Best place to get some food when in a rush. Their service is fast, rates are affordable, awesome character. Would recommend to others
Ivy T.
Super cute Japanese restaurant. They have daily specials that looks so good! I got the curry rice which was so good! It's was your normal curry with steak bits in it but the flavor was phenomenal. They also have red bean and green tea ice cream sandwiches so save some room for desserts!
Andy N.
If you're looking for Japanese comfort food from the likes of places like Ootoya in Nippon, then look no further than The Delicatessen by Osawa. Even though people often associate Japanese food with sushi, this place will help you realize that there is a lot more out there than just raw fish. Don't get me wrong- I am a huge sushi fanatic, but if there's one thing that's often lacking outside of Japan, it's good gyudon (beef bowls) and katsu (cutlet). Both of those cravings were met by Osawa. My friend and I arrived on a Friday lunch and the restaurant was packed. You order at the counter and they give you a number where your food is later delivered. Admittedly, we had to play the scoping game and wait for someone to leave before we were able to find a table. It was worth it in the end. The Tonkatsu Curry over a bed of fluffy Japanese rice was amazing. The katsu was thick and juicy and the signature Japanese curry made it a perfect combination. Their gyudon was also great after mixing in the egg and tofu that was added right on top. Everything tasted authentic, fresh, and delicious. Definitely would come back if ever again in the area. Parking is available behind the restaurant but spots are limited.
Jeff L.
The Delicatessen is one of my favorite casual Japanese restaurants in area! I've been a regular of this location since discovering it a couple years ago. This location is the fast-casual sister shop of Osawa, a higher-end sit-down Japanese restaurant in Pasadena. They offer a variety of classic Japanese dishes such as donburis, bentos, udon, and curry in a modern, laid-back setting. The Prime Beef Curry Rice is my favorite curry dish I've had in SoCal to date and has me coming back for more. The curry's consistency is just right, not too thick or thin, and the flavor is an umami bomb with the curry spice and beef at the forefront and subtle vegetable undertones. You can add on a crispy tonkatsu or chicken cutlet that will give the dish a textural contrast and added protein. The curry on it's own has chunks of braised beef that is enough for smaller appetites. Other than the curry, I've tried a variety of their bentos such as the miso salmon and black cod; I would recommend them for a lighter meal, perfect for lunch. They have an ever-changing daily special that offers new, different bentos and donburis. I feel the quality of the Delicatessen is high but the fast-casual setting helps keep the prices reasonable, albiet priced up a little since they are in Pasadena. Parking is fairly easy, you can park in the underground structure and get 1 hour of validation from the restaurant. I've never ran into an issue with the 1 hour limit, but if you want to stay longer then you can do street parking on Cordova. Service is polite and respectful, typical Japanese-style which I enjoy. Reminder that you have to put away your own plate/bowls in the return area! The Delicatessen has become one of my regular spots whenever I visit my parents because of their quick, quality food. I'd recommend stopping by on a cold day to enjoy a warm, hearty curry!
Kofen Chang
It's good but service isn't as fast as expected since all food were all made and just need to put in plates together
Roxy S.
We had the chicken udon & a California roll. The California roll was ok.. just expected more after the high reviews of this place. I mean it's better than sushi stop hahah but it's also $8. The udon noodles were really good but I didn't enjoy much else about the soup. It tasted really fishy to me and I wish the chicken flavor was stronger. Also as you can see by my picture not much meat in there. Good thing is that it wasn't too pricey. If you like your udon fishy you might like the dish. One good thing bout this place is that the staff is really friendly.
Adrian A.
Straight up amazing! My brodies and I decided to go to this place because one of them is raving about it for so long. That particular friend of mine went to Japan before, so I am pretty sure he knows good Japanese food around Pasedena. The place is super clean and it feels like a restaurant from Tokyo from the outside. The servers are polite and accommodating, as well. The food almost make me cry.. and I'm not talking about onions lol Their food are fresh and taste like a Japanese grandma made it from scratch. I always think that Japanese servings won't fill me up, but I'm always end up the opposite. The servings are the right amount and presentations are always a masterpiece. If I can only frame a food, this is it lol. I ordered their Beef Donburi, hands down the best Donburi I ever tasted. Every single ingredients (shredded beef, pouch egg, pouch tofu, shitake mushrooms, ginger, their secret soy sauce) are fresh. Japanese food in general is about freshness and this food joint just 100% nailed it :) PS: They have parking on the back and they provide parking validation.
Christopher L.
This is one of my favorite places to eat in Pasadena. There a's a variety of different menu options from Japanese curry to Bentos, Dons to cut rolls. You really can't go wrong and everything they serve is solid. Favorite Dish: My favorite thing to get here is the Chicken Katsu Curry Rice for dinner. The Katsu is so crispy when eaten fresh and the curry also contains bits of beef that is sure to satisfy your taste buds. Environment: Order at the counter, find a seat, and wait for your food to come. If you're starving at home, have no friends to eat with, and absolutely do not want to get fast food, this is a great place to go! I'll have to admit I came here alone a few times myself. If you're the type of person that dreads eating out alone, trust me when I say you'll be able to dine here alone with confidence. Parking: There's a underground parking structure here which is free with validation if my memory is correct.
