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Yes, I did not forget to capitalize the name of this restaurant, this is just how they have chosen to write it out as lol. 

In all seriousness though, omotenashamoji is a very relaxed cafe/restaurant known for their teishoku sets and chill vibe despite sitting kind of in the middle of the busy Takadanobaba Station and Waseda University.

Now, normally I am not really the type to go to restaurants like this, but this day I was feeling like getting a bit out of my comfort zone and trying a meal in a more relaxed environment than some of the more loud, fast-paced, salary-man-filled ramen shops that I am used to.

The result? I was maybe one of 3 males in the entire restaurant which had both a top and bottom floor. But that doesn’t take away from the fact that I had a very good (and healthy) meal that my colons were saying they needed for the past few weeks of me going on an iekei-ramen marathon (if you want to go down the rabbit hole of this type of ramen then I recommend this blog post: Sugitaya Ramen). 

First off, the interior of the restaurant was very nice. Wood accents throughout, and it was very clean. They had a little counter like a seat to the left when you walk in and various tables throughout. I also want to say they had some calming music you might hear in a yoga class (I might be making this up but it sounds good so I am keeping it in). 

I do not entirely remember, but I believe you order at your seats after you are shown to them (obviously there is a buffer where you can look over the menu). What I do remember 100% though is that when you go to pay you go to the front and there is a little area to the right of the front door/exit. 

I went during lunch time and the menu was very simple – I think they only had 3 menu items on it lol (at least for main courses, they also had dessert and drinks sold separately). 

I went with another person and we each tried a different meal – The Shamoji plate and the Bruschetta plate.

Shamoji refers to the spoon that is traditionally used to stir up rice (you probably have it out in your house) and so I imagine that they used this name because it is a very important cooking utensil in Japan. This plate was also all Japanese themed. 

The presentation was incredible and the taste was also very good. You get things like tofu miso soup, a few tsukemono (Japanese pickled vegetables) and shougayaki which is ginger-flavoured pan-fried pork. It was a very balanced meal and you could tell that there was a good effort taken  in making it. And yes, I think it is safe to say that the rice was mixed with a shamoji because it was very fluffy (yes, it makes a difference!)

The bruschetta plate was definitely something you might find at a cafe in the west, but it was very solid and kind of nice for a change (considering I had been in Japan for over 6 months when eating this). The bread was fresh, and while it was a small portion of food (at least for me), it was just enough. It also came with salad and fruit + greek yogurt and honey.

When I tell you this was probably the first time I had salad come with a meal in Japan, I am not exaggerating. So I must say that I was pretty happy to see them. It also came with tea!

Both of these meals were around 1300 yen? The shamoji plate was 200 yen more than the bruschetta one I remember at least.

Overall a very solid cafe in a very good location. Do know that if you go on the weekend you may have to be prepared to line up a little bit though! 

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More about me

Different types of ordering systems in Japan explained

Purchase an onigiri to keep me fuelled throughout my journey 🍙