Reviews of Osaka Reading

I couldn't fault this place if I tried. The food and cocktails are immaculate, and the atmosphere is cosy but professional. The servers are so polite and friendly and they really listen to you. Since my partner has allergies, we were referred to the wonderful manager Christine who went above and beyond to make sure our food was perfectly adjusted to both our needs and our liking. We really felt like a priority and were just gushing about how well she listened and responded to us. If only I had cash so I could have left a tip on top of the service charge. 10% didn't feel like enough for the quality of service we received!

Very nice restaurant. To be honest, looking at the menu I did not expect this level of food. First of all, the service was exceptionally quick. The starters (we ordered cheesy gyoza and takoyaki) were really tasty. Sushi was great. The chicken katsu was one of the better I have tried. I did have a fault with the udon: they were way overcooked (and a bit short to my taste but I can understand that despite not liking it) Overall, really great restaurant.

High quality and beautiful sushi as well as noodle and other dishes. Has really good sake and it's served in a really nice jar (as you would expect). Staff are very attentive and quick to serve the food and drinks. Cocktails take a bit longer but worth it as there are a few unique options I've not seen elsewhere. Note you can't book so you have to queue so it's pot luck on how long that takes. Seems less busy on a Friday compared to Saturday.

Really missed having authentic Japanese food so came here for the first time due to raving reviews. The atmosphere was great - we sat down in a bench themed seating area and were able to have a sneak peek at what everyone else is eating. Really enjoyed the takoyaki (had decent pieces of octopus), salmon rolls and eel nigiri! I was pleasantly surprised that the rolls were filled, usually many restaurants here make the mistake of being stingy with their filling and you end up eating a slightly flavoured rice ball. The oolong tea and sake were also delicious. The only food that was disappointing was the tonkotsu ramen... The pork belly was unfortunately overdone and dry. What was even worse was that the broth lacked flavour! The only thing that was good in the ramen was the egg (perfectly cooked). Overall, I will return to try more dishes but would steer clear of the ramen. However, if you've not had authentic ramen before, it may be worth for a first timer to try out.

Very friendly manager and the ramen is definitely the best ramen I have tried in the UK. The bbq pork is soft and tender (especially the fatty part), the onsen egg is cooked to perfection and full of flavor! I ordered spicy kimchi broth, next time I would like to try the original pork broth and sukiyaki! 100% service as I requested noodles with harder texture. The manager told me that they will serve me another bowl as the original bowl was served to another table, and when they realized they thought the noodles would be too soggy for me. I am so glad that the chef and the team really paid attention to the special request! On top of that, they did not charge any service fee due to the long waiting time (20mins). Definitely coming back!

Overall great Japanese culinary experience and would recommend to others. We went in late on Saturday 9:30pm and was able to get a seat with ease (usually during lunch there are queues; there is no booking available and first come first serve basis, which is fair). Customer service was attentive and when asked for recommendations they were able to provide a good recommendation. Food and drinks were well presented and tasty; the cocktails were professionally made. Tasty food and can see why there are always queues here. Worth a try to see if you like it. The place has a nice buzzing but chilled vibe. We stayed till they closed but the staff did not rush us to leave too, which was classy and allowed me to take the photos. The place is super clean and modern. The nice touch is having hand sanitisers around for ease of use for customers. Worth noting unfortunately they do not take NHS discount and no booking reservations.

Great food, good service! We were a party of 6 that just walked in and were ushered to a semi private seating area off to the back left of the restaurant. We ordered 7 bottles of sake and tried most of their appetizers. The chicken starters (whether the Korean style or Karaage) were fantastic -- crunchy on the outside, juicy inside and full of flavors. Sashimi was super fresh. Sushi rolls were tasty and well portioned. In fact the only "bad" dish was a western style stir fry noodle dish that didn't look like a Japanese dish at all. The ramen, sukiyaki, beef yakiniku rice bowl were delicious. I'd definitely go back to this place over and over again.

Second time coming here and love it just as much. Top quality Sushi and soulful bowls of Ramen that do not miss! Even with a slight hangover, the ramen bowl helped me through the headache. We got the Chicken Karage, Chicken crispy rolls, spicy Tuna rolls and spicy Pork tonkotsu ramen bowl to eat and blossom cocktail with a Coco loco (juice) to drink. Beautiful presentation (as you can see), great quality food and great buzz. Whether you're needing a break from shopping (winter or summer) or just going for a nice date, this place has you covered.

I have tried a variety of items from the menu. I highly recommend trying the Katsu curry, chicken karage, sushi, sashimi, tempura and spicy ramen. All of which were delicious and pleasing to taste. My favourite has to be the tempura selection. The batter on the vegetables/seafood have a thin, airy shell that adds a satisfying crunch without overwhelming the natural flavors of the vegetables. Cooked to perfection. Overall, fantastic service and food. Good value for the money.

Delicious food in a hip atmosphere. The service here could definitely improve. Despite there being seemingly as many staff as patrons during their lu ch hour, my wife and I found it difficult to get the staff's attention and were left waiting long periods. Otherwise, would recommend getting the spicy Tonkotsu Ramen (pictured) which had delicious pork belly in a rich, savory, and only mildly spicy broth.

I live nowhere near Reading but this modern fusion Japanese restaurant is a reason for me to make a stop over whenever I’m travelling past in the vicinity. Be warned, there’s no advance booking and queues are frequent, but this attests to the popularity of this gem of a restaurant! Flavours are satisfyingly intense but not overpowering, tempura batters are on point and ingredients taste fresh. It’s one of those few places that is able to satisfy my kids (10 & 7) with a katsu curry and also my better half with a hearty sukiyaki hot pot, as for me, I’m normally easy with just about anything on a Japanese menu but I do enjoy a freshly prepared mixed tempura that delivers all the right textures to my tongue without over doing the oil - and that makes it all quite an achievement when we don’t have to make any compromises on food choice in my family :) It’s not the poshest upper class fine Japanese cuisine nor does it try to be… but it is superb comfort food at great prices which is why I would highly recommend!

Stopped here last minute one night for a bite to eat before we headed home. The staff let us know straight away we only had 45 minutes before they closed. That wasn’t an issue at all as service was super fast. We had a couple of questions regarding the menu that the staff were great at answering. Finally and most importantly the food was excellent, presented well and full of flavour. Can’t wait to go back!

Where do I start. First time trying Japanese food after a horrific london experience. Knowing my previous experience was not a true reflection of Japanese cuisine I stumbled across this Reading restaurant and wow... Food was incredible, so damned tasty... Great busy atmosphere, great tables for an interesting experience, being able to see other customers food and not their faces was very fun and added to a more personal experience. Staff super nice and friendly, loved every second of my time here today and actually left feeling stuffed £75 later. Worth every penny. Thanks Osaka, keep up the great work! I will be back.

A lovely spot for some lunch. They were busy with lots of people queuing but the beeper system worked well and we only had to wait about 10 mins. The food was delicious and well priced. It looked good when it came out too. The staff were really friendly and attentive. Great double sofas on the bench seating which made the lunch more comfortable. I would definitely recommend and revisit.