It's Sunday and it's usually the day my partner and I go out to eat. Is it date night? Probably yes, probably not. We just want to escape our tiny and messy kitchen even just for a day in our busy week. But since we didn't want to spend a fortune, our options were limited. Worse, my partner didn't want to go far to eat.
Our initial option was getting curry at Coco Ichibanya but when I mentioned we would be going around Nakano Sakaue train station to shop after, I knew I could convince him to try other cheap options. When I mentioned gyoza, he asked if it was Ohtake Gyoza, and my reply was how did you know?.
Ohtake Gyoza is a small specialty shop and yes, you guess it right, it's specialty is gyoza or dumplings. Ever since I came to Japan, I've always loved gyoza especially when cooked to perfection. It's my partner and I's first time to dine in a gyoza specialty store and we totally enjoyed our dinner. My partner even said it's the best gyoza he ever tried in his life.
The shop is located in Nakano, Tokyo. It's just a few minutes walk from Nakano Sakaue station. I read reviews that it's usually crowded in the lunch time so it's best to avoid that peak time. They also offer takeout.
Even when the shop is small, they use the space too well that I saw a lot of tables and chairs. It was late evening in Sunday when we came and there were only 2 groups besides us who were in the shop so the staff was so attentive to us.
We were seated on the counter seats so it was like a first class view of their bar area because it's just in the counter. The kitchen was also near us but it was so awkward to look at it as they were busy.
Since it's a specialty store, there's nothing in the menu but gyoza. Well, that's what I thought. I was surprised they had a few side dishes which weren't gyoza. I think because it's winter so they have this seasonal addition to their menu, the motsu nabe (もつ鍋) which is a stew with ホルモン (read as hormon or beef/pork internals or tripe). We didn't order the motsu nabe because we came here for gyoza but I saw one group had it, and an order can be done if it's for 2 or more people.
My partner ordered the soft stew tripe as side dish. It looked like a mini motsu nabe that's cooked in the kitchen, unlike the nabe which is a hotpot where you need to cook by yourselves. I'm not a fan of tripes but I was so surprised it was so soft and easy to eat. Plus, it was so flavorful that I had forgotten that it was tripe that I was eating. The bowl was small, it's really just for one person but we shared.
Both my partner and I ordered their yakigyoza set meal, which is the classic fried gyoza. They have it boiled too and their specialty dish that's looks spicy topped with parsley. Usually people would only get 6 pieces but we were hungry, so we ordered 10 pieces. Please don't judge!
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The set meal comes with miso soup, rice and pickles. The miso soup was with a very soft mushroom which was surprising for me as usually miso soup in set meals are with seaweed.
The fried gyoza was perfect. The size was a bit larger than average gyozas in town. I'm so picky with how gyoza is cooked but this one, it's really the perfect kind. 100/100! The other side is crispy and the other side is soft. I heard the crunch when I took a bite. And what's more, it's so juicy inside!
You will know that the gyoza is perfect if you don't need to dip it in sauce. They have sauces though but even without it, it's already delicious. Aside from the soy sauce, they have this kind of black and white salt (I forgot to take a photo) so it's another fun and tasty way to eat the gyoza.
We paid around 3,000 yen (around 20 USD) for both of us. We were so full and this amount wasn't so expensive, given we also ordered drinks. It's an affordable gyoza place. Even when the seats were a bit cramped, the dining experience and the yummy gyoza were great that I wouldn't mind giving it a 10/10.
I think last Sunday wouldn't be our last time to go there. We just found a favorite gyoza place in the neighborhood!
If you're in Nakano, give this restaurant a try!
Thanks for reading!
See you around! じゃあ、またね！
With love,
All photos are taken using my phone unless stated otherwise.