Japanese Food Spots in Osaka Area

  • Kuromon Sanpei Kuromon Market Store
    Gourmet / Alcohol
    Osaka Osakashi Chuou-ku Nippombashi 1-22-25
    This fresh fish retailer is set up in the Kuromon Market, which has continued to operate since the end of the Edo period (1603-1868). The retailer started as Sanpei Fishery Co., Ltd., which handled salted salmon and fish eggs at the Osaka Central Wholesale Market. The inside of the store is lined with fresh seafood just purchased from the Osaka Central Wholesale Market. In addition to large packs for dealers, they also offer many processed items such as sushi and seafood rice bowls that can be easily purchased by tourists. With a dining area in one corner of the shop, you can enjoy a bento lunch box bought there right away.
  • Kani Douraku Main Store
    Gourmet / Alcohol
    Osaka Osakashi Chuou-ku Doutombori 1-6-18
    One of the symbols of Osaka and the Dotonbori, this crab restaurant is easily identified by its giant moving crab sign. Here diners can enjoy fresh crab year round, sourced from locations such as the San’in region and Hokkaido as appropriate to the season. The restaurant’s signature menu option is its “kani-suki course,” with which diners can enjoy crab with the restaurant’s secret dashi stock. The colorful “kani kaiseki” course meal is also popular for parties and banquets. A popular destination for tourists, the restaurant also sells its special crab vinegar and crab rice gruel in convenient packages to take home as souvenirs.
  • Fukutaro
    rating-image
    4.5
    284 Reviews
    Gourmet / Alcohol
    Osaka Osakashi Chuou-ku Sennichimae 2-3-17
    Fukutaro located in Chuo Ward, Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture is an okonomiyaki (Japanese pancake) restaurant and is famous with long queues. The most popular dish is the negiyaki using plenty of green spring onion produced in Osaka. It is an exclusive dish in which the homemade soy based sauce goes well with the flavor of the batter, and the Sujinegiyaki with beef sinew is particularly popular. As seafood such as octopus, scallops and oysters is purchased directly from Osaka Chuo Market, it is freshness itself. There is a range of okonomiyaki with a springy texture and a la carte menu items. Inside the restaurant, it offers an atmosphere of an old-fashioned okonomiyaki restaurant in downtown Osaka. Booking is not available.

    Amazing fresh food served. Staff are friendly and very helpful. The menu’s at the time unfortunately were only available in Japanese but the staff were kind enough to take me through in English...

  • Takoyaki Doraku Wanaka Sennichimae Main Store
    rating-image
    4.0
    319 Reviews
    Gourmet / Alcohol
    Osaka Osakashi Chuou-ku Nambasennichimae 11-19
    A venerable takoyaki octopus dumpling shop located next to Namba Grand Kagetsu in Osaka City’s Chuo Ward. Known as the orthodox paragon of the flavor of Osaka takoyaki, almost every day sees long lines of tourists and locals waiting outside the shop’s door. The shop’s vaunted dough, made with a kombu kelp and bonito dashi stock, is fried up crisp on the outside and chewy and viscous on the inside. In addition to standard takoyaki sauce, the shop offers soy sauce, a spring onion and salt sauce, and a seasonal sauce to popular acclaim. Eat-in space available.

    Osaka is the Japanese capital of street food and one of its signature dishes is takoyaki. In the area of Namba/Dotonbori Ive found Wanaka and during my holiday I ended up eating takoyaki there every...

  • Mizuno
    rating-image
    4.0
    518 Reviews
    Gourmet / Alcohol
    Osaka Osakashi Chuou-ku Doutombori 1-4-15
    A venerable okonomiyaki savory pancake shop located in Osaka City’s Chuo Ward founded in 1945 in the postwar devastated Minami area. This restaurant sees an unending line of patrons waiting to get in consisting not only of long-going regulars but also tourists from throughout Japan and the world. Harnessing the distinct deliciousness of the ingredients used, the shop’s okonomiyaki taste good even without sauce and are made according to an old fashioned, secret recipe passed down over the years. The shop’s most popular menu item is its “yamaimo-yaki,” a type of okonomiyaki made with Japanese yams instead of flour along with hearty portions of scallops, pork, and shrimp.

