Dotombori Imai

Dear Customers, Due to the easing of the Osaka Prefecture's COVID-19 infection prevention measures on May 23, 2022, we have lifted the restrictions on the number of customers allowed in the store and the time limits for use. We apologize for the inconvenience caused to our customers for a long time. We kindly ask for your continued patronage of Dotonbori Imai Main Store.

This is undoubtedly a taste for adults. Sweet sea bream steamed in sake and sliced yuzu are lightly cooked in dashi, and once the yuzu has softened, the sweet sea bream and yuzu are served on top of the soba, with a light dashi poured over it. The umami of the sweet sea bream and the acidity and bitterness of the yuzu blend together in the dashi. If you eat yuzu an soba and think 'delicious', you are an 'adult'. Yuzu An Soba [with sushi] ¥2,350 (tax included) [single item] ¥2,200 (tax included)

Size: 202×202×48mm ● Seasonal Rice ● White Rice

Size: 140×140×40mm×2 layers ● Seasonal rice, shiso and baby sardine rice ● White rice

Size: 137×137×45mm ● Seasonal rice, shiso and baby sardine rice, white rice

※ The bento listed is for delivery. The types of bento available for takeout may vary by store, so we kindly ask you to contact the store directly for inquiries. You can choose from white rice, shiso and baby sardine rice, red rice, or seasonal rice depending on your needs and preferences. ※ The price may vary depending on the type of rice. For more details, please ask the staff. 【For reservations and inquiries】 06-6575-0320

When it comes to representative udon from Osaka, 'Kitsune Udon' is the one. It features fluffy, sweet fried tofu, a rich and flavorful broth made from natural kombu from the southern part of Hokkaido, and mackerel and sardine flakes from Kyushu, all combined with chewy udon to create a delicious harmony. Enjoy the comforting taste born in Osaka.

First, the duck thigh meat is simmered in broth. Once the umami is well-extracted, the lean meat is cooked until just right. The udon, topped with finely sliced green onions, is served with the duck meat and broth poured over it. Enjoy the rich umami of the duck broth and the crunchy green onions with the excellent texture of Osaka udon. Don't forget to add some sansho pepper to the duck!

When you think of 'grilled pork', you might picture Chinese 'char siu', but Imai's homemade 'yaki buta' pairs perfectly with udon. High-quality pork shoulder is grilled to a nice brown on the surface and slowly cooked in a sauce that has been passed down for many years. Generously topped with grated fresh ginger, it offers a refreshing aftertaste and is a delicious dish.

This is a representative dish of Osaka udon, alongside kitsune udon. Chopped wood ear mushrooms are added to the broth, creating a slightly thinner sauce. Once the thickened broth starts bubbling, beaten eggs are gently placed on top like silk. Finally, grated ginger is added, and it's ready to serve. Enjoy the flavorful sauce with the crunchy texture of the wood ear mushrooms.

Lightly simmered with the middle board kamaboko from the long-established 'Oitora' at Ebisu Bridge in a dashi broth. At the end, an egg is cracked in, and when the egg white floats up, it is poured over the udon. The dashi mixed with the egg yolk also pairs well with the udon. Please feel free to request your preferred level of egg cooking.

This is a simple dish where lightly grilled rice cakes are floated on top of udon noodles. Enjoy the harmony of the mochi coated in broth, the noodles, and green onions.

The broth of kitsune udon is thickened to create a 'ankake' style, topped with plenty of grated ginger. The thickness of the broth captures the sweetness of the fried tofu, making each flavor stand out in this dish.

This is a hot udon topped with finely chopped thin fried tofu, oboro kelp, bonito flakes, and baked rice crackers. 'Yonaki Udon' is a reproduction of the udon sold by a street vendor in the night streets of Osaka Minami during the Taisho to Showa era, when the previous generation's Kanzo Imai operated a Western musical instrument store selling violins and saxophones at the current location. One can easily imagine the scene of slightly tipsy gentlemen from Senba sitting at the foot of the bridge, slurping up the delicious Yonaki Udon.

