Japanese Adventures @ Oko Oko

644A Swanston St, Carlton VIC

9942 0086

11am - 9pm Weekdays

12am - 9pm Weekends

A favourite uni-lunch spot for many, Oko Oko remains at one of the few okonomiyaki specialty restaurants in the CBD. With a spacious and colourful interior with a focus on orange which gives a bright and casual vibe, you'll feel quite comfortable eating here.

Interior 1

Interior 2

I absolutely love the entrance side of the restaurant. With it's colourful and playful interior decorations, it's a relaxing and family friendly location.

I recently just came back from Japan so I was craving okonomiyaki for a long time. Obviously the quality is no where near as amazing as okonomiyaki in Osaka or Tokyo, but I came with little expectations to not disappoint myself.

Chicken Kara-age ($5.50)

Crispy fried chicken pieces served with sweet & spicy sauce

The Kara-age was quite disappointed, it was dry and didn't give that tender feeling that fried chicken should have. A shame as the sauce paired really well with it.

(4/10)

Classic Okonomiyaki Pancake ($5.90)

flour, egg, cabbage, corn and fresh potato with ingredients. Topped with housemade okonomiyaki sauce and mayonaise

The okonomiyaki was actually pretty dry, compared to other restaurants it ranks pretty low but that might just be the items I ordered. The first few bites were decent but there was a lack of sauce near the end. 

Especially since the okonomiyaki was actually quite dry, I ended up having a quarter of the pancake left without anything to accompany it.

(5.5/10)

Cheese Okonomiyaki ($7.90)

This okonomiyaki pizza is topped with mozzarella cheese, baked until golden.

To be honest, after the first 2 dishes I was skeptical whether the food here are made fresh or just prepared poorly. The cheese okonomiyaki was definitely overcooked which resulted in the cheese being hard instead of soft and less 'burnt'. 

(4.5/10)

I like to give restaurants a few tries before I completely judge them as some days can be a hit or miss. Hopefully it improves by the next time I come here.

Food - 4.5 / 10

Ambiance - 8.5 / 10

Service - 7 / 10

Total FoOodie Points - 20 / 30