Eat your heart out in Osaka
Osaka is known as the ultimate all-you-can-eat, all-you-can-drink place in Japan, dare I say the world? AYCE is referred to as 食べ放題 (tabehoudai), AYCD is 飲み放題 (nomihoudai), and combined AYCE AYCD is 食べ飲み放題 (tabenomihoudai). I recommend you are on the constant lookout for these words on restaurant signs! Japanese restaurants rarely miss the mark and are consistently fantastic due to the food culture in Japan having a high focus on consistent quality in product and product delivery— part of the reason why raw fish and meats in Japan are so popular and able to continue to be popular.
If you want to further research a restaurant or look for restaurants in a particular area or type, a popular review site in Japan is called Tabelog, or 食べログ. Google Maps reviews, however, suffice, as Japanese people actively use Google, though in lower volumes. The mark of a good restaurant frequented by locals is hilariously low ratings— for some reason, part of rating culture in Japan is giving low ratings to things enjoyed with little to no problem simply because— perhaps similar to how a perfect experience at a 4-star hotel does not change the fact that it is a 4-star hotel. That isn’t to say high-rated restaurants are not good (they are!), but that a restaurant with a rating of 4.1 or even 3.9 out of 5 should not scare you off. I fondly remember an auto-translated review I saw on Google of a restaurant that said their experience was perfect and the food was very tasty, but the portions were too big!— 3 stars.
The vast majority of the time the structure of AYCE is such that you have an allotted amount of time to order, an amount of time afterward that the seat continues to be reserved, and a maximum amount of food you’re allowed to order at once. Sometimes the rules state that you must finish the food/drink on your table before your next food/drink order comes, so once you get in a rhythm you can time your orders such that you finish your last piece right as the next order comes. Occasionally, you will be required to reserve online, and other times not, but if you reserve the AYCE course online ahead of time you can get a price deal! Here’s an example of how AYCE would go:
Reserve online for 2 seats for today at 8:00 pm, select premium AYCE AYCD course for ￥5500 per person
Arrive and provide name and reservation time
2 hours reservation time, last order must be in 30 minutes before reservation time block ends (10:00 pm end, 9:30 pm last order)
Usually order through a QR code (ask for WiFi), rules say only 4 food items can be ordered at once, and only 1 drink per person at once (not counting water, sauces, seasonings, napkins, etc.)
Stuff your face and, if you drink, get trashed
The whole ordeal is pretty straightforward but can be a little confusing or overwhelming, especially with a time constraint and potential problems using the online portal having to translate everything. Something to note is that if you arrive late, sometimes they will start the timer at the time of your reservation rather than the time you showed up, so be diligent! They will usually also give you a time warning, but I would advise you to keep track of the time yourself to help pace. Happy eating! Below are some AYCE photosets.
Yakiniku Lab Umeda
Tori Sakana Umeda
