Kanemoto's restaurant

I promised a review of Kanemoto's new okonomiyaki restaurant when I could get to it and yesterday I was finally able to do so. Situated next to Higashi-Umeda metro station the restaurant has three floors. The first is made up of private booths, the second tables and an okonomi counter and the third I didn't see but I believe it is more rooms. Decor is modernist with black walls and on the second floor baseballs being used as a counterpoint to the unrelieved black. Apart from the music this is the only obvious indication of the profession of its owner. That being said staff do wear T-shirts with the number '06' on the back and a little graphic of a baseball player wtih an okonomi scoop on the front. The music consists of the Tigers players personal songs when they step up to the plate. Staff are fast and efficient and friendly and this helps the overall experience.
We arrived early (around five-thirty) but there were already quite a few people in the restaurant. It might be a good idea to make a reservation as the restaurant already seems to be popular. Anyway we were seated at the counter which was nice and clean. Drinks came quickly and were suitably chilled and the atmosphere was nice and friendly. Several dishes are styled 'tetsujin' (iron man - Kanemoto's nickname) and these are very interesting. Portions are enormous - the salad we had was fresh and tasty and big. Likewise our tonpei (pork wrapped in egg). This was very tasty with the pork being very tender. For okonomi we had the tetsujin okonomi which included mochi (Japanese rice cake) and a savoury beef stew as topping instead of the normal sauce and mayonaise. This was delicious and very easy to eat and once again quite substantial. The atmosphere was relaxed and though smokers are allowed, you couldn't smell them.
The bill was quite reasonable and for the amount of food we had it was very good value. Kanemoto is apparently quite an okonomi fan and it shows. The menu has quite a variety of dishes both okonomi and Korean style and next time we go back we will try others. Definitely recommended

I had the opportunity to eat there twice in November, and found it very enjoyable. We sat at the counter once (no booking), and had a table on the third floor the other time (with a booking a couple of days in advance).
The staff is very friendly indeed, and the food delicious.
Definitely a must-go for okonomiyaki lovers, (irrespective of who the owner is).

I went to Kanemoto's restaurant and unfortunately had a very different experience. The place is definitely stylish and clean and the staff is friendly and helpful. We arrived shortly after 5:00 PM (with a reservation) and were the first to be seated at the counter at the second floor. A staff member was nice enough to offer to take our picture in front of Kanemoto's autograph on the wall. The place soon filled up with customers.

However, sadly, things went downhill from there. The food is actually a bit pricey and the portions small (from an Osaka perspective). Customers are paying for the Kanemoto connection, but hey, I thought, I'll pay a little more for Aniki. We ordered the Kanemoto special okonomiyaki, which was also small and pricey. And undercooked. Now we in Osaka know our okonomiyaki and this stuff unfortunately wasn't very good. But we ate it until we noticed a hair stuck in it. We informed the staff and they offered to cook us a new okonomiyaki but we were full. They offered no other compensation other than a weak gomen nasai.

Very sad indeed. I hope it was only a bad day for the shop and will probably give them another chance. It would be unfortunate if Kanemoto's name was being used for a second rate establishment.