OKAN South Bank in Lambeth

Authentic and delicious food with a lot of options on the menu. The kitchen is open so you leave the restaurant smelling a bit, but it's worthwhile.

Nice food here. The okinimiyaki sauce was not overpowering which is always my fear. The restaurant itself is more like cafe/diner and was cold near the door. Hard to get servers attention when its busy.

Very small but the food is really excellent! Eating at the counter in front of the chef who prepares has a completely different flavour! Super recommended for those who love traditional Japanese cuisine

The chefs are all Japanese. It is authentic Japanese cuisine with a very salty taste. The beef curry is too salty and I don’t recommend it. The Okonomiyaki and fried noodles are pretty good.

Hidden gem! Tiny restaurant but massive on flavour!! Taka was super helping us celebrate our son’s 18th. We’ll definitely be back.

This place offers authentic Japanese dishes and they were all delicious! I had the OKAN omu mix and shared with my partner the tamagoyaki with eel and matcha mochi icecream. He had special curry mix. The OKAN omu mix was delicious and I can see why it’s popular! The squid and prawns were cooked to perfection. Nothing was overcooked or chewy. The noodles were also flavourful! I don’t know what kind of noodles they used but each bite bursted with flavour. The tamagoyaki was also delicious, and there was a good amount of eel in it. My partner’s curry was also good. Lastly, the matcha mochi icecream was the perfect ending for our meal. The mochi itself was nothing like the mochi icecream you can get at a supermarket. The mochi was the perfect amount of chewy and not too thick or thin. To be honest, the ones at supermarkets are quite thin. The dusted matcha on top of the mochi icecream was a nice touch too. Overall the food was great! The atmosphere was great but quite crowded once it is full. The staff were very busy so it took some tries to catch their attention. 10/10 recommend. I also recommend making a reservation because it gets busy - quick!

Amazing food, exceptional customer service. Highly recommend.

Visited with my mum on a Friday - pre booking definitely needed! I had the okonomiyaki and my mum had the curry, both really tasty. Drinks great and the cheesecake was too. Brilliant atmosphere, like being in Japan - would definitely recommend a visit!

Stumbled across here while walking back to hotel stone throw from the London eye. So original, we had ice green tea to start. Loved how the chef cooked in front of us. Food was delicious and full of flavour

Taka the waiter was super friendly, patient and helpful

Everything was as expected, but I was surprised with that they refused the customer tried to charge their mobile phone with their socket on the wall. 🙄🤨

It is a nice cozy little spot for Japanese cuisine. Staff were very friendly and helpful. Food prices are reasonable. We ordered pork dumplings with Okonomayaki and pot of green tea.

Street food, which worked out to be similar to the prices at Langhams (Expensive). Hidden behind a screen , consists of four or five tiny tables and a tiny kitchen. With none of the charm of a Japanese street food establishment. Food and drinks were overpriced, even for that part of London. The Yuzu cheesecake desert was nice, but you get a piece about the size of a postage stamp.

Very tasty food. We sat directly at the bar and were able to watch the food being prepared. Service is very friendly.

Friendly Staff and Nice place to have dinner !

A very small place that has amazing okonomiyaki that's the main reason we went there. A bit of a squish when people walk past you but great food and service

Very original and freshly cooked Japanese food. Thank you!

I walked through a door in London and came out in Japan. Was delicious! Taka was AMAZING . He looked after us so well. Very kind and attentive

This Okan is so cozy, lovely location

It was an alright location, we went at an off-peak time. The atmosphere was great and the waiters were friendly. However, I definitely feel like the food wasn’t particularly good, and I felt rather disappointed given the high reviews other commenters had. note that booking is required in order to get a space!

Had the most amazing food at Okan, the special Okonomiyaki was a highlight. This was all made much better by wonderful service from Taka! Thank you so much to the whole team at Okan :)

Taka was very helpful with vegan options! The atmosphere was beautiful with such lovely service and amazing food

Delicious food and nice service. Recommended!

I was super disappointed with my experience. The place had a nice vibe, but I was ignored for about 10 minutes. The food felt overpriced. The beef don was nice but lacked sufficient beef, and the okonomiyaki was okay, though it had hardly any meat—I'd recommend going vegetarian instead. The worst part was the drinks: the hot elderflower and ginger tea was essentially elderflower cordial, which was far too sweet, with just a few strips of ginger floating on top! I really wanted to like this place and even recommended it to friends, but unfortunately, I won’t be returning. There are better alternatives in London.

Great lunch out. Quick service. Good food and only can accommodate a few tables! So make sure you book :)

In the middle of London, behind thick walls, this gem of cosiness, friendliness and healthy and cheap food is hidden. You can watch the preparation. Reservation recommended.

