Okonomiyaki restaurants (okonomiyaki-ya) serve large, savory pancakes made with diced seafood, meat and vegetables. "Okonomiyaki" literally means "cook what you like," and customers get to choose their own favorite ingredients and then cook up their pancakes right at the table. Because the customers choose their own ingredients, Japanese sometimes compare okonomiyaki to pizza, although the similarity really ends there.

The okonomiyaki style of cooking originated in Osaka and continues to be most popular there, although okonomiyaki-ya can be found throughout the country. The restaurants are popular with students on a budget, since the food is inexpensive, tasty, quite filling and fun to prepare.

The menu will list the main ingredients available; an order of okonomiyaki consists of a bowl of pancake-like batter, plus a dish of diced vegetables and the main ingredient, such as shrimp or pork. A regular order of shrimp okonomiyaki is called ebi-ten (or ebi-tamayaki); some restaurants also serve monja-yaki, which is a somewhat thinner and more watery pancake.

The waiter or waitress will come by to turn on the grill at your table and brush the surface with oil; after that you're on your own. First mix together all the ingredients, then pour the mixture onto the grill when it's hot enough. You'll find small spatulas for flattening the pancake and pushing it into shape, and a larger spatula for turning it over. Before and after turning, you can brush the top of the pancake with Worcestershire sauce, then you can sprinkle it with aonori (green seaweed powder) and katsuo (dried bonito shavings) before eating it.

It takes a bit of experience to figure out when to flip the pancake and when to take it off the grill. Okonomiyaki takes longer to cook than you might expect, and the finished product doesn't hold together nearly as well as a pancake. You might ask your waiter for advice, or else pay close attention to the technique of the people at the next table.

Okonomiyaki-ya also serve yakisoba (fried Chinese noodles with vegetables), as well as some egg-based dishes that are closer to omelettes than pancakes.