Cafe Itadaki

Truly tasty matcha tea, but also: THEY HAVE BUCKWHEAT TEA!!! Buckwheat is incredibly nutrient dense, and it’s so hard to find the tea anywhere. Buckwheat noodles are often mostly flour, so I prefer to get buckwheat from the groats or the tea, and I’m thrilled to learn I can do that here! Also, this is the most comfortable stool I have ever sat on: memory foam AND a back. Delightful.

I had omurice, takoyaki, and pork katsu curry before, and they were all delicious. I tried Tonkotsu Miso Ramen. It would be perfect for warming up on a cold day. It was good, but not as great as the other dishes. I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone who doesn’t like the taste of bamboo shoots. Personally, I didn’t enjoy it because the flavor of the bamboo shoots overpowered the miso in the soup.

The matcha latte with oat milk was excellent! Karage also so flavorful! Would love to come back and spend some time just relaxing here with a book and laptop.

Cafe Itadaki has delicious matcha drinks that are a nice balance between sweet and matcha flavor. I got the matcha latte with whole milk and it went down so smoothly. It’s a great spot for a treat after lunch or even if you’re looking for a spot to study. Next time I’ll have to try their food but the drinks here are really good!

Ladies and Gentlemen, let me direct your attention to this BOMB of a Pork Cutlet Sandwich (+extra pork cutlet). Trust me, THIS is the way. I understand it now. Matcha is also incredible here.

I was extremely excited to see a kissaten- inspired cafe open in Brookline, but while the atmosphere was nice and perfect for studying, I was pretty disappointed and underwhelmed with the food. To start off with the positives, I thought the atmosphere and seating were nice. The restaurant was bright, clean, and had lots of seating. It seemed like a good place to study. The customer service was also very attentive and fast. The menu is a varied offering a mix of Japanese cuisine from ramen to onigiri, but I came here for the omurice. I chose the classic omurice without the sauce. Maybe the sauce option would have been better because I thought the classic omurice was bland with very little seasoning, the eggs weren’t very fluffy, and there was barely any pieces of chicken. I also got the barley tea which was ok, not the best i’ve had (but for $2 it was good). I’m not sure if this was an off day or an off dish, but I’d recommend trying something else on their menu. The customer service and atmosphere is definitely there, but my food today left some to be desired.

Cafe Itadaki is having their soft opening until August 4th. I tried the Omurice. The server brings it out to you and cuts it open as well, resulting in the signature pour seen with omurice. I thought the dish was very good, not much to elevate it but the sauce included tastes decent with it. I also tried the original omurice, which was pretty good as well. It only includes ketchup as a sauce, but the included meat and rice was good. We also tried the onigiri, which had good portions and was affordable for what they offered. Not sure if the price will change when they do open, but the prices here lean a bit cheaper than other places, and the portion size here is decent. I definitely will want to try and go back once the restaurant opens.

Solid ramen and onigiri for an unbeatable price. Heads up, the food is a tad salty, but brings out the flavor. Service is excellent, and the atmosphere is also wonderful. Definitely recommend and will come back to try other items.

I'm sorry I have been sleeping on this place because WOW. I love ramen and this is easily top 3 ramen I've ever had. I got the vegetarian ramen and it was so flavorful and the bamboo shoots were incredible. Also a really good price? To go I got the matcha latte which was also stunning. Very rich and smooth flavor- you can tell they use ceremonial grade matcha. I loved the hint of sweetness. Food came out quickly and the servers were attentive. You order and then sit which I liked because I arrived after my friends. This place was quiet and seemed amazing to study in- one person was working on their computer in the corner. The nearby cafes are very small and crowded- I'm definitely going to start coming here more often because I was blown away (which is saying something)

I got the iced green tea matcha, there is no no sugar option for this unfortunately so it comes a bit sweetened, but I think you can ask them to add just a little bit of sweetener. The omurice with the brown sauce is pretty good. It is my first time having omurice so I have no barometer to based it off of. However, the egg was cooked just right, not too solid and not too runny. The flavor was not too salty, rice was cooked well. No complaints here. I also got the takoyaki, which is your run of the mill takoyaki, it wasnt super good but it was not bad either, I would say it was decent.