Came back after a while, still one of our favourite spots in London. Food is amazing and you really feel Japan when you're sitting down

Thank you to Taka and the team at Okan (south bank). Our first okoniyaki but not our last! We will be back! Lovely food and service sit at the bar, watch your food being prepared expertly in form of your eyes! Also try the specials and the sake tasting option! We dare you not to want more or to want to come back! arigatōgozaimasu Taka!

Taka the manager is a really nice guy. I liked my okonomiaki and the cheese was good but frozen.... I think properly thawed it could be 5* I usually come here when on a trip to Hayward gallery or royal festival hall. Cool place

Fantastic. Everything was great but especially the onkonomayiki and plum wine

Food tasted disgusting.. regret eating

Been coming to this little Japanese okonomiyaki restaurant for a number of years now but something has clearly changed. I noticed the menu is quite a bit larger than it used to be and there appear to be different chefs in the kitchen too. Whilst the atmosphere and location are great the two okonomiyakis (their signature dish) we ordered were bad. Full of uncooked thick pieces of cabbage, burnt bacon and overall a really basic taste - something more akin to a microwave meal. Huge shame!

Great Osakan food, great service, with a nice and talkative chef (Taka, from Tokyo). Highly Recommended.

Absolutely lovely Japanese place. It's like stepping through the door from Waterloo to a backstreet restaurant in Osaka. Delicious food, lovely staff and really cute little place. And really reasonably priced. Highly recommended!

Best place ever! Busy in evening so book a table, good value and perfect service from Taka 🫶🏾 おいしい!

Really lovely service and the food is great too! Tried the beef and kimchi pancake and 🤤 it was delicious. Fresh matcha mochi ice cream was also nice and refreshing. The atmosphere feels very authentic to restaurants in Japan.

One of the best Japanese restaurants I have been to. The food tastes amazing and authentic plus the staff is very kind. Would recommend 100%

Honestly some of the Japanese cuisine we’ve ever had. We like this restaurant so much we go out of our way to get here whenever in England. Definitely worth a visit or ten!

Great experience!!! Great food Worth wait for a table

It’s not authentic and food is not hot. Staff is nice but food is totally not up to standard.

This place has serious hygiene issues. The kitchen itself ignores basically every FSA guidelines, ingredients exposed to the air, fridge not shut, open-air cooking not properly covered, ineffective ventilation etc. And it seems to have direct access to some sort of a cleaning room (with cleaning appliances exposed). The food itself is nowhere near authentic as well, salty, oily and pricey.

Great food. Great service. Taka-San was very helpful. I lived in Japan for 6 years and this is the real deal!

A little authentic Japanese canteen style restaurant that makes you feel like you’re in a back alleyway in Osaka! Food was delicious with a good selections of Japanese sake, wine and cocktails. There is a special menu on the board too. We didn’t get to try the curry rice as it was sold out! Taka was very friendly and accommodating - he tried and got us a table without reservations on a busy Friday instead of turning us down straight away. Thank you 🙏 Definitely worth a visit!

Small and very authentic place to eat great japanese food!

I feel bad rating this place low because the service and vibes are really nice. You can watch them make the okonomiyaki while you wait. The only way I can describe the food is SALT. Yakisoba just wasn’t good, and quite salty despite massively lacking in flavor. My sister had to drown it with tap water to finish it. The okonomiyaki was very average, but filling at least. I know this isn’t in Japan, but I’ve had far better Japanese street fare in the US. I honesty can make it better myself and do not understand the high ratings. Cheaper options are limited in the area I suppose.

Food was incredible, so authentic and delicious, vibe was 10/10, Taka and the staff are so friendly!!

Excellent very authentic Japanese food. The tepanayaki, udon, and onigiri were all to die for. The vibe is also pure Tokyo (cute, small, and hot). Will definitely be back.

Very lucky to get the reservation last minute! We ordered Waguyu teppanyaki and Pork Okonomiyaki, simply amazing and everything in the restaurant brings you to Japan. Thank you Taka-san for your awesome service:)

Fantastic food in what feels like a very authentic Japanese restaurant. Onigiri to die for as were the okonomiyaki.

Great authentic experience. The staff is very friendly and accommodating. Food was really good. The manager Taka was extremely nice and we enjoyed our dinner very much.

I had the pork and Kimchi Okonomiaki. At first, it felt too salty with the sauces but as I ate it, the flavours got more balanced. A tiny / intimate setting reminding me of a backstreet tiny restaurant I went in Osaka, Japan. The staff was very attentive and the lady who served us is from Tokyo.

