I Choose You-- From the Menu! The Pokémon Café in Osaka, Japan
"Everybody's Favourite Pikachu" Set Meal.
Pokémon has always been a big hit in our household. I remember waiting in front of the television set every Friday night as a kid in 1999 for the cartoon to start. I remember collecting the cheap Pokémon cardboard cards that came with a one-peso packet of puffed cheese crisps because the whole point of the game was to "collect them all," emulating the show's catchphrase "Gotta catch 'em all!". I had the merchandise and the games. I could recite all of the Pokémon from Generation 1 in numerical order. Needless to say, I was a big fan. And to this day, I still am.
So during our visit to Osaka in Japan, we could not pass up the opportunity to visit the infamous Pokémon Café to treat ourselves to exclusive merchandise, novelty dining, and meet the dancing Pikachu of our dreams!
But first-- a light breakfast at our rental apartment courtesy of our local kombini, 7-11.
The first order of business is, of course, to book a table. There are two Pokémon Cafés in Japan-- one in Tokyo and another in Osaka. And let me tell you-- due to the popularity of both cafés, they are almost always fully booked. The key is to make a reservation one month (31 days) in advance via the Pokémon Café website. The website recommends making a reservation by 6:00 PM, 31 days before your desired reservation date. They can only accept walk-ins if there are cancellations on the day.
The Pokémon Café that we visited was located in Shinsaibashi in Osaka, Japan. It's on the 9th floor of Daimaru Shinsaibashi which is a huge department store.
(Related post: This teddy-bear themed cafe is the cutest in the whole world! Read more about it.)
Welcome to the Pokémon Café! Your life's savings may be in danger from here on out.
Fully-booked.
A photo spot with not just one but two Pikachu!
Two Pikachu are having a date. Shhh!
Halfway during the meal, guests will then be able to watch dancing Pikachu take center stage! This is such a delight for all the kids and kids-at-heart!
I love you, giant dancing Pikachu!
(Tiktok video incoming! If you enjoy my content, please like and subscribe to my channel!)
@chanchantako A day at the Pokèmon Cafe in Osaka, Japan! 😍😍😍 Oh, be still, my childish heart! But that #DancingPikachu is the highlight of my day! #PokemonCafe #OsakaJapan #VisitJapan ♬ Dancing In The Moonlight - 苏颜悦
"Gengar's Confuse Ray" smoothie, JPY 1,045.
I ordered the Gengar's Confuse Ray smoothie. They called it a smoothie but it was more like a softdrink float, with a base of grape soda and whipped grape-flavoured foam on top. The novelty of the drink is that there is a silicone cube inside the drink with a flashing red light so it looks like Gengar is doing its infamous Ghost-type attack that I swear to the heavens drives even the most seasoned Pokémon trainers up the wall sometimes. Overall, the drink is cool, refreshing, and a nice change from your usual Diet Pepsi.
The Gengar glass sans the blinking light cube is for sale at the shop at the entrance of the café.
The "Everybody's Favourite Pikachu" set meal (JPY 1,848).
The "Everybody's Favourite Pikachu" set meal came next. The Pikachu head in the front and centre of the plate is an Omurice (Japanese-style omelette-rice). Beside it is a pot of mac 'n cheese covered by a thin slice of cheese patterned like a Pokéball. There is also a side salad, a shrimp tempura, and a cheeseburger steak. Apart from the Pikachu head and the Pikachu plate, there is nothing extraordinary about this dish.
The adorable Pikachu-shaped plate is for sale at the shop at the entrance of the café.
If anything, buy just the plate and eat elsewhere.
"Snorlax's Tummy-Filling Nap Lunch Plate" set meal (JPY 1,958).
The "Snorlax's Tummy-Filling Nap Lunch Plate" set meal is such a treat because, just like its namesake Pokémon, the portion size is big and satisfying. There is a big serving of vegetable fried rice in a bowl shaped like Snorlax with a side of potato wedges, salad with figs, and a juicy roasted boneless chicken thigh and gravy! My only regret was not buying the Snorlax-shaped bowl!
Again the Snorlax-shaped bowl is for sale at the shop at the entrance of the café.
Look at those carrots shaped like zzz's!
