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Osaka's

4.5 (271 reviews)
Closed • 5:00 pm - 8:00 PM

Osaka's Photos

OSAKA'S ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Casual
Moderate noise
Happy hour specials
Outdoor seating

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Reviews With Photos

Takoyaki
Ian N.

Modan Yaki (5/5): I've been to a lot of Japanese restaurants before but I don't think I've ever seen okonomiyaki as a dish before. I liked the cabbage pancake but the Yakisoba noodles and pork belly on top were my favorite parts. The sauce might've been a bit too sweet but I still liked it. Takoyaki (4/5): Pretty good takoyaki with a decent amount of octopus bits. I liked the dried bonito flakes a lot. Osaka's Ramen (3/5): I probably would've liked this if not for the red ginger. The flavor really soaked into the broth and ruined the dish for me. The noodles were pretty good though. (2/5 as is but probably more like a 4/5 without the ginger) RATING SYSTEM 5 - Great (Need to get this again) 4 - Good (Would get this again) 3 - Ok (Might give this another shot) 2 - Not Good (Won't get this again) 1 - Bad (Telling people to avoid this)

Yuzu Paitan (Vegan Ramen)
Karissa M.

Wow we ate here while visiting Boulder after a hike in the Rockies and I would definitely go back just to eat here. The portions are large, the flavors are a hit, and they are more authentic than other places. Everything we ordered was great and we would certainly come back to try more. We arrived without a reservation and they were able to fit our party of 3 pretty quickly. Don't sleep on this place, it's worth it!

Jon and the owner
Peggy P.

What a fun time! The food was uniquely delicious- thumbs up! Staff were cheerful and friendly. Our group (including two who have enjoyed dining in Japan) will be back!

Unajyu
Alex L.

Still a favorite sushi spot in Boulder with fresh fish. They have outdoor seating on a nice day too!

Okonomiyaki and Tonkatsu
Jamie K.

Honestly, for Boulder it's honestly not bad! The okonomiyaki -- which comes from the namesake city -- is something I hold a high standard to having just visited japan and I would come back here for it! Unexpected spot for authentic Japanese cuisine. The service and restaurant was hopping and warm -- great experience

Butatama Savory Pork Belly Okonomiyaki with GF DF kale substitution
Sarah F.

THE TOPS! If you want a culinary adventure in a cute atmosphere with good service, come here! All the food was delicious, so let's talk about what sets this place apart. Highlights: Sincerely friendly staff The menu had so much variety to appease any pallet. Sushi, ramen, specialty dishes. Clearly market gluten-free and dairy-free options There was a device on the table to signal servers for when you needed something: to order, pay, etc. NO lowlights, but here is what to be prepared for: Timing: We were there on a Saturday and it got BUSY! Good sign for sure. But make a reservation, and be prepared to have the pace match the volume. It wasn't unreasonably slow by any means, but the kitchen was cranking out a lot of food. The sushi came out much faster than the hot kitchen food.

Iced Matcha Latte (Cold)
Kathryn O.

We took my mother in law and her friend from Japan here and they loved the authenticity. We had sushi, eel, raamen, tea and deserts. The chef came out and chatted with our family in Japanese, which was lovely. All of the food was fresh and delicious, and plated beautifully. The restaurant is clean and spacious, and the food is a good value for the money. We would happily come back.

Garlic ramen

I had pretty high expectations, but I was still blown away! The sushi was amazing, and the ramen was amazing! Service was pretty good, waiting time was a bit longer than average, but it was definitely worth the wait. The atmosphere was amazing, the place had really calm vibes and was very nice.

Butatama aka  Okonomiyaki w/ Pork Belly -  A BIG MUST TRY!
Hannah S.

Fun Fact: Okonomiyaki is a RARE dish to found made in the States! According to Osaka's menu, Okonomiyaki is: "a traditional, savory pancake made with wheat flour, eggs, and crunchy cabbage (or kale) with our original okonomiyaki sauce and Japanese mayo." If you're going to Osaka's for your first time, you have to choose one of the SEVEN Okonomiyaki to try. They each consist of the base listed above but all have different delicious toppings. There are options of pork, beef, cheese, seafood, veggie and combos. You can even get your Okonomiyaki made GLUTEN FREE! In our case, we tried the Butatama, which is Osaka's Okonomiyaki with Mugifuji pork belly, their OG okonomiyaki sauce and Japanese mayonnaise. IT WAS ABSOLUTELY MINDBLOWING FOR US & OUR TASTE BUDS! Originally, we had wanted to pair this with their famous Yelp Top 100 Burger. However, we found out they only make the burgers Sunday, Monday and Thursday. We pivoted, and tried three sushi rolls: Avocado & Salmon, Negihama (Fatty Hamachi & Scallion) and Negitoro (Bluefin Fatty Tuna & Scallion). It became a happy surprise to find out they also did sushi so well. It was fresh, simple and flavorful. Exactly how we like our sushi. Beyond the food, the service here is fantastic. We sat on the patio where each table had a clicker to let the waitress or waiter know we needed assistance. When we were ready to order or needed more water, you just clicked the button to alert them. It made for a really relaxing meal with minimal interruptions. Super cool gizmo & idea, I loved it! Finally, the coolest part of the meal was being thanked by the owner for coming in. I watched him go around to each table mid meal and check on their experience, as well as, thank them for coming into try his restaurants food. We've only been to a few restaurants that still do this type of service, and we really appreciate it. It always makes us feel very valued as a customer. (: I'll say one of the best overall restaurants I've been to in Boulder!

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2 months ago

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13 days ago

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5 days ago

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5 months ago

We got the Gyutama and Modan Yaki, both were delicious! We couldn't decide our favorite. We got the Gyoza app. A new favorite!!