Awesome food and service from Taki, i recommend the Wagyu and the Sake 😀

Top food, chirpy crew. Ace little secret place if you are on the south bank. You ought to call ahead, because it is limited capacity.

Served by Taka and had excellent meal! Highly recommend and will be back with the kids for sure. Total find.

First time in a japanese restaurant, food amazing friendly helpful service, Taka gave us good advice on what to order, would definitely go again

Enjoyed the food and atmosphere. Taka was very pleasant.

I had lunch at OKAN a couple of days ago with a small group of friends, between the space, the staff and the food, we had a amazing and authentic experience. The food was incredible, we had several plates to share and everything was perfect. Our waiter Taka, gave us some great suggestions of sake and shochu to pair with our meal, it was great having a chat with him, it def made our experience all the better.

Thank u taka. Good service. Hope to eat oden Next time

It’s a long-lost Japanese taste, and the guests are treated very considerately. The environment of a Teppanyaki izakaya, Okonomiyaki with half-boiled omelette, and the taste of local Japanese curry show the craftsmanship of the craftsmen. A long time missed japanese cuisine. Taka and his colleagues showed the high standard of service with their heart and professions. They took really good care of us due to the food allergies issue. They tried their very best to let me enjoy my dinner without any worries. The foods were fantastic which really brought out our memories of Japan trips.

Just a minute walk from the London eye, Okan-South bank is an authentic Japanese restaurant featuring the okonomiyaki and izakaya-like atmosphere. My family shared dishes ranging from Japanese curry, donguri rice bowl, teppanyaki, udon noodles and the must-try okonomiyaki. Taka san and his crew are friendly, professional and helpful. They understand their food well and help my wife to pick the soy sauce free dishes (e.g., grilled chicken with yuzu kosho). If possible, you should not miss the bar table to enjoy the food and appreciate the specific Japanese cooking skills. My family had a fabulous experience there and I would love to visit again in the near future. I am fancy to have a grilled, original onigiri; simply cannot resist any authentic and classical Janpanese food.

Great authentic food, street style. Small place.

The food was superb, came quickly, and the staff were very friendly. Definitely worth a stop if you're in the area.

It feels like you step into a little pocket or Japan! The staff seems to be all native, everyone is incredibly nice! The food is out of this world, I had the unagi onigiri, the prawn gyoza and the chicken gyoza as well as the king prawn okonomiyaki and I couldn't rate it high enough. Taka-san was super nice and we had a nice chat. Can't wait to come back here honestly!

What delicious food!! Excellent service from Taka too. We will be back!

Authentic Japanese food you can't resist. I loved the osaka pancake. It would be great of the owner improve the air ventilation.

Good food but a 20 minute gap between my meal and my friends meal

Feel like eating in Japan, love the food and atmosphere!

Very nice and traditional Japanese restaurant, great food and feel like in Japan

Wonderful service from Taka and to top it off also food was incredible. Large portions and outstanding taste. The whole vibe of the place screams Japanese Izakaya which is exactly what we were looking for. Would come again and hope to soon. 100% recommend Okan, if you're thinking of coming here then do it asap. You won't be sorry.

Absolutely class. Make sure you get the yuzu sake… belter.

Great authentic experience with delicious food.

Very tasty food and great service.

A tiny basic restaurant but a fun experience with very pleasant, hard-working staff. Definitely street food, heavy on the eggs, kimchi, sauce/mayo. As they say themselves; they are not "chefs".

Small space but delicious dishes in a typical Japanese setup.

I wanted to eat some delicious food in London. I discovered this okonomiyaki restaurant on Instagram🇯🇵✨ Most of the employees are Japanese. I was able to use it with confidence 😎 Looking at the menu, apart from okonomiyaki, there are also yakisoba and udon. In addition to rice bowls, there is also a wide variety of izakaya menu items such as gyoza. Okonomiyaki is full of cabbage and fluffy. It was as delicious as it looked ❤️ This is a shop I would like to stop by if I go to London again 🤭

I love this place! Wonderful food and service, superb setting

Very nice staff. Let us sit down and dine despite 20 min before closing. The atmosphere and food were incredible. Tried the okonomiyaki for the first time and it was delicious!

Felt that the gyoza was probably frozen and thawed so the skin was mushy and not nice.

As a Japanese person, I was very excited to try this seemingly authentic place but it turned out to be a huge disappointment. Not only was the food mediocre at best, gyoza skin was not cooked and soggy. Their onigiri was bland and not cooked right. Even after I mentioned this to the waitress, she insisted it was cooked right. Ugh, never challenge a customer when you are trying to point out basic flaw such as uncooked food. Their okonomiyaki sauce was so salty and overpowering, I couldn’t taste anything else other than MSG and keeps you thirsty all day. Bad service and food. Will not be returning.