I should have also bought a pair of these cute cutlery! They are also for sale at the shop at the entrance of the café.
"Polteageist and Sinistea's Tea Party", JPY 1,265.
Yes, there are teacup and teapot Pokémon. Well, basically, they are ghost Pokemon residing in teacups and teapots which is a far cry from when Pokémon just used to be just based off turtles and lizards. Sinistea is said to be the soul of someone who died alone and possessed some leftover tea; Polteageist is is evolved form. The "Polteageist and Sinistea's Tea Party" has been deemed basically fit for human consumption and won't rid you of your vitality when you drink it. You can choose from Apple or Strawberry Fruit Tea, and it comes with a small Pikachu-shaped butter cookie. The taste of the fruit tea is not bad, although it tasted artificial. The teacup and teapot set is again for sale at the shop at the entrance of the café.
The "Pikachu Hamburger", JPY 1,540.
While I was editing my Tiktok video for our visit to the Pokémon Café, I have mistakenly labelled this dish as the "Everyone's Attracted to Eevee" set meal. It was too late when I realised that this is in fact, despite its brown colour and extreme likeliness to Eevee, a "Pikachu Hamburger Kids' Set Meal"! Que horror!
As pictured above, the Pikachu Hamburger Kids' Set Meal has a mini-burger designed to resemble Pikachu's head, a tomato pasta with vegetables, an omelette shaped like Pikachu's tail, potato wedges, a chicken nugget, a lonely piece of broccoli, and a small jelly. Upon closer look, the pasta were all shaped like Pikachu, too!
The taste of the food seemed average, but not bad. The plate is once again for sale at the shop at the entrance of the café; however, I was looking for the Pikachu-shaped pasta which they did not sell at the shop!
"Pokémon Scarlet Starters" lunch set.
In order to celebrate the release of the newest Pokémon games, Pokémon versions Scarlet and Violet, the Pokémon Café launched a new set menu featuring the Paldean Region's starters-- the water-type Quaxly, the grass-type Sprigatito, and fire-type Fuecoco! Diners are able to choose between the Scarlet lunch set and the Violet lunch set. My mom chose the Scarlet set which consists of a Sprigatito crispy potato salad with small shrimp and egg with cobb dressing, Fuecoco hamburger and cream doria with plenty of cheese along with a Quaxly-themed dessert consisting of cheesecake with orange and mango fruits. If she had chosen the Violet menu, she would have had a Sprigatito macaroni salad with bacon and cheese with caesar dressing, a Fuecoco sweet potato and grilled chicken cream doria and grape and blueberry fruit Quaxly cheesecake with grape sauce. Overall, it was quite good and flavourful, and the pieces in the set were well-portioned and nicely-balanced against each other.
My mom also ordered a "Ditto Ombre Fruit Tea" which came in a tall glass and a straw with a Ditto impersonating a uterus attached. It was mildly sweet and flavourful, and each layer has its own unique fruit flavour. We tasted hints of blueberry, watermelon, and apple. It was quite good.
"Ditto's Ombre Fruit Tea."
"Quaxly's Ramune Soda Float."
"Quaxly's Ramune Soda Float" is a fizzy and sparkling Ramune soda float with pulpy coconut gel. This one was quite good, too.
"Say Hello to Eevee" Royal Milk Tea.
The Pokémon Café website describes "Say Hello to Eevee" Royal Milk Tea as a "royal milk tea-flavored drink and dessert, made from French almond cake and plenty of whipped cream." And it tasted exactly like that. It was creamy and sweet, cool, and refreshing. 'Nuff said.
After 90 minutes, we were respectfully invited by the staff to settle our bill and exit the premises as per our booked timeslot. With our tummies full, we relocated to the shop at the front of the café and looked at the various café-exclusive merchandise. The others in our group headed straight to the Pokémon Center opposite the café where there were more Pokémon-related stuff to waste our money on. We also took pictures with the Pokémon murals surrounding the café.
Yeah, why were there no Meowth-themed dishes?
Rows upon rows of Pastry-chef Pikachu!
We hope to come back! We really do!
Moltres at the Pokémon Center.
Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres at the Pokémon Center.
The three Paldean starters at the Pokémon Center.
(Really expensive) Snorlax plushies! So cute!
Pokémon murals!
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