Oonoya The Bottom Line
Oonoya combines two of my loves – grilled meat on sticks, aka yakitori, and craft beer but it’s hard to recommend Oonoya – the smokey atmosphere and slow service meant our time there was less than enjoyable. It’s a shame as the atmosphere was fun and jovial with groups of people laughing and joking together. The place was busy the whole time we were there so if you do go, either be prepared to wait or make sure you make a booking. While Oonoya is a smoking establishment, there is no table charge and all prices include tax. However, there was no English available and neither of the owners spoke English so go with someone who can at least read some of the writing dotted around the bar.
Close would be an understatement.
Oonoya The Full Review
Oonoya, or to give it it’s Japanese name おおの家, is perhaps something that every meat-eating beer drinker dreams about – a shop that specialises in grilled meats and serves craft beer on tap. The bar opened in 2010 and since then, has been run by two guys – with one of them in charge of cooking and the other in charge of serving the beers and signs around the bar.
Oonoya is located less than five minutes from Nishi-Ohashi station, on the Nagahori Tsurumi-ryokuchi Line, and also a couple of minutes from Yotsubashi, on the Yotsubashi Line. Oonoya isn’t the easiest place to spot, with only a sign outside giving away what lies inside – the Kirin posters on the outside though don’t tell the whole picture as it’s not just Kirin on tap. There is space for about 5 people at the (small) counter next to the cooking and serving area, while there are four tables dotted around inside with space for another 16 or so people, depending on how close you like sitting to people. Oonoya is an intimate place, with people almost sitting on top of each of other, which is only made worse by the fact that Oonoya is a smoking place – and that’s not from the charcoal used to cook the meats. There wasn’t any form of table charge but nor was there any wifi access either.
There are three taps of craft beer on at Oonoya, with all three of them dedicated to domestic craft beer, with a strong leaning towards using locally sourced beers from the Kansai area. The beers come in three different sizes: small (245ml) for ¥680, medium (420ml) for ¥1000, and the large (1000ml – what is it with Osaka 1L beers?!) for ¥2380. All prices include tax and were served up well. I didn’t notice any beer flights, but with only three beers it would seem like a futile exercise, and neither was there any form of happy hour either.
Oonoya is not a place for vegetarians with all the dishes having some amount of meat in them – well it is a yakitori shop it seems. But the main caveat of ordering food at Oonoya is simply the wait – it took 30mins just to get two chicken wings ordered and eventually gave up on the other order of chicken skewers in the end. The food was tasty but it took so long that I’d recommend either going somewhere beforehand to get some food or have something planned for afterwards. None of the menus had any English on them and neither of the owners could explain in English so make sure you take someone with you who can help explain what you are about to order or drink.
Oonoya Details
Open: Monday to Saturday 17:00 to 01:00 (L.O Food 00:00 Drink 00:30)
Closed: Sunday
Happy Hour: None
Phone: 06-6585-7291
Homepage (in Japanese): N/A
SNS: Facebook
How to Get to Oonoya
Oonoya is located less than five minutes from Nishi-Ohashi station, on the Nagahori Tsurumi-ryokuchi Line, and also a couple of minutes from Yotsubashi, on the Yotsubashi Line.
[ezcol_1half]Directions from Nishi-Ohashi Station
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[ezcol_1half_end]Directions from Yotsubashi Station
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