The broth is brought to a boil and then thickened to a perfect consistency. This is the key to making smooth and translucent noodle with thick sauce. Please enjoy it topped with plenty of grated ginger to warm you from the inside out. This dish has been praised by the French master Alain Ducasse, who said, 'It is a miraculous soup that can be fully enjoyed even with such a generous amount of ginger added.'

Whisked eggs are gently poured over the bubbling broth simmering in the pot. The eggs, resembling the wings of a celestial maiden, envelop the udon along with the broth.

Do you know the difference between 'oboro konbu' and 'tororo konbu'? 'Tororo konbu' is the shredded kelp that you are familiar with, cut into thin strands. 'Oboro konbu' is made by carefully shaving sheets of beautifully stretched kelp with a special knife by artisans. 'Oboro udon' made with high-quality taihaku oboro konbu adds further umami to the broth of Imai.

This is udon noodles served with thinly sliced, unseasoned deep-fried tofu, similar to kitsune udon, quickly cooked in a light broth. It is recommended for those who find plain udon unsatisfying but find kitsune udon too sweet.

We receive freshly prepared conger eel from 'Nawaho' in Osaka's Kizu Market, a shop we've been associated with for decades, and grill it with a special sauce every morning. We quickly simmer one and a half eels in our broth and serve it over udon. The umami and aroma of the grilled eel blend into the broth, and in spring, it pairs with young leaves, in summer with green yuzu, and in autumn and winter with yellow yuzu.

Duck udon with fragrant grilled rice cakes floating on top. Udon with rice cakes? It might sound strange. However, the rice cakes soaked in the delicious flavor of the duck and the broth pair incredibly well with the udon. Please give it a try; you might be surprised!

A very simple tempura udon with a large shrimp fried crisp in crystal oil and only green onions. The shrimp in typical tempura udon is fried using a method called 'chirashi-age', where the shrimp is floated in oil and coated with batter. However, at Dotonbori Imai, the shrimp is placed on a stand in the oil, and finely scattered batter is gently gathered and wrapped around it while frying. This dish reflects the ingenuity of the previous owner, who was a musical instrument shopkeeper. There is also one difference in 'Imai's Shrimp Tempura' that you won't find elsewhere; did you notice it?

Each piece of high-quality polished herring is wrapped in whiteboard kelp and steamed with a special sauce. Enjoy the refined, odorless herring that melts in your mouth, along with Imai's broth and udon.

First, the fat from the duck thigh is simmered in broth until the umami is fully extracted, then the lean meat is added and lightly cooked. Once the broth starts to boil again, thickly sliced green onions are added, and it is finished with a beaten egg. The combination of the flavorful duck meat and green onions is gently enveloped by the fluffy egg, enhancing the udon even more.

Shippoku, originating from Nagasaki, is a banquet dish that serves a variety of seafood and mountain delicacies arranged on a round table. At Dotonbori Imai, we have beautifully presented kamaboko (fish cake), grilled plum, sweet shrimp, and simmered donko shiitake mushrooms garnished with green onions. Each ingredient's unique flavor is deliciously harmonized by Imai's broth, resulting in a light and refreshing dish.

The combination of perfectly grilled rice cakes and oboro kelp is outstanding. The fragrant aroma stimulates the appetite.

When you open the lid of the specially made earthenware pot baked in a Kumoi kiln... you will find duck thigh meat, grilled conger eel, simmered shiitake mushrooms, grilled plum, fish cake, millet gluten, and green onions, all bubbling together. The egg that has been cracked in at the end is also cooked just right. Please experience the unique flavor of 'Nabeyaki Udon' created by carefully selected ingredients and Imai's broth at least once.

