Tucked away in Museum Street Abeno is a Japanese restuarant is fairly discreet so you’ll be eating there either because someone has told you about it or because you have accidentally stumbled upon it. Its a cute little restuarant (and it filled very quickly) and is bright, clean and interesting for the cooktops that serve as your table. Additionally staff are extremely friendly and efficient.

Why go to Abeno? I’m sure there are decent Japanese offerings on the menu but I was there for its specialty – okonomiyaki. Okonomiyaki is like a savoury pancake and can best be compared with a Spanish Omelette. You start with the basic ingredients of cabbage, egg and batter and then you can choose the combination of ingredients from a range including pork, prawn, squid, cheese, bacon, salmon, lotus root etc. The best thing is that the friendly staff cook it right in front of you on the teppenyaki grill and so its freshness is guaranteed. Once cooked the okonomiyaki are finished off with a brown sauce, mayonnaise and bonito flakes.

The okonomiyaki (we went for the Tokyo combo of pork, prawn and squid) was delicious and as the okonomiyaki stays on the grill (you get mini spatulas to scoop it up) every bite you eat is guaranteed to be hot. The only drawback is that after eating my meal there today I have felt constantly thirsty. It really was tasty though. Super deluxe okonomiyaki are priced at around £11ish so its not cheap but it is fairly filling and worth trying for its novelty factor.