Café-restaurant and tourism hotspot located on Dotonbori's shop street a block from the canal. Dishes include takoyaki, yakisoba, deep-fried skewers ("kushikatsu"), vegan cutlet rice bowls ("katsudon"), fried gyoza dumplings and more. Cold Shio Ramen is available from June 2025. Open Mon-Sun 11:30am-10:30pm. Public holidays have Sat-Sun hours.
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1F Nakaza Blvd, 1 Chome-7-21 Dotonbori, Chuo Ward, Osaka, Japan, 542-0071
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- Wheelchair accessible
- Accepts credit cards
- Free Wi-Fi
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Last update on 14 Nov 2025 by pivotbase
Update business info -
Added by pivotbase on 31 May 2024
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Featured Review
FrogSoda
Points +957
Awesome Cafe in the Heart of Dotonbori - Edit
Pivot Base is fantastic! Dotonbori is like a huge shopping area and food Mecca for non-vegan so the fact that there’s this amazing vegan restaurant in the middle of it is pretty awesome. The food is so delicious—we visited twice! The Ramen option I got was so incredibly creamy and rich. The noodles were extremely flavorful and the veggies were just as tasty. I also loved the fried Takoyaki. They have a few different flavors (we sampled all of them) and they bring a house made mayo you can add to it! It’s so good! Everything else we ordered was superb! Everyone here speaks English, and I believe the owner hangs out at the restaurant as well. He’s very kind, as are the servers. This place is 10 out of 10 incredible—we highly recommend it!
Read moreUpdated from previous review on 2025-11-03
Pros: Delicious food , Clean restaurant and great service
pivotbase
Thank you very much for visiting our restaurant.
Read moreOur restaurant is located in Dotonbori, a tourist area in Osaka, and we offer Osaka specialties such as takoyaki and kushikatsu in vegan versions.
The vegan ramen you enjoyed is one of our most popular menu items!
All of our staff speak English, and we are fully cashless. We hope that guests from all over the world enjoy traditional Japanese cuisine and Osaka specialties.
Thank you very much for leaving such a detailed review.
We sincerely look forward to welcoming you again.
Guest
398 Reviews
First Review by feebz1986
sarar245
Points +24
Sadly just okay - Edit
I am happy about every vegan place, so I am also happy that the Pivot Cafe exists. But the food was not very good in my opinion. The takiyoki were way top soft, nearly liquid. And the edamame were below average - cold (like half freezed) and a very small portion for the prize. So, sadly I can not recommend it. Staff was very friendly, thank you for the service.
Read moreUpdated from previous review on 2024-10-28
Guest
AlenaKniesche
Points +20
Yummy but a bit pricey - Edit
Nice place ear the tourist-spot dotonbori. It was not crowded. We had Takoyaki, Mapo and Yakisova, which was all very yummy. Stuff was nice!
Read moreUpdated from previous review on 2024-10-27
Guest
Sebe
Points +53
Delicious - Edit
Nice location, very good Japanese food. Highly recommend. The onigiri could still improve though with some kind of filling.
Read morePros: Curry, Takoyaki, Yakisoba
Cons: Onigiri
Guest
conorkin
Points +70
Takayoki was great - Edit
Staff were so lovely too. Had a really nice dinner with Takayoki, mapo and a pudding of some kind. All delicious, approx ¥2000
Read morePros: Staff, Takayoki
Guest
Kittybiscuit
Points +9741
3 1/2 - takoyaki is great - Edit
Sometimes you want to eat in an area where everyone else is eating! It was just near dontonbori so it was great to find somewhere fully vegan. We ordered the takoyaki to share, just 6 pieces. They were tasty, I liked the flavour. I ordered stir fry noodles. I didn’t love the sauce they came with. I couldn’t see a description of the sauce but it wasn’t to my taste. My partner had the mapo eggplant and said it was fine.
Read moreMy soda with cassis was really nice.
Pros: Great area to explore the streets
Guest
Beba112
Points +826
Great vegan local food - Edit
Overall, everything was great. I wasn’t a fan of the sauce on the takoyaki, but the vegan mayo definitely improved it. I’d definitely return to try more dishes
Read moreUpdated from previous review on 2024-10-16
Pros: Variety , Good prices
Guest
spuchginer
Points +252
Takoyaki and Kushikatsu, made vegan! - Edit
We wanted to try the famous Osaka dishes vegan, and we are so happy we found this place to do so: not only did they look exactly like the original versions, but they also tasted amazing! An absolute must if you are vegan and you are interested in traditional Japanese food.
Read moreUpdated from previous review on 2024-10-21
Pros: Great location, Fully vegan, Friendly staff
Guest
juliowissing
Points +31
Nice food and friendly staff - Edit
The food was tasty. You can also order with your smartphone if you are not comfortable ordering in person. The staff speaks great English though
Read moreGuest
shaharl60001
Points +22
Average and bellow - Edit
Over priced and small portions, also not that tasty
Read moreGuest
SeanDavid
Points +590
Good food and plenty of choices - Edit
They've have a lot to choose from on the menu, everything is served quickly and staff is very kind.
Read moreGuest
JoshuaBlakely
Points +32
Delicious food - Edit
Food was very tasty and came out quite quickly. I ordered through the QR code and was really easy. I’d happily eat there again.
Read morePros: Food, Staff, Efficiency
Guest
capncrunch398g
Points +37
Friendly Staff, unsatisfying food - Edit
We chose the Pivot BASE Café because we hoped for tasty vegan alternatives to typical Japanese dishes like Takoyaki.
Read moreThe staff was very friendly and the service was good, but the food left us deeply unsatisfied. It wasn't bad, but it was very plain.
I support vegan restaurants whenever it is possible, but I do not like to give a restaurant good reviews just for being vegan. In this case more than 2 out of 5 stars would feel like charity.