A bowl of udon simmered with one and a half pieces of anago (conger eel) that has been grilled to a fragrant finish with soy sauce, in a special earthenware pot from Unkai. To finish, an egg is cracked in, and chopped mitsuba is added for a delightful touch. Enjoy the seasonal aromas of spring with fresh buds, summer with green yuzu, and autumn and winter with yellow yuzu.

Tender duck thigh meat rich in flavor is cooked together with plenty of green onions in a clay pot made by Nakagawa Ippen. Please enjoy it generously sprinkled with sansho pepper.

This dish features fragrant grilled rice cakes floating in bubbling nabeyaki udon. It includes duck thigh meat, grilled conger eel, winter shiitake mushrooms, millet gluten, and fish cake. Each flavor melds into the broth, intertwining with the udon and rice cakes. Combining various tastes, this is the Osaka style.

This is the most popular dish in summer at Dotonbori Imai's 'makai'. Thin udon noodles are topped with a dipping sauce, garnished with green onions, wasabi, a raw egg, and shredded nori. It goes down smoothly even when you don't have much of an appetite. Adding tenkasu (tempura scraps) is also recommended.

Thinly cut udon is topped with dipping sauce and grated yam. The garnishes include green onions, wasabi, egg yolk, and aonori (green seaweed). This dish can be easily eaten even when you're busy. Please also try it with handmade soba.

Grated daikon radish with bonito flakes, sliced green onions, and ginger. The broth is made using a traditional method with plenty of natural kombu, combined with mackerel and skipjack tuna flakes, and seasoned with Chiba's tamari soy sauce. It is very refreshing and settles easily in the stomach at any time. Adding a little tempura scraps is also recommended. When you order grated udon, you can say, 'Can I have a little tempura scraps?' This might be quite a good tip...

Recommended for those who love 'kitsune udon' in both summer and winter, Cold Kitsune features the gentle sweetness of fried tofu, complemented by the refreshing taste of green onions and wasabi, which clings to the thinly cut udon noodles.

The duck thigh is cooked in the dipping sauce to bring out its flavor. Generously add finely chopped green onions, and when the duck breast is lightly cooked, it's ready to serve. The perfect combination of duck and green onions melds together in the sauce, coating the noodles thoroughly.

"What!? Isn't Dotonbori Imai a udon shop?" Indeed, the overwhelming majority of orders are for udon, but they also serve authentic soba noodles. They primarily use buckwheat flour from Hokkaido, made in a 2:8 ratio. They also offer handmade soba, so please give it a try. It is now called 'Dotonbori Imai', but during the time of the previous owner, Seizo Imai, it was known as 'Soba Shop Imai'. When you visit the main store next time, please check the entrance curtain; it says 'Soba Shop'.

The broth for the bowl at Dotonbori Imai is made stronger than the broth for udon, using a mix of light and dark soy sauce, authentic mirin from Aichi Prefecture, and sugar. High-quality young chicken thigh is cooked just right, and when the finely chopped green onions become tender, it is gently mixed with the whites of two eggs and the yolk of one egg. Finally, the remaining yolk is placed on top, and it's ready to serve. The Imai style is to enjoy it with a slurp, reminiscent of a rice bowl with raw egg.

Chopped kamaboko and simmered winter shiitake mushrooms are quickly cooked in a bowl sauce, then added to hot rice with shredded green onions and bound with egg. Finally, it is topped with shredded nori to complete the dish.

A simple dish featuring two large shrimp prepared in the Imai style of 'chirashi-age', accompanied only by tempura of green chili and ginger. It is a delight for tempura rice bowl lovers, allowing you to thoroughly enjoy the shrimp tempura and rice soaked in a flavorful bowl sauce.

It is the simplest bowl without adding or subtracting anything. Just add green onions to the broth and bind it with eggs. Because it is simple, one must pay attention to the cooking of the eggs and the doneness of the green onions, making it a bowl within a bowl.

The combination of two large shrimp that are deep-fried and a selection of seasonal vegetable tempura, along with lightly salted rice balls, is the best pairing. Please enjoy it with plenty of grated daikon in Imai's tempura dipping sauce.