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6 months ago

Delicious food. Beautiful ambiance. Fast and respectful service. Excellent authentic Japanese restaurant -- cannot recommend highly enough!

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1 year ago

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4 months ago

Excellent sushi and food overall. Okonomiyaki was very good (though not amazing). Gyozas were excellent. Sushi was spot on.

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2 years ago

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Izakaya Amu

Izakaya Amu

(272 reviews)

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I really enjoyed my visit here for dinner. We sat outside since the weather was so nice and we had…read morea great time. Although the food is a bit pricey, I think it was worth it. Not pictured, we also ordered the duck soba noodles and the scallops. Everything tasted delicious. I do wish that I had saved some of the soba for when the hamachi came out but I did order those later. I would have preferred the hamachi to come with a bit of rice on the side but my boyfriend didn't mind the salad. It's a great date spot and if we were to sit inside there's options for Japanese style floor seating. When you go inside they ask you to take off your shoes and provide slippers for the restroom. It feels very relaxing and home-y.

We decided to use yelps "surprise me" feature tonight while in boulder and landed on Izakaya Amu…read more. and what a recommendation it was!! Izakaya's are Japanese bars that have quick bites and snacks to choose from. I was excited to see we were heading in. Once arrived on Sunday night we were greeted and welcomed. Asked if we would like to take our shoes off and walk in as in Japanese culture this is very common. It really felt like I was in a Japanese izakaya in Japan We ordered - Tofu Steak - Baked Salmon w/ ikura & rice - Duck Skewers - Salmon Carpaccio Everything was delicious and cooked well. I could have ate 2 bowls of the salmon. Everything is nicely sized but a good size to not get too full to order more. This location is combined with another sushi restaurant and it's cool to see the sushi being made in front of you. Will be back!!

Japango - Salmon hand roll (left) hotate mayo (right)

Japango

(558 reviews)

$$

Came here on a Friday afternoon for lunch. We went there early and were seated quickly, however…read moreservice was a bit slow. What we swallowed: *UDON NOODLES: This was good, a bit salty but had good flavors. *MIXED GREEN SALAD: The leaves were crisp and the sesame dressing was great. *GILDED BEE *WILD SALMON, HAMACHI, MAGURO BLANCO, MAGURO: Each piece was tasty and fresh. *EL CORAZON *HAMACHI JALAPENO: Always a favorite, this did not disappoint. Tasty fish and the sauce was great. We really liked it here. Although service was dragging, it was a great experience.

Japango is a solid sushi place in the heart of Boulder on Pearl St. It was my first time at…read moreJapango so I wasn't familiar with their cocktail program and it blew me away. Sushi joints aren't known for their cocktails but Japango takes it very serious. There are so many options on the menu it was hard to choose. I started with a fun spin on a Mai Tai called Mai-Tide. It was delicious and complex with some fabulous vacation garnish. Yes that is a seaweed strip. (Photo #1) My second was Yorokobi Joy, a spin on a Vieux Carre which is a classic whiskey/cognac recipe. It was boozy in all the best ways with some incredible ingredients. The first sip is the best because you're not ready for the herbal flavor explosion. The Japanese whiskey and cognac balance well with some wild flavors provided by a lovely Amaro (Cardamaro) and Saffron-Plum bitters. The kicker in a Vieux Carre is the Benedictine which glues all the amazingness together. Delish!! Because Japango is on Pearl and it was a football weekend, we had the perfect patio table on the sidewalk for the Friday night Stampede where the CU Buffs band and cheerleaders march down Pearl. What a great night. Go check out Japango when you make it to the always amazing Boulder. Salute . Sorry I didn't get pics of the inside but we were seated outside and there were a million people around since it was Parents weekend. Go Buffs Mai-Tide Nori Infused Cane Rum Planteray OFTD Rum Ferrand Yuzu Curaçao Small Hands Orgeat Lime Tiki Bitters Yorokobi Joy Hakushu Japanese Whiskey Hennessy XO Cognac Cardamaro Benedictine Japango Saffron-Plum Bitters Peychauds Bitters

Sushi Hana

Sushi Hana

(74 reviews)

$$

You can gauge the overall quality of a Japanese restaurant based on its miso soup alone; miso soup…read moreis an extremely easy to make and high margin product for a restaurant that a low quality miso soup means that the restaurant most likely skimps on the quality of their other offerings. The miso soup was heavily watered down - needed either more dashi and / or miso paste to bring it to an acceptable level. I rarely have a good experience with ramen offerings at a sushi place and this was no exception. The "tonkotsu" ramen broth was anything but; it didn't taste anything remotely that would be considered tonkotsu and the noodles looked like it came out of some western version of packaged ramen noodles. The beef "teriyaki" lunch bento was awful. The "teriyaki" sauce tasted watered down and they would have been better off with the 99c bachan's teriyaki sauce from Costco because this sauce was the worst I've ever consumed. I was struggling to taste the components of teriyaki in it. It didn't even have the viscosity of teriyaki either and was this watery mess. The dipping sauce for the potstickers was also some strange spiced anomaly; the sauce that we all know and love isn't hard to make either - it's 1:1 soy sauce and vinegar, and they should have just went with that. The california roll included was ok. It's just overall I feel sad for the folks that live around here as this may be their only exposure to Japanese food and none of it represents anything that could be remotely considered decent. They need to remove the dim sum and ramen options and focus on what they are - a sushi joint.

First Off, the wait time is outrageous. Their max capacity is similar to a school bus. The ambiance…read moreleaves much to be desired, and their food is just subpar all around. I would recommend if you want to waste your time.

Osaka's - japanese - Updated May 2026

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