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While there is nothing “American diner” about Denny’s in Japan, the well-known family restaurant chain is going all-out Japanese with its new location in Tochigi Prefecture.
If you’re an American expat in Japan and head into a local Denny’s expecting a big ol’ plate of pancakes and sausages, burger and fries, or some other nostalgic taste of home, be prepared to be very disappointed, because the only thing Denny’s Japan has in common with Denny’s back home is the name, oh and the free refills.
With things like offal nabe hot-pot and grilled salmon with miso soup and rice on the menu, Denny’s already appears to have a fairly Japanese selection available, but it’s about to get even more Japanese-y with its new location opening on Dec 1 in Sano City, Tochigi.
The new location was created with traditional Japanese “washoku-ya” in mind. The first thing you’ll notice is the familiar yellow-and-red sign has been replaced with a subtle green one, the “Denny’s” logo written in calligraphic katakana brush strokes: デニーズ. The menu itself is just as homegrown, with things like tempura rice bowl and soba noodles.
Not feeling in the mood for Japanese food? No worries, the Sano location still offers a number of favorites on their “western menu”, like this Angus beef sirloin steak rice bowl.
And then of course there’s the dessert menu. It’s hard to go wrong with dessert, and while it’s not a banana split or chocolate sundae, these choices don’t disappoint.
Okay, yes, not having the traditional Denny’s fare on the menu is a bit disappointing, but I will admit that some of these dishes look like they could be pretty good! If you happen to be passing through Tochigi, be sure to check it out:
Restaurant info: Address Tochigi-ken Sano-shi Asanuma-cho 427-1 栃木県佐野市浅沼町427-1 Hours 7am – midnight (last order at 11:30pm) Grand opening Tuesday, December 1 from 9am
Source: Entabe
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© Japan Today
2 Comments
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Kurobune
Looks and sounds so good to me !
LFRAgain
Denny's, like Big Boy, is one of the biggest dining disappointments I've experienced in Japan. No rooty tooty fresh and fruity pancake breakfast sets at the one, and no signature Big Boy hamburger sandwich at the other.
Honestly, why even bother to pay license fees for the use of the brand name when the owners seem to make every effort to explicitly not have the menu items that made the parent companies famous in the first place?
Much like Pocari Sweat vs. Aquarius, Lawson's vs. 7-Eleven, and virtually every regional bank across the archipelago vs. one another, sameness is worshipped in Japanese industry to a mind-numbing degree.
Denny's is Gusto is Royal Host is Cocos is Jonathan's is Joyful is . . . They're all boring clones of one another, devoid of any culinary originality or personality.