    We queued for half an hour but it was worth it. The food was prepared in front of us on a hot bbq plate set into our table. We had a set menu of three different dishes with a variety of tasty treats...

  • Okonomiyaki CHIBO (Dotonbori Shop)
    rating-image
    4.0
    587 Reviews
    Gourmet / Alcohol
    Osaka Osakashi Chuou-ku Doutombori 1-5-5
    Okonomiyaki CHIBO is a restaurant specializing in Okonomiyaki (savory pancakes), located in Dotonbori in the Chuo Ward of Osaka City. The restaurant’s original pancake mix—which is made from around 20 different types of flour mixed with high-quality onsen water—ensures plump pancakes with a mellow flavor. Okonomiyaki CHIBO pays particular attention to its sauces, which play a key role in enhancing the flavor; the restaurant’s low-calorie original sauces are made using carefully-selected fruits and vegetables. The spacious dining area, with around 200 seats, is kept spotlessly clean, and the restaurant is a popular choice for dates and for women to get together with their female friends.

    Visited chibo as we had seen a number of reviews saying there was a vegi and vegan menu. We waited in the queue outside for some time and a staff member asked us to pre order. She said there was no...

  • Kushikatsu Daruma Shinseikai Main Store
    rating-image
    4.0
    373 Reviews
    Gourmet / Alcohol
    Osaka Osakashi Naniwa-ku Ebisuhigashi 2-3-9
    Kushikatsu Daruma head office is a very famous specialty kushikatsu (a grilled skewer) restaurant even for Shinsekai, a famous sightseeing place in Osaka. This well-established restaurant opened in 1929. It is also well-known as the birthplace of kushikatsu and often featured on TV and in magazines. It achieves a perfect balance by extracting the taste of ingredients with an uncompromising quality of batter, sauce and oil. The famous Original Kushikatsu, which is succulent beef in freshly fried crispy batter covered with sauce, has an irresistible taste. There are only 12 seats at the counter, so waiting in the queue is unavoidable.

    Eating this for a second time after 4 years and don’t think it’s as tasty as before. Prices also went up considerably but still you will have longs queues due to its popularity. Had the 10 sticks...

  • Takoya Dotonbori Kukuru Main Shop
    rating-image
    4.0
    155 Reviews
    Gourmet / Alcohol
    Osaka Osakashi Chuou-ku Doutombori 1-10-5 Chalka Building 1F
    A takoyaki (octopus dumpling) shop located in the Dotonbori area of Osaka City’s Chuo Ward easily identifiable by its unique sign enwrapped by a giant octopus. This venerable shop is famous even in Osaka, the capital of takoyaki restaurants, and its dumplings are distinguished by their spongy and viscous texture. The “meibutsu bikkuri takoyaki,” only served at the main restaurant location, features huge chunks of plump wild octopus sticking boldly out of the dumplings. In the eat-in space, octopus shabushabu and dried octopus-based oden stew are served in addition to takoyaki and akashiyaki.

    Delicious tokoyaka (octopus balls). Super soft and fluffy. Don’t eat too quickly as they have a hot centre so you need to leave to cool down a few minutes. I got 8 for 960 yen and they were super...