Cafe Itadaki is located in Brookline where there's either a ton of parking or not at all. The positive here is that there are a lot of parking lots nearby and if you come on Sundays, parking is free! The restaurant itself is very cute. It was cozy but not too claustrophobic. The walls were decorated with dark green and cold. I loved it. You order by going up to the counter and they give you a number. Then you seat wherever. We got an iced matcha latte with almond milk, a Cafe Itadaki omurice, and a pork katsu curry. The omurice was pretty good. The egg didn't open up the way I really wanted it to and the rice was okay. The pork katsu was the same. It was good, but I wished there was an option to add some spice. The iced matcha latte though - WOW. That was delicious. So good, that we got another one to go. And then obviously we had to get a taiyaki which was filled with red bean. The red bean was good but the dough itself was quite greasy and that made the small dessert feel much heavier. Overall, the place is a good addition to Brookline but am excited to see if they ever tweak the menu a bit to add just a bit more zing!

Great place to get some good food with the option to do some studying/work! I came on a Friday at around 5pm and it was surprisingly quiet with 2 tables occupied. Food I tried: * Pork Katsu Curry - The pork was a bit dry, but with the curry sauce it's better. * Veggies Croquette Curry - Love the extra crunchy croquette! * Cafe Itadaki Omurice - Knowing there aren't many omurice in the area, I have to say this omurice tastes better than the other places I've had in Brookline/Boston! It has the right amount of flavor and fluffiness, sauce, and texture in every bite. * Matcha Mille Crepe Cake - This has more vanilla/cream taste than matcha, so good for those who don't prefer that strong matcha taste. Aside from the food, I love the ambiance - clean and calm. It's definitely a good place to do some work and get some food that will fill you up compared to other cafes. Overall, it's a decent quiet place that I'd come back to with friends and some work! Highly recommend their omurice!

Cafe Itadaki recently opened up in Brookline and they're offering Japanese comfort dishes. The restaurant has cafe vibes great for studying, casual eating, and even has a bar seating area! It's counter-service so you order before you seat yourself. Fod food, we ordered some of the most popular dishes but overall a bit disappointing. We got the Cafe Itadaki omurice which comes with a sweet demiglaze, pork katsu curry and a spicy salmon onigiri. The egg cooked on top of the omurice was cooked well where the inside was nice and soft. The glaze was okay, nothing fancy. The fried rice on the inside was bland, not much flavor, and barely had any chicken. Pork katsu was fried nicely and the pork itself was still soft. The actual curry wasn't amazing, tasted similar to a curry pack. I wish there was more katsu or even veggies in the curry. The onigiri had way too much rice, barely any salmon, and dry. The best thing we got was definitely the matcha latte. You can tell the matcha is high quality and they get it from Japan! I don't think I would go again right now but if they update their menu I might go back. I think they would benefit from focusing in on a few dishes to improve them!

I've been to Cafe Itadaki twice now. I ordered the omurice the first time and the tonkotsu shoyu ramen with gluten free noodles the second times. I wasn't familiar with a breakfast/brunch option like omurice beforehand but I absolutely loved it. My server even cut it open and drizzled ketchup over it. It was quite novel to me. And as I mentioned before, I got gluten free noodles in my ramen. Thankfully someone else at my table ordered regular ramen noodles so I could see the difference in the noodles, otherwise, I would've never known my noodles were gluten free. 10/10 experience both visits. ALSO, not that it is as important as the restaurant experience itself but Cafe Itadaki is located in a wonderful neighborhood of Brookline on Harvard just by the Brookline Village stop on the green(D) line. There are cute little shops all around so you can make an afternoon out of it.

My partner and I shared a plum onigiri, pork cutlet curry, Cafe Itadaki omurice, and iced signature itadaki matcha latte - TASTE: 4/5 - enjoyed the strong pickled plum flavor in the onigiri, savory curry, tasty hayashi (demi glace) sauce w the omurice, and balanced matcha flavor TEXTURE: 5/5 - just the right ratio of filling vs rice in the onigiri, yum! The pork katsu was crunchy, and the omelette was runny and still sturdy PRICE: 4/5 - total came to $53, not bad SERVING SIZE: 4/5 - good servings for lunch SERVICE: 4/5 - walked in at 12:30pm on a Sunday and was nervous it'd be packed, but there were still several tables open. Placed our order at the register then found our seat, and food started coming out 10-15min after. The woman who served us our omurice was good natured when I started taking a video of the sauce being poured lol ATMOSPHERE: 4/5 - small, cozy space w minimal decor, plus basket containers near your seat to hold any belongings PARKING: 4/5 - had to circle a couple times, but eventually found a free street spot right on Harvard St and walked a couple blocks over

Cute cafe and location. You order at the counter and take a number but you're free to take the menu and have a seat until you're ready to order. Went during a slow day so service was pretty fast. I got the cafe itadaki omurice and thought it was okay. It was very filling because of the size but the egg didn't open up as seamlessly as I hoped it would. Flavor wise, it wasn't too bad. I did like their sauce and thought it brought it all together so I'd rather have this gravy than ketchup. Definitely wished there were more sauce on the side for the last bites. Rice was cooked well and there are chunks of meat in it.

