Grill Ron Hanshin Umeda Head Shop

I visited Grill Ron Hanshin Umeda Head Shop, located in Hanshin Baru Yokocho on the second basement floor of Hanshin Department Store, which is popular for its delicious Western food at reasonable prices. This restaurant is under the umbrella of RON Corporation, which operates several popular restaurants in the Umeda area of Osaka. It is not too much to say that the taste is already “guaranteed” since it belongs to the same family as restaurants with long lines, such as Budotei and Grill Oufuken, which I have introduced in this blog before.

The C-set, which is the most popular menu item at this restaurant, has a good reputation…and when I got such information, I knew I had to try it. So, I decided in advance to order the C-set this time. It had been a long time since I had personally eaten Western food, and I was really looking forward to it…

One of the best restaurants on the same floor with a long line… Grill Ron Hanshin Umeda Head Shop is a restaurant like this…

I visited Grill Ron Hanshin Umeda Head Shop around 11:30 a.m. one weekend. At this point, there was a line of about 15 people waiting in front of the storefront, which was a testament to the restaurant’s popularity. Whenever I pass by this restaurant, there is always a long line of people waiting in line. On the same floor, there are other popular restaurants that are also famous in Osaka, such as “Naniwa Menjiro Zen,” “551 Hourai,” and “Indian Curry Hanshin Branch,” but Grill Ron has one or two of the longest lines among these restaurants. If you dare to go there during idle time off peak lunch hours, you can expect a reasonable wait time, so please plan accordingly.

On this day, I entered the restaurant after a wait of about 40 minutes. The restaurant has a long and narrow seating area on both sides, with only tables and a total of 26 seats. For a western-style restaurant in a department store, it is a bit small. Western-style restaurants in department stores are a staple when dining with children. Naturally, when I visited the restaurant, there were many family customers with small children. Because the restaurant is like that, anyone can feel free to use the restaurant at any time and in any condition. This sense of security is also outstanding compared to other popular restaurants on the same floor.

Grill Ron Hanshin Umeda Head Shop’s most popular menu item, the C-set…how was it?

Let me introduce the most popular menu item I ordered at the Grill Ron Hanshin Umeda Head Shop, the C-set (priced at 1,250 yen including tax). After about 10 minutes of waiting, the C-set arrived in front of me…

A hamburger steak, crab cream croquette, and fried shrimp… the sight of these three popular Western-style dishes on a single plate is extremely appetizing. This C set comes with rice and miso soup for an additional 100 yen, so ordering the rice and miso soup set is probably the basic route to take.

Let’s start with the hamburger steak… As one plate comes with two other dishes, the hamburger steak itself is quite small. In fact, when I tried it, I found that unlike the hamburger steak I had at the affiliate restaurant, Budotei, the hamburger steak was packed tightly with fine minced meat. The juices from the cross section of the hamburger oozed out from the meat, but to be honest, it was not as juicy as I expected… Well, it was made in a gentle way that even small children could eat, and the demi-glace sauce had a straight, direct, and straightforward taste with no sharp edges, so anyone could enjoy it. I think it is a hamburger that anyone can enjoy.

Next was the crab cream croquette. I tried to break the croquette with chopsticks, but the bechamel sauce inside was so thick that the contents did not flow out at all when I broke the croquette with chopsticks. The contents of this croquette are not very creamy, but when I actually tried it, there was almost no crab meat in it. I guess this croquette is a bit of a disappointment…

And finally, the fried shrimp… well, for better or worse, just as I imagined. It was just like an ordinary fried shrimp. To be honest, all three items were a bit “hmmm…”. It’s not that they were bad, but there was nothing sharp about them, or they were too close to a taste that would be popular with everyone… In that sense, I personally was not satisfied with the C-set, the most popular menu item at Grill Ron that I ordered this time. However, on the other hand, it is a dish that is unlikely to be a disappointment, so I would recommend it especially for a family lunch with children…

Examples of other menu items at Grill Ron Hanshin Umeda Head Shop (prices include tax)

• Beef Steak 200g (single item) 2100yen
• Beef stew doria (single item) 1,450 yen
• Grilled Cheese Curry (A la carte) 1,250 yen
• Set A (single item) 1150 yen
• B Set (A la carte) 1150 yen
• 100% Beef Hamburger Steak (A la carte) 1,100 yen
• Macaroni au Gratin & Hamburger Steak (A la carte) 1,050 yen

There is also a branch in Hankyu Sanbangai… Grill Ron Hanshin Umeda Head Shop is a 2-minute walk from the nearest station, Osaka Umeda Station on the Hanshin Electric Railway line.

Grill Ron, like this one, has a branch in Hankyu Sanbangai in addition to the Hanshin Umeda Head Shop introduced here. According to the restaurant’s website, some of the menu items carried at both branches are different, so it would be interesting to compare the menu items at each other’s restaurant with dishes that are not available at the other restaurant.

The Hankyu Sanbangai branch also seems to offer take-out boxed meals, so it is more convenient than the Hanshin Umeda Head Shop. It is also close to the station, so you can take your bento home for dinner when you are short on time.

Here are the details of the restaurant…

It takes only 3 minutes on foot from JR Osaka Station.