If you are one of my regular readers, you know that I was in Japan for 2 months and I decided to try every hyper-touristy food-related thing and bring you my honest opinion.
So when my time to go to Osaka arrived I went straight ahead in the hunt of the most Instagramable jiggly cheesecakes that took over the internet the last couple of years. Of course, I’m talking about Rikuro’s Cheesecake.
Location
To make this review fair I went to two separate locations: The Daimaru Sinsaibashi store and the Ojisan Namba (This is the most famous store).
The Namba store had a long line which I was expecting from the beginning because this is quite normal in Big Japanese cities. However, I was pleasantly surprised with the efficient staff that managed to move a long line (+30 people) super fast and keep a good service.
They offer you the possibility to eat at the store — I highly recommend this, more on that later —- or just the take-out. The takeout line moves faster. Inside the store, there are not that many tables so you have to wait more. Also, there is no way to reserve a spot.
Something that you have to keep in mind is that they have a different schedule for the takeout and the inside restaurant. Inside restaurant: 10:00 am to 16:30 low season, and 10:00 to 17:30 high season. While take-ou is from 9:00 am to 20:00 regarding the season.
Price
The price is okay because the cheesecake is way bigger than in the pictures. I say it’s a cheesecake for two or even three if you have little appetite. 1 Rikuro’s cheesecake: 1500 yen.
Also, you have the option to buy a cheesecake that is not recently made for cheaper and with a short queue. I don’t recommend this option because the cheesecake loses most of its fluffiness within the first 20 minutes out of the oven. Something that they don’t show you in the IG videos is how the cheesecake looks after just a mere 10 minutes. They deflate quite a bit.
A big plus is that the staff moves so fast and efficiently that they make sure you receive a freshly out of the oven cheesecake, that looks so cute. The appearance is super fluffy and cute with the tiny stamp of the brand on top of the cake.
This is why I recommended you to eat at the store because even if your hotel is just 5 minutes away the cheesecake fluffiness peak has already happened.
Now, the MOST important part: The flavor.
Flavor
I was extremely excited and maybe my expectations were too high, but I’m not exaggerating when I say this was one of THE WORST cheesecakes I’ve ever tried in my life.
I had my suspicions because I’ve baked my fair share of cheesecakes at home and to get that extra jiggly souffle-like texture you need to add a ton of air and structure. This usually means more egg whites and less fat — like cream cheese. Something similar to what happened when I visited a happy pancake.
So the result is a “cheesecake” that tastes more like a lightly sweetened omelet. I know it doesn’t sound appetizing because it’s not.
It doesn’t even taste like cheesecake.
Another thing is that a lot of people on the line were confused with the bottom of the cheesecake. Apparently, I wasn`t the only one who believed that the base had chocolate chips when in reality it was raisins. I was disappointed, to say the least.
My experience was a tad bit better when I ate at the location and the texture was airy and soft. However, the lack of flavor was a constant in both locations.
In the end, I liked the experience and watching the cheesecakes being made and served freshly to customers but sadly the flavor wasn’t there. Cute to look, not tasty to eat.
I’m Maria and I love cooking—and mostly EATING—food from all around the world. I’ve been sharing my abuela’s secret Latin-American recipes for the last 7 years with the world on this blog. I’ve been a full-time food blogger for many years and I’m always trying new delicious meals that don’t require a culinary degree or a Michelin-star chef. I also love traveling, cats, and knitting.