Osaka Local

Ian Jones, Food and Drink Editor

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Osaka Local

Various locations, including Grub, Manchester, M4 4HF
Ian Jones
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It’s time to shine a light on one of our all-time favourite street food vendors in the North: Osaka Local which specialises in Japanese savoury pancakes. And there’s no better time than now, as Wednesday 19 April sees this small but mighty food brand turn four years old.

Osaka Local’s prawn okonomiyaki is one of street food’s all-time great dishes

You’ll find them all across the North of England, at various markets and street food pop-up events (check the Instagram for more details), but their spiritual home – and indeed, where they had their first day of trading back in 2019 – is another CT fave, Grub in the Green Quarter. That’s where you’ll find Osaka Local this week, from Wednesday to Friday, 5pm to 9pm, and on Saturday from 12pm to 9 pm.

Of course, it’s not just about savoury pancakes, you’ll find a small but mouthwatering range of dishes on offer, from katsu curry to moreish noodles, but if it’s your first time, don’t think twice, go for the okonomiyaki. (It’s available in multiple varieties, including pork, tofu and vegan, but the topping I return to over and over is prawn.)

This is a thick flat pancake, cooked teppanyaki-style on a piping hot iron griddle, with various ingredients, including cabbage, pickled ginger and a glorious tangy ketchup-style sauce. The final touches –  a zig-zag of Japanese mayonnaise and some delicious paper-thin flakes that dance with the heat – truly make the dish sing.

Our advice? Eat immediately, hot from the stove – it’s the only way to enjoy the world’s best pancake. The noodles are a high-quality treat too, thick and coated with dark and umami-rich sauce, but whatever you go for, go for it early – these dishes almost always sell out, and fast.

Another reason Osaka Local is held in such high esteem by those in the know, is Reiko, the delightful matriarch who runs the entire operation with occasional help from just-as-charming family members. (Reiko’s hometown of Osaka, on the Japanese island of Honshu, is the birthplace of okonomiyaki.)

With the weather looking more like spring, Grub is the perfect place to visit for some outdoor dining surrounded by like-minded friendly people. For the next few days, you can team that with one of the greatest dishes available in Manchester today.

What's on near Osaka Local

Aisla dancing and Dj'ing
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Become A Superstar DJ

Get hands on with the decks in this funk and soul superstar DJ workshop from BBC Radio 6’s Ailsa.

Free entry
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ActivityCathedral Quarter
Góbéfest

Góbéfest, Manchester’s original international urban folk music and dance festival, is back with a killer line up and the best of Central Europe.

Free entry

Where to go near Osaka Local

Manchester
Cinema
Cultplex

Billing itself as Manchester’s home of cult films, video games and cool nerd stuff, Cultplex is a small cinema offshoot of indie street food destination Grub Manchester.

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Join the Gin renaissance with Manchester Three Rivers, a gin distillery situated in the heart of the Green Quarter making some fantastic gin as well as inviting people to get up close to the distillation process.

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The Runaway Brewery

An exciting young Brewery on the Manchester scene, Runaway are creating a whole host of drinkable delights.

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Fairfield Social Club

Fairfield Social Club is a multi-purpose site next to Angel Meadows Park in the Green Quarter, ran by the team behind the much-loved Grub,.

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Popup Bikes

Independently-run coffee shop and bike repair shop on the edge of the Green Quarter in Manchester.

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Partisan

Partisan is a Manchester-based collective and volunteer-run space for independent, community led, DIY and cultural based projects. They have two floors for events, meetings, office space, live music, club nights, and art.

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1520 Studios

1520 Studios is bigger than a film and photography studio, also functioning as an event space and community hub.

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Sadler’s Cat

The Pilcrow is now Sadler’s Cat, a contemporary community pub at the heart of the NOMA neighbourhood. Overlooking Sadler’s Yard.

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Music in the North

Gigs are coming in hot this spring – from long-awaited returns to one-off happenings you’ll blink and miss if you're not careful.

Hannah Platt 'Playing Out', courtesy of Threshold, photograph by Jules Lister.
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From city-wide art festivals to open-air sculptural installations, we have exhibitions from all around the North, both indoors and out.

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Theatre in the North

Eclectic as ever. You'll find inventive reworkings, world-class contemporary dance and Greater Manchester's inaugural Improv Festival in our guide.

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Literature Events in the North

We've got laughs and we've got leftfield on the live literature radar this month. Something for everyone, from poets playing with form to short story writers looking long.

Classical Music in the North

Read our latest highlights from the live classical music offer in Manchester and the North, taking in a number of the region's most cherished orchestral forces and venues.