  • Hanadako
    Gourmet / Alcohol
    Osaka Osakashi Kita-ku Kakudachou 9-16 Shin Umeda Esophagus Street 1F
    Hanadako located in Shin-Umeda Shokudogai (food arcade) right next to Umeda Station is known as a takoyaki (octopus dumpling) restaurant where there is always a queue. A largish takoyaki fried on a high flame is attractive with a springy texture. It has the taste of a main Osaka dish with the soft, fragrant flavor of the stock, and the standard sauce as well as Negimayo topped with heaped spring onions are also popular. In the eating area, there is only seating for six with a standing-bar style. It is a popular restaurant with many visitors including regular local customers, shoppers and tourists.
  • Dotonbori Jihey
    rating-image
    4.0
    11 Reviews
    Gourmet / Alcohol
    Osaka Osakashi Chuou-ku Doutombori 2-1-4
    A fugu and pike conger restaurant founded in 1945 and located on Dotonbori in Osaka City’s Chuo Ward. The restaurant serves high quality fugu dishes year round such as tessa fugu sashimi and techhiri boiled fugu. The seasonal fugu kaiseki courses and tecchiri course are popular. The hamo (pike conger) course, primarily served in summer, is renowned and includes hamo chiri (boiled pike conger), hamo sukinabe (pike conger sukiyaki-style hotpot), and pike conger oshizushi. The restaurant also offers a variety of seating options, including regular tables, sunken kotatsu seating, and private rooms overlooking Dotonbori.

    this is one of the many restaurants located at dotonbori. it’s relatively ‘quieter’ so we love it. most people come here for hot pots. the restaurant offers set menu for hot pots. globe fish or...

  • American Village Kougaryu Main Store
    rating-image
    4.0
    144 Reviews
    Gourmet / Alcohol
    Osaka Osakashi Chuou-ku Nishishinsaibashi 2-18-4
    A famous takoyaki octopus dumpling shop located in America-Mura in Osaka City’s Chuo Ward said to be the originator of the “amikake mayonnaise” style of takoyaki, which is fast become the standard for takoyaki today. Since the shop was first opened, it has only used carefully selected, highest quality ingredients, including a specially made mayonnaise and select octopus. The dough, made with a dashi stock prepared from seven varieties of ingredients and mixed with Japanese yam, is flavorful, spongy, and addictive. In addition to standard takoyaki sauce, the shop also offers a negipon spring onion and yuzu sauce as well as a popular black pepper and salt mayonnaise. Eat-in space available.

    The line went fast despite the number of people waiting to buy takoyaki. Loved the taste and the atmosphere of the place. Defo coming back!

  • Okonomiyaki Yukari restaurant (Sonezaki flagship store)
    rating-image
    4.0
    101 Reviews
    Gourmet / Alcohol
    Osaka Osakashi Kita-ku Sonezaki 2-14-13
    Okonomiyaki Yukari is a long-established Okonomiyaki (Japanese savory pancake) restaurant that opened in 1950. The Sonezaki flagship store is located in the Ohatsutenjindori Shotengai shopping arcade in the Kita Ward of Osaka City. Okonomiyaki Yukari achieved fame and lasting popularity by being a pioneer in the development of innovative Okonomiyaki recipes that feature ingredients such as Mochi rice cakes, cheese, etc. With a soft, sticky pancake base covered with a wide variety of toppings (including meat, fish, seafood, etc.), the restaurant’s Okonomiyaki are both delicious and filling.

    Coming to Osaka we were so excited to try okonomiyaki and this place had such great reviews. We arrived and had a short wait as the place was quite busy. We were pretty excited because the atmosphere...

