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| - After reading reviews, I had to stop by and try. I was in the area for a bit and the location was so convenient that if things worked out, Naniwa-Taro could become my go-to takeout spot! I was highly anticipating the fresh okonomiyaki and takoyaki.
The shop is super small - seating about 10 people, mostly taking takeout orders. The first time we waited around and were promised a 30-minute wait time for our food, but it ended up taking about 45 minutes. We weren't too fussed - there was a large order in front of us and the mom and pop shop didn't have any other help. We ordered the mixed okonomiyaki, curry udon, chicken yakisoba, and omurice. The okonomiyaki and curry udon were great - flavourful, the mix of pork and seafood giving good texture, the udon was chewy and the curry was fragrant and not too spicy. The chicken yakisoba wasn't bad, but didn't stand out to me. The omurice was a bit disappointing, but I think it was a matter of preference.
The next time we returned we ordered the okonomiyaki and takoyaki combo - a bit of both to cover more ground on the menu! The takoyaki was a bit overdone and the pork only okonomiyaki lacked texture - a bit distracted on the grill perhaps? We tried another udon in soup - the one with the poached egg - the udon noodles did not disappoint maintaining their chewy texture while absorbing the soup.
Overall, what stops this tiny shop from being a solid four stars is the wait time - I get it, good food takes time and sometimes best things come to those who wait, but time and time again (so "punny", ha) the wait for my food was longer than promised by 50-100% (read: up to twice amount the time!). If I'm looking for comfort food takeout that's super close to Yonge and Finch, it's a great spot. If I'm not in the area, a bit tough because of the wait.
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