Omurice, onigiri, matcha oh my! Cafe Itadaki in Brookline, MA Cafe Itadaki has so many options for small bites like onigiri and pork cutlet or egg sandos, or larger lunch options of ramen, japanese curry, or omurice! This visit, I tried their omurice and the demiglace sauce was perfectly flavored and tasted SO GOOD with each bite of their fluffy egg over ketchup chicken fried rice As for drinks, we had their iced barley tea and signature iced matcha latte WHEN I TELL YOU I LOVE THEIR MATCHA!!!! Perfectly not too sweet and smooth, their matcha was delightful!! Definitely a lovely japanese cafe to visit when in Brookline! Quick service, lots of seating, and great food and drinks!

This place was a little disappointing. The cafe is a casual cute place but the rice in the omurice was dry/bland and the egg was overcooked. I think you could make this type of omurice at home. The service was fine, you order first and then they bring the food to the table you sit at. I likely won't come back again but the concept of a Japanese style cafe is very cute

Soft opening until August 4th, with limited hours. The atmosphere is a general cafe vibe, lots of tables and it wasn't too busy when I arrived. The service was quick and friendly. They only had one person manning the front, but dishes came out quick and were good. They had a self serve water station, but the water was a bit warm when we went. The food is decently priced and portions are decently sized, may be a bit small for some people but I was satisfied with it. I got the classic Omurice, which went well with the rice and meat base underneath and the signature runny eggs was perfect. I also tried the Katsu Sando, which had a nice Katsu sauce glaze and was fried lightly. I'd love to go here again when it opens up.

This cafe made unauthorized charges to my credit card days after I purchased a meal there.

Love this place!! I can't speak for the entire menu because I haven't tried it all but everything I have eaten has been amazing. What strikes me the most about the place is the customer service though. So friendly! I was once digging into the pork cutlet sando and before I could take my first bite it slipped out of my hand and landed right on the floor. Not only were they incredibly kind about the situation, they immediately made me another half sandwich to replace what fell on the floor. The sandwich itself was really yummy. The onigiri is great too and a sizeable portion for the $4 it costs. I will be a loyal customer.

We tried Cafe Itadaki today during their soft opening. You order at the counter and seat yourself, then they bring the food to your table. There is a self-service bussing area with a Brita water pitcher as well. We ordered the Cafe Itadaki omurice with demi-glacé ($18), pork katsu curry ($16), salmon onigiri ($3.50), iced matcha latte ($5), and iced barley tea ($2). We received our drinks first and they were refreshing on this hot 91°F day. The iced matcha latte is sweet and well-made and the iced barley tea was crisp. I will mention that it was a bit warm inside the cafe, but this may be because of the high temps outside. We received the salmon onigiri and it was a good size with decent rice to filling ratio - I would order this again. The rice was seasoned well and the salmon was tasty. We then received the pork katsu curry and it was okay. There weren't a ton of veggies in the curry sauce and it was very reminiscent of Japanese boxed curry roux. We received the omurice last and the server cuts the omelette when serving and you pour the sauce yourself. When the server finished cutting open the omelette, I poured the sauce and noticed a very short black hair on the plate and the server did as well and took the plate back to replace the dish with a newly made one. When we received the newly made dish, he cut the omelette again and I sauced it shortly afterwards. I thought the dish was really underwhelming and the demi-glacé was just okay. The rice had pieces of chicken, but it was minimal at best. I'm hoping they add more menu items or work on refining their dishes. I wasn't wowed by the dishes, but would return for their matcha lattes.

Found our new favorite place to get paitan ramen in Boston. Onigiri was also delicious. It was nice and quiet which we appreciated.

Pork katsu curry was delicious and authentic. Hits the spot if you're craving this Japanese classic. ありがとうー！

I had vegetable croquette curry. There was one croquette and a piece of carrot in the roux and lots of rice, which was dry. Authentic Japanese style curry is supposed to have lots of carrots, onions and potatoes in the roux. Barley tea was very thin with lots of ice and didn't have any barley flavor. Onigiri rice was huge but dry. It seems that the place is focusing to save cost instead of serving good food.

this place is super homey! food tastes like home too the service is also top tier!! def recommend coming here to try

Friendly staff with prompt food delivery. Ambiance is plain but not something I would look for in a cafe setting like this. As someone who has been to Japan it was great to find a place that had some of the essential Japanese comfort foods.

Cafe's food is solid 2/5 because... honestly, have nothing special, taste is very mid. Esthetic is not Japanese at all I would say