One star is being generous. We sat down with our 4 year old son and were promptly ignored for 15 minutes so got up and left so am unable to review the food. Never experienced anything like this. I've worked in hospitality in 20 years and have never left a venue so speechless. If you don't want children in your restaurant, a policy outlining this would be advantageous.

So beautiful place!!! I felt like in Japan, music, internal design made already amazing food even more delicious!! Loved it !!! Definitely will be back soon 😊😊😊

It's like being back in comfort zone, Osaka, yet in London.. Authentic throughout, with a comfort experience tucked away from the busy beats around Big Ben. If you want an escape with a taste of Japan, THIS is it 👌 Arigatōgozaimasu.

Really nice casual izakaya where you can enjoy small dish and drinks at the same time! The food is very authentic and affordable. Also there are many kinds of drinks so it’s good to spend time there trying different kinds of drinks. My favourite was of course highball! Make sure you don’t wear your favourite cloth there as it can catch the smell of food.

The food was amazing, we ordered the main dishes and tapas and everything was perfect! I really recommend this place if you want to eat something really from Japan :)

Nipped in here for a quick dinner (literally 15 minutes) before watching Witness for the Prosecution. I asked if they could pull it off and they repaid my faith. Small space but very comfortable, counter seats allow you to watch the chefs cook on the teppan, and the service is prompt, professionals and personable. Nice rustic experience. Pack your fancy coat if you do not want it to get smoky.

Fantastic. Wife and I have been to Japan and this is almost an identical copy to a standard izakaya with really well done food. Yakisoba was fresh and had perfectly cooked prawn. King mushroom okonomiyaki was perfectly seasoned and filling. Took some onigiri to go since we liked it so much and those were great on the way home!

Very small restaurant, but feels very authentic. Food was frehs and delicious. Service was friendly.

Very good soups! A bit dirty. I recommend

Tasty okonomiyaki and outstanding service. Everyone is so friendly and attentive. I felt like I was really in Japan!

Small busy restaurant Friendly staff We wanted to try 2 Things on the menu that they didn’t have which was a bit disappointing No children’s menu

I received Kombu Shimeji Okonomiyaki. The atmosphere inside the restaurant was nice and the food was delicious, so I was very satisfied. The interior of the restaurant is designed in the style of a Japanese izakaya, and the Japanese music playing makes you feel as if you are actually in Japan. thank you very much. I'll come back later.

It took me three days of trying to get a table here and it was worth the wait. I sampled several of their specials including the Dashi Onigiri and I really enjoyed it. The Wagyu Oko special was incredible. It was a dinner I will think about!

An amazing place - tucked away from the hustle and bustle of Southbank. We were lucky enough to enjoy the Kombu Eel Omlet - it was yummy! Fantastic service - thank you Takuma and team

Food and service really poor. Made to feel unwelcome on arrival. Food tastes bitter and burnt. Not cheap at all. Decoration and vibe feel quite japanese though is a consolation.

Everything super good, food so delicious but if you dropped a knife on the floor, you should wash instead of putting the magnetic holder.

This little okonomiyaki parlour is a small but authentic Japanese gem of a restaurant. The atmosphere of this place mimics what a small traditional okonomiyaki restaurant is like in Japan and also has the lively ambiance of a traditional izakaya. The food here is very delicious and you can order small bites or starters like edamame and lotus roots, but the main dish that has to be tasted is the okonomiyaki, Japanese style pancake. My friend ordered the pork, while I also ordered the pork but added squid and a fried egg as additional toppings. The food is very tasty, and although I prefer my fried egg more runny than well done, it still didn't disappoint and they generally do make a runny fried egg. The dessert that we had was a delicious matcha mochi ice cream which hit the spot after our meal Definitely a restaurant to visit especially if you would like to try the Japanese style pancakes, small bites or experience the similar lively atmosphere and decor that they generally have in a Japanese okonomiyaki parlour. ごちそうさまでした!

Had an awesome Okonomiyaki experience！

Absolutely awesome. Had 2 different soups with soba noodles, curry and a special with Wagyu beef. Everything really tasty. The small restaurant itself is fascinating. The decoration, the cooking you can watch... I wish I had a restaurant like that near me!

We received very warm service throughout our time here, and the atmosphere was very laid-back. Okonomiyaki was great🤩 I was hoping the yaki onigiri would be crispier but it is still super tasty nonetheless. Yuzu honey tea and both matcha and yuzu cheesecakes were delightful. Overall highly recommend coming here, will definitely be returning👼🏻👼🏻👼🏻

I'm a big fan of Japanese food. And I like this place. At the shop decorated in Japanese style and the food was delicious