than what we would expect. The modern yaki (モダン焼き) was nothing similar to what I had in Osaka. The yakisoba was so dry. Pork yaki is so-so. This average level doesn’t match the price.

The beef okonomiyaki was out of this world and so was the service, all for a very reasonable price.

Delicious food, excellent and detailed service! Would highly recommend

Amazing! Delicious food and such lovely customer service. A great family business 😀

Okonomiyaki a name it will take a few visits to remember And a taste you will never forget. Ethical product sourcing, fresh tasty and local. I always bring visitors here and they always love it! Update.. Abeno Too has shut down but the original Abeno is still going strong.

A completely unique experience. Very tasty food and very friendly staff

Amazing food and very friendly staff! Would definitely return 🤩

We loved Okonomiyaki when we first tried it in Japan and we were delighted to find this restaurant with amazing Okonomiyaki in Europe! We were a group of 5 and we tried five different types of Okonomiyaki. All of them were really good! The waiters are very friendly and the atmosphere is really authentic☺️ Probably good to make a reservation in advance.

Great slice of Japan in London. Best Okonomiyaki experience outside of Japan I've had. Attention to detail was excellent. Brought back a lot of great memories from eating in Japan. Only thing that is teeeeny weeeeeny critique is get the large portion unless you want just a snack. Otherwise almost faultless.

런던믹스와 옴소바(오므라이스) 먹었습니다. 옴소바는 오무라이스인데 밥대신 면이 들어가있습니다. 맛있고 아이도 매우 좋아했네요. 런던믹스는 디럭스는 손바닥 정도의 크기로 한명이 딱 먹을만큼입니다. 빅사이즈를 먹었는데 와이프랑 둘이 먹으니 적당하더군요. 여러가지 재료를 믹스해서 주는데 연어, 베이컨, 치즈, 양배추 등을 믹스해서줍니다. 일본 마요네즈랑 소스를 뿌려주는데 생각보다 짜서 양념 없는게 더 좋았을 것 같습니다. 직원들이 친절하고 요리해주면서 설명을 해줬습니다.

A truly special experience We had Matthew serve us throughout the meal, who was very attentive and informative of the meal while cooking it in front of us! We had Kara-age, Kimchi, Chicken, broccoli and Cheese Okonomi-yaki, Tofu Okonomi-yaki, Goma-ae, prawn gyozas and all the food was amazing. A great way to celebrate my birthday and will for sure be back!

This is our first time trying お好き焼きhere!! To be honest we were spending minutes look at the menu……staffs are very helpful! We have 夏の思い出the memories of summer and オムそば soba noodles under an omelette. Both of them are very tasty, and authentic! FYI You’ll need to reserve a table there, they’re very popular and this is my second time waiting as a walk in! Not suitable for a single person though, they don’t have space for that.

Really craved okonomiyaki after leaving Japan for years and this place is legit, so tasty and the staff is lovely too. They will speak in Japanese if you know some so that was fun too! ごちそうさまでした!!

Best okonomiyaki I've had in London

من المطاعم اللي مستحيل ازور لندن وما ازوره،، الذ اوكونمياكي في العالم، الواقيو لذيييذ، مشكلته الوحيدة صغر المحل ولزوم الحجز في اوقات كثير او الانتظار

Overall was good, flavour was quite nice. Service was friendly.

Great food and very friendly staff! It’s quite busy on a weeknight so luckily we reserved a table ahead - not a fan of the pre payment reservation system but understand why it’s done. I love watching staff make okonomiyaki at our table. We ordered 1 side, 2 big okonomiyaki between 3 adults which were good portions and fair prices. We also ordered a pancake for dessert - it was delicious but seems quite pricey in comparison.