Nathan Ho
Have only had takeout but all of it was excellent. Especially loved the miso cod.
Lisa Lee
The lovely owners of Osawa, bring the same warm service and well prepared dishes the simple neighborhood casual Japanese eats. The beef curry has the traditional Tokyo style mild curry. The soba salad was more soba then salad.
I had an amazing experience in this place. We liked the awesome environment and the food. The staff are super amiable. I’m happy we finally decided to visit this spot.
Rachel D.
We ordered our food and we were enjoying it before we were asked to leave because they needed to "clock out". Customer service 101: You don't serve someone food, take their money, and then ask them to leave before they are done eating. Extremely RUDE!! Food was okay, service was a deal breaker. We will never be back. Also they close at 2:30 and asked us to leave at 2:40, we received our food at 2:20.
446anjums
I have been here a couple of times for lunch and think it's good value and very tasty and a bit different from all the other places on South Lake and around there.
Karen Y.
After reading all the positive reviews I came here with high expectations but left super bummed. I ordered the Oyako soba noodles with a side of miso soup and tbh the miso soup was honestly the highlight of this mediocre meal lol. When I got the noodles, my first impression was that the portion was wayyyyy too small for $12... but I suppose this is understandable considering they use organic ingredients. Anyways, I began to mix my noodles with the protein and sauce so I could dig in, but I realized that the sauce was very watery and made the whole thing very soggy and honestly not that appetizing to look at. To make things worse, the sauce was lacking in flavor yet overly sugary at the same time. So I tried adding some spice to salvage the thing but even after I added like a third of the spice bottle I could not get over how insipid the dish was. Usually, I'll finish my food even if I don't like it because I don't like being wasteful but I couldn't finish more than a third of the noodles before deciding it wasn't worth stomaching it. My friend and I also split a spicy tuna roll but that was just as disappointing. The tuna was so ground up it completely lost the integrity of the texture and it just felt like I was eating a mysterious mush. If I had not ordered it myself, I would not have known what was in the roll by tasting it tbh. It just tasted like pink mush. Also, the rice was a little on the soggy side :( and it was too spread out it lowkey made the roll look bald bc of all the seaweed you could see peeking under. All in all, the customer service was great but the food was subpar. It was a disappointment to pay a premium price for food that was at best food court level.
Rachel M.
Very cute japanese cafe. Good options for lunch set with reasonable price. I order grilled miso salmon bento! Everything are tasty! Come early this place can get busy!! After 2pm to-go only.
Best place to get some food when in a rush. Their service is fast, rates are affordable, awesome character. Would recommend to others
Super cute Japanese restaurant. They have daily specials that looks so good! I got the curry rice which was so good! It's was your normal curry with steak bits in it but the flavor was phenomenal. They also have red bean and green tea ice cream sandwiches so save some room for desserts!
If you're looking for Japanese comfort food from the likes of places like Ootoya in Nippon, then look no further than The Delicatessen by Osawa. Even though people often associate Japanese food with sushi, this place will help you realize that there is a lot more out there than just raw fish. Don't get me wrong- I am a huge sushi fanatic, but if there's one thing that's often lacking outside of Japan, it's good gyudon (beef bowls) and katsu (cutlet). Both of those cravings were met by Osawa. My friend and I arrived on a Friday lunch and the restaurant was packed. You order at the counter and they give you a number where your food is later delivered. Admittedly, we had to play the scoping game and wait for someone to leave before we were able to find a table. It was worth it in the end. The Tonkatsu Curry over a bed of fluffy Japanese rice was amazing. The katsu was thick and juicy and the signature Japanese curry made it a perfect combination. Their gyudon was also great after mixing in the egg and tofu that was added right on top. Everything tasted authentic, fresh, and delicious. Definitely would come back if ever again in the area. Parking is available behind the restaurant but spots are limited.
The Delicatessen is one of my favorite casual Japanese restaurants in area! I've been a regular of this location since discovering it a couple years ago. This location is the fast-casual sister shop of Osawa, a higher-end sit-down Japanese restaurant in Pasadena. They offer a variety of classic Japanese dishes such as donburis, bentos, udon, and curry in a modern, laid-back setting. The Prime Beef Curry Rice is my favorite curry dish I've had in SoCal to date and has me coming back for more. The curry's consistency is just right, not too thick or thin, and the flavor is an umami bomb with the curry spice and beef at the forefront and subtle vegetable undertones. You can add on a crispy tonkatsu or chicken cutlet that will give the dish a textural contrast and added protein. The curry on it's own has chunks of braised beef that is enough for smaller appetites. Other than the curry, I've tried a variety of their bentos such as the miso salmon and black cod; I would recommend them for a lighter meal, perfect for lunch. They have an ever-changing daily special that offers new, different bentos and donburis. I feel the quality of the Delicatessen is high but the fast-casual setting helps keep the prices reasonable, albiet priced up a little since they are in Pasadena. Parking is fairly easy, you can park in the underground structure and get 1 hour of validation from the restaurant. I've never ran into an issue with the 1 hour limit, but if you want to stay longer then you can do street parking on Cordova. Service is polite and respectful, typical Japanese-style which I enjoy. Reminder that you have to put away your own plate/bowls in the return area! The Delicatessen has become one of my regular spots whenever I visit my parents because of their quick, quality food. I'd recommend stopping by on a cold day to enjoy a warm, hearty curry!