The 'Nishime', which features nine different flavors using dashi made from natural kelp from the southern region and various types of bonito flakes, has been a popular menu item since 1958. Enjoy it alongside a lightly pressed rice ball that allows you to savor the sweetness of the rice with just a hint of salt.

A generous amount of vegetables, grilled conger eel from Kizu Market 'Nawaho', thick winter shiitake mushrooms simmered to perfection, millet gluten from Namba Motomachi 'Fuhou', yuba, high-quality chicken, and sweet shrimp, among others. Each ingredient brings out the rich flavors unique to udon hot pot. That said, the star of this dish is the 'udon', so please enjoy it together.

A classic appetizer at soba restaurants. Enjoy the grilled fish cake from the famous shop 'Otorikamakko' in Namba and Ebisu Bridge simply with wasabi and soy sauce.

The sea bream is filleted and skinned, then lightly salted to remove any odor. It is then sandwiched between genuine kombu from the southern region and left in the refrigerator overnight to complete the process. Enjoy it with 'Iri-zake', which is made by simmering kombu and pickled plum in sake, and adjusting the flavor with katsuobushi, along with wasabi.

A block of high-quality pork shoulder is seared on the surface over high heat and then simmered in a special sauce that has been continuously replenished. It is served thinly sliced with mustard soy sauce. It is also delicious wrapped in hot rice.

Each small shrimp with a firm texture is made into a crispy tempura.

A dish quickly stir-fried with homemade chirimen sansho and coarsely chopped green chili peppers. Recommended as a companion for drinks, regardless of Japanese or Western cuisine.

The rice balls from Dotonbori Imai are simple. We want you to enjoy the sweetness of the rice and its chewy texture, so the only seasoning is salt. They pair perfectly with various items on the Imai menu.

When it comes to oden, the standard is something like, 'Um, daikon, thick fried tofu, and gobo tempura, and also some beef sinew...'. However, Imai's oden is different. It is served bubbling in a clay pot made by Nakagawa Ippen from the Kumoi kiln, featuring nine different ingredients. Each of the nine ingredients is seasoned separately and then finished together. It includes whale tongue (sazae), skewered duck thigh and green onions, quail eggs, scallops, Ebisubashi Ootora's skewered tempura, and of course, thick fried tofu, konnyaku, daikon, and grilled tofu. You can enjoy it as a side dish with rice cooked with peas or chestnuts, or savor it as a snack with sake.

Pelo's warabi mochi. Desde Showa 28 hasta justo antes de Heisei, Pelo transportaba cada mañana desde Yamato Takada en Nara hasta Dotonbori, a veces hasta 400 piezas de warabi mochi. El verdadero nombre de Pelo es Kitauura. Fue en la ciudad de Osaka Minami, poco después de la guerra, cuando la joven Kitauura, que caminaba sin rumbo, fue abordada por Machiko, quien creó el caldo de Imai, que le dijo: '¡Ven a amasar nuestro warabi mochi! ¡Te lo compraré todo!'. No sé quién fue el primero, pero cuando me di cuenta, todos lo llamaban 'Pelo'. El warabi mochi de Imai tiene un estilo de Todai-ji en Nara, con forma cuadrada, y su dulzura es moderada, cubierto con abundante kinako y jarabe de azúcar de caña (miel blanca). Durante 40 años, Pelo se dedicó exclusivamente al warabi de Imai, y un día me dijo: 'Me he enfermado de cáncer. Antes de morir, te enseñaré todo sobre mi warabi mochi'. Desde entonces, día tras día, Pelo me transmitió todo sobre el warabi mochi en el comedor de empleados de la tienda principal de Dotonbori. '¡Está bien! Ya estoy tranquilo.' Fue unos días después de eso que Pelo falleció. Ahora, y en el futuro, el warabi mochi de Imai en Dotonbori es 'el warabi mochi de Pelo'.