Oden in the Sendai area! 10 popular spots by area with carefully selected ingredients

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Nagakacho Center-gai Oden Kouzou is an oden (Japanese fish cake stew) restaurant on the first floor of Nagakacho Center-gai, a 5-minute walk from Sendai Station.

The interior uses plenty of wood and has a warm feel. From the counter seats, you can get a good view of the large pot of oden.

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The oden is said to stand out for the rich flavor of kombu kelp broth and the aroma of soy sauce, bringing out the natural qualities of each ingredient.

The lineup of fish paste items is extensive, and even satsuma-age (deep-fried fish cake) alone comes in as many as three kinds depending on the day.

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The "To finish curry udon" is a menu item made with oden broth. It is said to have a light, gentle flavor with a touch of spicy heat.

The udon has a nice chew and a smooth texture going down.

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Taishu Sakaba Senya is a casual izakaya located on the basement level of a building, a 5-minute walk from the west exit of Sendai Station on the JR lines. It is open from daytime, so you can stop by not only for lunch but also for daytime drinks.

It offers open table seating and Sunken kotatsu seating where you can stretch out your legs and relax.

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The restaurant's signature dish is dote miso oden (oden simmered with Hatcho miso). Its jet black look makes a strong impression.

Even after a long simmer, the flavor stays intact, while the richness and savory taste deepen. With each bite, a clean bitterness spreads across the palate.

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The seafood dishes use fresh fish sourced from Sendai Central Wholesale Market. In addition to sashimi (raw sliced fish), they also offer plenty of hamayaki (seaside-style grilled seafood) and simmered fish.

The "Aburi Shimesaba Hangshin" uses rich, fatty saba (mackerel), and you can enjoy the nice toasty aroma from the searing.

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Oden Jukku is an izakaya in Iroha Yokocho that opened in August 2022. You can enjoy pairings of Special Japanese sake and oden (Japanese hot pot dish). It is about an 8-minute walk from Sendai Station.

The small interior, with only 8 counter seats, has a warm atmosphere and is said to be popular with regulars as well.

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The oden ingredients range widely from classics to unusual picks. They use chicken bones, dried sardines, kombu kelp, as well as herbs and aromatic vegetables in the broth.

For toppings on the daikon radish, they seem to offer not only "small green onions" but also "tororo kombu (shaved kombu kelp)" and "Sendai miso Bolognese."

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They also offer a lunch-only menu. It comes with a choice of main dish, multigrain rice, miso soup, and three side dishes.

The main dish changes weekly, with both meat and fish options. Every dish is said to have a comforting homemade taste.

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O’denbar Umami Sendai is a restaurant about an 8-minute walk from Sendai Station on the JR lines. You can enjoy seasonal ingredients throughout the four seasons along with Japanese sake and natural wine.

Inside, the restaurant has a Japanese modern atmosphere that feels like a hideaway. The counter seats are said to be a good fit for days when you want to drink quietly on your own.

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This restaurant is known for serving authentic Kansai-style oden. The broth uses three kinds of kombu kelp from Hokkaido.

Along with more than 20 standard ingredients available at all times, they also offer seasonal limited items and daily specials.

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The "Classic oden set meal" is a set that comes with five kinds of oden specially selected by the owner, along with seasoned rice, salad, and small side dishes.

They also recommend pouring the oden broth over the rice and enjoying it nekomanma-style (rice with soup poured over it).

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Odenya Daisuke is a small izakaya serving Japanese home-style dishes, located about a 5-minute walk from Kotodai-Koen Station, with oden (Japanese hot pot dish) as the star of the menu. You can enjoy the oden either A la carte or as part of a course. They also offer a wide selection of local sake from Miyagi Prefecture, as well as Japanese sake and shochu.

It is said to fill up quickly even on weekdays, so reservations are recommended.

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Even while in Sendai, you can enjoy Shizuoka oden (Shizuoka-style oden). Shizuoka oden is simmered in a dark, rich broth and finished with aonori (green laver) and dashi-ko (broth powder).

The rich aroma of aonori is said to bring out the good flavors of the ingredients.

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Depending on the ingredients, they seem to use a light kombu kelp broth.

The "nira ganmo" is said to feature fluffy ganmodoki (fried tofu fritter) soaked with plenty of light broth. The punch of nira (garlic chives) comes through nicely, making it addictively good.

