Japanese Restaurants in Reading

“I had always been put off going to this restaurant.

It always looked nice enough, and it's a very visually appealing place, but I’d always seen it busy, and once when I finally popped my head through the entrance to get a feel for the place, it was way too loud. I’m acutely sensitive to sound, so a restaurant environment (“ambiance” if you will) is of paramount importance for me.

In the end, I went with a relative on a weekday evening.

Table for two? Yes please.

We are guided to a ‘banquette’ where we’re going to be sitting beside each other, which I find is a nice touch, to be honest. Most of the time, when you go to a restaurant, you sit opposite your dining partner(s), and that’s rather adversarial, isn’t it?

There are people on the other side of us, but we can’t see their faces, so it’s all right (but I do have to resist the urge to duck my head under the dividing board and say “Hello! What are you having?”). There are some marks on the dividing board, which look like faint traces of grease, but I really don’t know.

Laminated cardboard menus are given out, and they’re easy enough to read and deciper, so I find it easy to decide what to order.

“Do you have any non-alcoholic booze?” I ask our waitress (Unisex waiter? Wait person? Server? I don’t know what the term is these days).

Why, yes! They have Asahi 0.0%!

I am overjoyed.

Although our order is taken by one person, the food is delivered by others. That’s a little destabilising, and I think it’d be better if they forewarned diners “I’ll be taking your order, but different people will be bringing you your food”.

There’s a problem with my dish. I deliberately won’t say what it was.

I raise it as an issue with our waitress, and she quickly offers to have the dish changed. Later the front of house supervisor makes the same offer in more emphatic terms, but both times I decline because I just want to get on with eating.

We forgo dessert, because….there wasn’t any need for it, really!

The portion size is very reasonable indeed. I’d even go as far as to say it was just right. Not too much, and certainly not too little.

Although there was a slight problem with my dish, overall it was good. The broccoli in my yaki soba was OUTSTANDING.

The music was turned down slightly at my request, and I wasn’t the only one who found it very loud: at the beginning of my meal, I asked a diner on my right if they also found it “oppressively loud” and the answer was yes. Later, however, the music was barely audible above the buzz of conversations.

Osaka really needs some acoustic baffles in the ceiling to soak up the noise. That would tip the scale of the restaurant more towards ‘refined’. The lighting was VERY good – definitely not harsh, and for someone like me, lighting and sound are critical factors when I decide whether to eat somewhere.

My initial thought was to rate it three stars, but the staff are the main factor which tipped it to four. I’d only ever give five stars to a place if it’s truly world class, but Osaka stands out as one of the better places in Reading.

The staff are attentive without being curt or regimental, and kind without being obsequious. The grub just happens to be nice too.

Would I go again?

Yes.”

“My favourite place to eat in Reading and amazing mock and cocktails ? the presentation is always on point! Customer service and professionalism!.. I highly recommend! Thank you for also bringing so much rich culture too - my other favourite thing about Coconut bar & kitchen! inclusion and diversity ?? I always have a wonderful time when I’m here! Hanna was my server yesterday- thank you Hanna ?

Thank you to all the team and staff ✨”

“Super quick good value. Poke bowl was tasty but not the best I’ve ever had, could have done with some more sauce as was a bit dry in places.

But overall good value and very fresh. £10 meal deal too!”

“One of the best branches of this consistently good Asian food giant. Mainly because the food is always superb. Service is freindly if a little cold at times. Location is great. Recommended.”

“Fantastic very good deal and quality, never seen Bonito flakes before they're highly entertaining :-)”

“Very cosy restaurant. Good service. Fair price. Been there a few times and food were delicious. One of the best Japanese restaurants I have ever been. Atmosphere was a bit too quiet. Would be better if there is background musics.”

“Self checkout makes it easy to order. The sushi was tasty and seemed fresh, though no pickled ginger. The miso soup was a little bland, was too much bland soup, and only a few tofu cubes. The 2nd floor gives a nice view, but the thing i disliked the most is the tables that felt sticky. I'm not sure if it is from a lack of cleaning or from the worn down lacquer, or both leading to spills soaking in the wood, but at least they provide small trays. The tables are nice and big, 8 person tables if i remember correctly and it was not busy at all on the 29th December 3pm”

“It's such a beautiful place, and the food is amazing 10/10. I can't wait to come back here again for some more yummy sushi ?”

“Been eating Kokoro for over 10 years, and it remains a reliable comfort food after all these years. Would recommend half chilli chicken and half katsu chicken + curry sauce on the side. Makes for a wonderful blend of textures with a juicy and perfectly spicy dish that you can keep topping up the curry sauce in”