OKO Takoyaki: The Best Vegan Takoyaki in Osaka
Osaka is often referred to as “The Kitchen of Japan”, and it’s famous for its street food. One of its most famous dishes is takoyaki. If you’ve never had it, they’re traditionally made with minced octopus, shaped into balls, covered in batter and deep fried. As a vegan traveller, I assumed it’d be one of those things I’d just never try. I was wrong. That’s where OKO Takoyaki comes in.
This tiny restaurant near the Dotonbori area of central Osaka is easy to miss, but hard to forget. It’s tucked away on the first floor, accessed by some heavily graffitied steps. There’s no flashy corporate branding here, it’s got a punk DIY vibe that wouldn’t be out of place in East London. Stepping inside felt like I was stepping back into 2006: Blink-182 playing on the speakers, graffiti on the walls, a self-service bar with boxed wine and bottled spirits in the corner. For a minute, I felt as if I should be pulling out the black eyeliner and fishnetted arms of my teenage years.
If you’re in Osaka and want to get a feel for the real heart of the city as well as getting some seriously good grub, read on.
The Need-To-Know
| Vegan Status | Vegan and gluten-free |
| Location | Higashishinsaibashi, Chuo Ward, Osaka, Japan |
| Cuisine Style | Japanese, Osaka Street Food |
| Reservations | Not accepted |
| How to order | At the counter |
| How to pay | At the counter, while ordering. Accepts cards. |
| Restaurant Website | https://oko-osaka.wixsite.com/okotako |
The Restaurant
The first thing you need to know about OKO Takoyaki is that it’s tiny. Like, we’re talking 10 seats max squeezed into a single room that feels like a cross between a clubhouse and a teenage bedroom. To find it, you’ll need to look for the steep, heavily graffitied staircase next to another restaurant and head on up.
Once you’re inside, the DIY aesthetic fully hits you. Every single inch of the walls is covered in graffiti, doodles, stickers and notes from previous visitors. You’ll see notes from people from all over the world here, in every language you could think of. Sharpies and paint markers are left out on the tables, read for you to add your own stamp to the walls – I contributed to the multilingual vibe by adding Irish into the mix.
What makes OKO Takoyaki really intriguing is that it’s all run by one woman. The owner runs the whole show, cooking, prepping and managing the shop alone. This is why the restaurant operates a collaborative approach.
The “Rules” of OKO Takoyaki
Order and pay: Head to the counter, order from the English menu and pay upfront.
Collect your order: When your food is ready, the owner will call out to you, you go up and fetch it.
The Bar: If you want a drink, pay at the counter for a cup, then head over to the drinks area in the corner to help yourself to wine, beer, bottled spirits, mixers or soft drinks. It’s an honour system setup, which I could just imagine my Dad decrying “this would never work in Dublin”.
Clean up: When you’re done, you clear your own table and place trash in the bins provided. They’ve even got wipes by the counter for you to clean any spills.
Because the space is so tight, there is no indoor waiting area. The seats are mostly arranged around counters, and you’ll be sitting side by side with your party.
The Food
As you may imagine in a small, one-woman-shop, the menu is also small. They serve just one standard type of takoyaki, but you can choose from five different sauces, as well as additional toppings like vegan cheese or spring onion.
We went for the traditional takoyaki sauce, and the “aurora sauce” which is a mix of mayo and ketchup. I preferred the original, but both were fun to try.
The takoyaki are made with soy rather than wheat flour, making them gluten free and giving them a little protein boost. Inside, in lieu of octopus, OKO Takoyaki have a vegetable mix that’s not dissimilar to the veggie fingers you might find in the freezer aisle of the supermarket. The flavour is mild, and it won’t blow you away, but the price is reasonable, and the vibe is worth it.
You can upgrade your takoyaki to a set meal which comes with a small miso soup and some red cabbage salad.
They’ve also got an additional option of kushikatsu, battered and fried vegetables on a skewer. Sides can vary, but when we visited they had options of edamame, french fries, pickles and cold tofu.
Drinks
As I mentioned, drinks are self-service from the bar area, which really adds to the house party feeling. They’ve got a great selection: cans of beer, bottled spirits, mixers, boxed wine, and soft drinks.
You pay for a cup/glass upfront, and then go help yourself. You need to pay for each drink, but you’re free to mix whatever you want in your cup.
The Price Point
The prices at OKO Takoyaki are very reasonable. They keep costs low by having one staff member and expecting customers to chip in with cleaning, so they pass those savings back to the customers.
At the time we visited, 8 pieces of takoyaki came to ¥850, while a set meal that included kushikatsu, salad and miso soup was ¥2000. A drink from the bar was ¥200.
If you’re looking for an affordable, street food style experience, you can get a good meal and a drink for less than ¥2000 here.
Location
OKO Takoyaki is in the Shinsaibashisuji area of downtown Osaka, a very short walk from the bright lights of Dotonburi and the nightlife area of Namba. It’s tucked down a quiet street, above another restaurant.
Address: 1 Chome-15-24 Higashishinsaibashi, Chuo Ward, Osaka
Final Thoughts
As soon as I stepped into OKO Takoyaki, I felt right at home. I’ve lived in East London for the last 15 years and it felt like it could be a popup in Dalston or Hackney. It also felt like some of the grungy house parties I ended up as a teenager growing up in Dublin. Put simply, it felt familiar, welcoming, unpretentious and wonderfully fun.
The food is tasty, but it’s the atmosphere of the restaurant that really makes the experience.
I’m also very grateful I had the chance to try vegan takoyaki while I was in Osaka. As I’m sure other vegans and vegetarians can empathise, we sometimes have to skip local delicacies or traditional foods. I’m pretty okay with that generally, it goes with the territory, but it’s always a joy to find somewhere that caters to us too, and OKO Takoyaki delivers on that.
Who should go:
- Anyone looking for an authentic Osaka experience
- Vegans, vegetarians or gluten free travellers who want to try takoyaki
- People who are game for the DIY vibe
- Fellow millenials who want to feel 17 again
Who should skip it:
- Large groups. It’s so small, that unless you go right when it opens, there’s a slim chance you’ll all get in at the same time.
- Those looking for an upscale dining experience (although I’d recommend Saido in Tokyo for that)
- Those with children in pushchairs or those with mobility issues – there’s no lift.
- Those who won’t enjoy the graffiti, DIY vibe
Overall, OKO Takoyaki is definitely somewhere I’d visit again, but it’s not going to be for everyone. The food isn’t the standout, but the atmosphere and the ¥200 drinks are so much fun.