Updated from previous review on 2024-09-30
Pros: Friendly Staff, Good service, Location
Cons: Plain Food
Guest
veganblyatcat
Points +3084
Fantastic vegan food @Dotonbori - Edit
Great bar/cafe with modern ambience. Big selection of different meals and sweets. Here you can try a vegan version of Osakas signature dish 'Takoyaki'. They also have a big selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.
Read moreThe staff is super nice and speaks english well. They even warn you that they do not accept cash and that everything is vegan 😱😳🤣🤣🤣.
I had the Yakisoba set (fried noodles, soup and salad) which was fantastic, yummy and filling. Also I tried Takoyaki they are great too.
Updated from previous review on 2024-10-15
Pros: Super nice service., Completely vegan., Modern ambience.
Guest
Rebbiii🐯
Points +72
Osaka vegan erleben - Edit
Alles Vegan!
Read moreKaum Wartezeit und japanische Gerichte super veganisiert.
Die Atnosphäre ist okay. Ich kann es empfehlen 🤗
Pros: Keine Wartezeit, Japanische Küche veganisiert
Guest
goddish
Points +120
Came back 4 times - Edit
Our hotel was really close to Dotonbori so we came back 4 times to this place. The place is affordable and the food is good. Also it was nice to be able to eat the famous „takoyaki“ from Osaka in a vegan version! You can only pay by card but that’s fine😄
Read morePros: Food, Location, Price
Guest
leakim
Points +1015
Great location and food - Edit
Prime location and the chance to try Osaka favorites. Order via QR code at your table which helps display anything that is no longer available.
Read moreService was fast and the food was oishī! I got the yakisoba, green tea latte, and cocoa rice gelato.
No cash (genkin) accepted, credit or IC card only.
Came back for a second time, great vibes!
Updated from previous review on 2024-10-10
Guest
KennyVdm
Points +86
Decent vegan Osaka food - Edit
Good selection of vegan food, vegan variants of classic japanese and osakan dishes. I had the takoyaki and gyoza, which were alright.
Read moreMy main gripe is that they are a cashless place that only allows orders through a QR code, which is pretty annoying.
More of a quick lunch place.
The couple next to me had allergies, and they seemed quite accomodating.
Guest
TaraUmbutu
Points +22
Very good vegan Japanese food - Edit
We ate at Pivot Base twice over the weekend while in Osaka. Staff were efficient, friendly and helpful. The vegetable skewers were fresh and tasty. Takoyaki was a delicious surprise.
Read morePros: Service, Food
Guest
NoahDeBale
Points +34
Huge variety of vegan food - Edit
Solid choice! Would recommend if looking for vegan fast-food.
Read morePrices are okay.
Pros: Friendly Staff, Spaceous, pretty place, nice atmosphere
Cons: Only cashless payment, Order by Smartphone
Guest
thermns
Points +30
Vegan takoyaki - Edit
Get a cruelty free taste of Osaka
Read moreGuest
ausveg
Points +161
Good, not amazing - Edit
We were at Pivot for lunch. Had the Onigiri, Takoyaki and Katsu curry. All tasted fine, but wasn’t amazing. We were hoping for tempura as well, but this may only be available at dinner.
Read moreUpdated from previous review on 2024-10-12
Pros: Easy to order, Great location, English menu
Cons: Loud , Lack of variety
Guest
mikeweltevrede
Points +88
Great vegan variations on Japanese food with friendly staff - Edit
I immediately felt welcome when entering the restaurant, being greeted with a smile. I was instructed that it is a cashless restaurant, which was good to know up front.
Read moreI ordered the Gyoza, Standard Takoyaki, and 5 piece Kushikatsu. For the gyoza and Kushikatsu, the sauces were served separately so you could add it to taste. The Kushikatsu was amazing and I would highly recommend it. It had a good mix of options and it was one of the first times I actually liked aubergine.
The Takoyaki was tasty but a little bit bland in my opinion. I have never had real Takoyaki so maybe it is true to the original though. The sauce did make up for it. The gyozas were great too. A smaller dish to finish up.
All in all, a big recommendation to go!
Updated from previous review on 2024-10-11
Pros: Great Kushikatsu, Friendly staff, Perfect location
Cons: Bit bland Takoyaki
Guest
SwainC02
Points +295
Bär and Restaurant geared toward tourists. - Edit
We ate off the lunch menu and the food was ok but nothing standout about it. My favourite things were the drinks.
Read moreCons: The music was very loud
Guest
JimiT
Points +140
Delicious takoyaki and yakisoba - Edit
A peaceful restaurant in the middle of Dotonbori. The takoyaki and yakisoba were super delicious, and the staff were really friendly.
Read moreIt is good to know that they only accept payments by card. Also their toilet is outside the restaurant and you have to walk a little around the building but they give you clear instructions for it.
Guest
senzai
Points +16
Authentic Osaka Cuisine - Edit
Takoyaki, Kushikatsu, Gyoza e were all amazing and authentic. Highly recommend.
Read moreGuest
rtzu123
Points +315
Very good Takoyaki - Edit
We orderd Takoyaki and three sorts of Kimchi. Takoyaki were very good, but the Kimchi portion size was disappointing for the price. Restaurant is conveniently located. Staff was very friendly and spoke fluently english.
Read morePros: Vegan Takoyaki!, Tasty, Location
Cons: Price
Guest
mat_r28
Points +2266
Great spot! - Edit
Highly recommend this sanctuary of peace compared to the chaos on the street right outside. The takoyaki were delicious and as was the yakisoba. Atmosphere was great and i can imagine its quite lively in the evening as they serve a selection of alcohol. Get yourself down there!
Read moreGuest
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