It's good but service isn't as fast as expected since all food were all made and just need to put in plates together
We had the chicken udon & a California roll. The California roll was ok.. just expected more after the high reviews of this place. I mean it's better than sushi stop hahah but it's also $8. The udon noodles were really good but I didn't enjoy much else about the soup. It tasted really fishy to me and I wish the chicken flavor was stronger. Also as you can see by my picture not much meat in there. Good thing is that it wasn't too pricey. If you like your udon fishy you might like the dish. One good thing bout this place is that the staff is really friendly.
Straight up amazing! My brodies and I decided to go to this place because one of them is raving about it for so long. That particular friend of mine went to Japan before, so I am pretty sure he knows good Japanese food around Pasedena. The place is super clean and it feels like a restaurant from Tokyo from the outside. The servers are polite and accommodating, as well. The food almost make me cry.. and I'm not talking about onions lol Their food are fresh and taste like a Japanese grandma made it from scratch. I always think that Japanese servings won't fill me up, but I'm always end up the opposite. The servings are the right amount and presentations are always a masterpiece. If I can only frame a food, this is it lol. I ordered their Beef Donburi, hands down the best Donburi I ever tasted. Every single ingredients (shredded beef, pouch egg, pouch tofu, shitake mushrooms, ginger, their secret soy sauce) are fresh. Japanese food in general is about freshness and this food joint just 100% nailed it :) PS: They have parking on the back and they provide parking validation.
This is one of my favorite places to eat in Pasadena. There a's a variety of different menu options from Japanese curry to Bentos, Dons to cut rolls. You really can't go wrong and everything they serve is solid. Favorite Dish: My favorite thing to get here is the Chicken Katsu Curry Rice for dinner. The Katsu is so crispy when eaten fresh and the curry also contains bits of beef that is sure to satisfy your taste buds. Environment: Order at the counter, find a seat, and wait for your food to come. If you're starving at home, have no friends to eat with, and absolutely do not want to get fast food, this is a great place to go! I'll have to admit I came here alone a few times myself. If you're the type of person that dreads eating out alone, trust me when I say you'll be able to dine here alone with confidence. Parking: There's a underground parking structure here which is free with validation if my memory is correct.
Have only had takeout but all of it was excellent. Especially loved the miso cod.
The lovely owners of Osawa, bring the same warm service and well prepared dishes the simple neighborhood casual Japanese eats. The beef curry has the traditional Tokyo style mild curry. The soba salad was more soba then salad.
Restaurantji Recommends
I had an amazing experience in this place. We liked the awesome environment and the food. The staff are super amiable. I’m happy we finally decided to visit this spot.
We ordered our food and we were enjoying it before we were asked to leave because they needed to "clock out". Customer service 101: You don't serve someone food, take their money, and then ask them to leave before they are done eating. Extremely RUDE!! Food was okay, service was a deal breaker. We will never be back. Also they close at 2:30 and asked us to leave at 2:40, we received our food at 2:20.
I have been here a couple of times for lunch and think it's good value and very tasty and a bit different from all the other places on South Lake and around there.
After reading all the positive reviews I came here with high expectations but left super bummed. I ordered the Oyako soba noodles with a side of miso soup and tbh the miso soup was honestly the highlight of this mediocre meal lol. When I got the noodles, my first impression was that the portion was wayyyyy too small for $12... but I suppose this is understandable considering they use organic ingredients. Anyways, I began to mix my noodles with the protein and sauce so I could dig in, but I realized that the sauce was very watery and made the whole thing very soggy and honestly not that appetizing to look at. To make things worse, the sauce was lacking in flavor yet overly sugary at the same time. So I tried adding some spice to salvage the thing but even after I added like a third of the spice bottle I could not get over how insipid the dish was. Usually, I'll finish my food even if I don't like it because I don't like being wasteful but I couldn't finish more than a third of the noodles before deciding it wasn't worth stomaching it. My friend and I also split a spicy tuna roll but that was just as disappointing. The tuna was so ground up it completely lost the integrity of the texture and it just felt like I was eating a mysterious mush. If I had not ordered it myself, I would not have known what was in the roll by tasting it tbh. It just tasted like pink mush. Also, the rice was a little on the soggy side :( and it was too spread out it lowkey made the roll look bald bc of all the seaweed you could see peeking under. All in all, the customer service was great but the food was subpar. It was a disappointment to pay a premium price for food that was at best food court level.
Very cute japanese cafe. Good options for lunch set with reasonable price. I order grilled miso salmon bento! Everything are tasty! Come early this place can get busy!! After 2pm to-go only.