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Oden Sankichi is an oden spot with a wide selection of local sake. It is about a 3-minute walk from Kotodai-Koen Station. There are 178m counter seats, ozashiki (tatami seating), Private room, and other types of seating available.

It seems to be popular with a wide range of guests, from families to businesspeople.

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The broth for the oden uses only grilled dried sardines from Mutsu Bay in Aomori Prefecture and kombu kelp.

It is clear and has a light taste. It does not get in the way of the ingredients' flavors and instead brings them out.

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They also offer a course that includes 6 to 7 dishes including oden (Japanese hot pot dishes simmered in broth), plus 90 minutes of All you can drink.

Along with oden, they serve sashimi (raw sliced fish), chicken Kara-age, and sunomono (vinegared dishes), making for a full lineup. To finish, they also serve udon (thick Japanese noodles).

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Taishu Sakaba Inatora 2 is a neo taishu sakaba (modern casual Japanese pub) about a 5-minute walk from Kotodai Koen Station. The menu is packed with dishes that go well with drinks, centered on nimikomi ryori (simmered dishes).

They also offer an All you can drink course with shochu (Japanese distilled spirit) poured from a tap. The atmosphere is said to make it easy to drop in casually.

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They say you can enjoy piping hot oden (Japanese one-pot dish) that makes the most of iriko dashi (dried sardine stock).

Along with the popular classic ingredients, they also offer unusual items such as Sendai abura-fu (deep-fried wheat gluten) and Uwajima jakoten (fried fish cake). It is so good that you will want to finish every last drop of the broth.

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The "Homemade Tsukune Kushi (homemade chicken meatball skewer)" is a coarse ground tsukune made with Domestic chicken and hand-shaped one by one.

The tsukune is thick and meaty, and each bite is said to release juicy meat juices. The crunchy texture of the cartilage is said to be addictively good.

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Ichiyo is a restaurant where you can enjoy Japanese cuisine made with Special ingredients selected by the head chef, along with local Tohoku sake. It is located a 5-minute walk from Kotodai-Koen Station.

In addition to table seating, the restaurant also has counter seats and Sunken kotatsu seating, making it suitable for many different occasions.

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Oden (Japanese hot pot dishes simmered in broth) is a popular menu item with a steady stream of orders. They use natural dashi (Japanese soup stock) and slowly simmer it with care over time.

In addition to more than 10 year-round menu items, they also offer seasonal items and creative variations.

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They also serve carefully made à la carte dishes prepared with oden broth.

The "dashimaki tamago (Japanese rolled omelet)" is said to be fluffy, with the broth flavor soaked into the egg. The sharp bite of the grated daikon radish served on the side makes a nice accent.

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Taishu Sushi Sakaba Fujiko Omachi Ten is a 3-minute walk from Aoba-dori Station and offers seasonal sushi along with a wide range of Japanese dishes.

The first floor has Japanese modern table seating, counter seating, and spacious Semi-private room seating. The second floor has Banquet seating and is available for Private reservation for groups.

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Along with the sushi, another popular item is the tetsunabe oden (oden served in an iron pot). They offer a wide range of ingredients, from classic choices to more creative variations.

The gentle flavor of the dashi is said to soak into every ingredient.

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The nigiri sushi made with carefully selected ingredients is also recommended. They pair seasonal fresh fish with their special shari (sushi rice), made with akazu (red vinegar) and Sasanishiki rice from Miyagi Prefecture.

They serve it in an easy to eat, bite sized portion, and it also goes perfectly as a snack to go with drinks.

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Oden Shintaro, about a 5-minute walk from Kita-Yobancho Station on the Sendai Municipal Subway Namboku Line, is a popular izakaya where you can enjoy Kansai-style oden, something that is still hard to find in Sendai.

The interior is compact but has a nice atmosphere, making it a place where you can relax and enjoy your meal.

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For the oden, they use a broth made from kombu kelp and bonito. Each piece is carefully prepared, and the deep savory flavor of the broth is packed into every bite.

If you want to try the classic ingredients, the "oden 3-item assortment" is recommended.

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The "potato salad" at Oden Shintaro is a dish simmered in oden broth. (Each) person eats it by breaking up the ingredients as they go.

It comes with chunky pieces of potato and thick-cut bacon, so you can really take your time enjoying the texture of the ingredients.