  • CREO-RU Dotonbori Branch
    Gourmet / Alcohol
    Osaka Osakashi Chuou-ku Doutombori 1-6-4
    CREO-RU Dotonbori Branch located in downtown Dotonbori in Minami district of Osaka is a large restaurant where you can enjoy well-known Osaka foods such as takoyaki (octopus dumpling), okonomiyaki (Japanese pancake) and kushikatsu (grilled skewer) in one place. Takoyaki which has a crispy fragrant outer and soft inner is famous as it is delicious even when cool. There are a range of fusion menu items such as a “Semi-boiled egg with plenty of spring onions” and “Pepperoncino style” as well as a standard sauce flavor. Okonomiyaki with a springy mixture blended with brown rice flour as well as kushikatsu which is fried with 100% soybean oil are also popular. Takoyaki is available for take-out. The closest station is Namba Station.
  • Daruma Namba Main Store
    rating-image
    4.0
    90 Reviews
    Gourmet / Alcohol
    Osaka Osakashi Chuou-ku Namba 1-5-24
    Located a five-minute walk away from Exit 14, Namba Subway Station. This is a kushikatsu restaurant of long standing which has a rule, “don’t dip skewers into sauce twice”. They put a special sauce on the skewers. The restaurant’s dark brown sauce has been developed over a long time and has been carried down to the present day. The initial crispiness, followed by a sticky food texture is unique to Daruma. The food texture of the batter is well maintained by using a fine textured batter and also due to the sauce also being well mixed. They are the right size that they are easy for women and children to also eat them. In addition to the main dish of kushikatsu, they also have seasonal items and a set menu.

    One of the Better Tasting Kushikatsu out there. If not for the dipping sauce I would have rated them 5. I find it unhygienic as to why you have to use the sauce over and over again from different...

  • Dotonbori Akaoni
    Gourmet / Alcohol
    Osaka Osakashi Chuou-ku Namba 1-2-3
    A famous takoyaki octopus dumpling restaurant located in Osaka City’s Chuo Ward which has even been featured in the Michelin Guide. The shop uses raw instead of the more conventional boiled octopus and makes no use of chemical seasonings, resulting in a more delicately flavored takoyaki that has won much renown. The shop also takes great care in the dashi stock used to flavor the dumpling batter. The shop’s takoyaki is so delicious you might be tempted to eat it as-is, but Akaoni also offers conventional sauce and soy sauce for diners to enjoy their takoyaki with. Eating “chapuchapu” style—dipping your takoyaki in a cup of warm dashi stock—is also popular. The shop uses no beef or pork in any of its dishes, making it a good choice for tourists from outside Japan with dietary restrictions.
  • Negiyaki Yamamoto Umeda EST Branch
    rating-image
    4.0
    121 Reviews
    Gourmet / Alcohol
    Osaka Osakashi Kita-ku Kakudachou 3-25ESTE27
    Negiyaki (green onion pancake) Yamamoto Umeda EST Branch, established in Jyuso, Higashiyodogawa Ward in 1965, is a famous restaurant as the birthplace of the negiyaki (spring onion pancake). The staff meals that the owner made for children became famous and the negiyaki, an okonomiyaki (Japanese pancake) with plenty of spring onions, has become the signature dish. A popular menu item is sujinegi with beef sinew and konjac paste. It goes well with the special soy-based sauce. The restaurant is located in the corner of “EST”, a shopping complex, and is known as a restaurant where there is a queue. The closest station is Umeda Station.

    We came all the way to this restaurant to try the hyped delicacies, having queued 30mins with my friends going to washroom intermittently. The staff came and told us to start from scratch and queue...

  • Kushikatsu Daruma Shinsaibashi Store
    rating-image
    4.0
    117 Reviews
    Gourmet / Alcohol
    Osaka Osakashi Chuou-ku Shinsaibashisuji 1-5-17
    The Shinsaibashi branch of the long-established Kushikatsu Daruma chain opens at 11:00 a.m. and has plenty of tables, so it attracts lots of family groups at lunchtime. The main focus of the menu is, as the restaurant’s name suggests, kushikatsu (Japanese-style deep-fried kebabs), but there is also a wide range of reasonably-priced set meals, including doteyaki (beef tendons stewed in miso and mirin) etc. Adults accompanying children who order less than a specified amount will be required to pay an additional cover charge, so it works out cheaper to order plenty of kushikatsu.

    Good kushikatsu. A bit greasy. The recommended 9 piece set is more than enough for one person. Very friendly and helpful staff.

  • HANAKUJIRA Honten
    Gourmet / Alcohol
    Osaka Osaka-shi Fukushima-ku Fukushima 2-8-2
  • Abeno Takoyaki (Yamachan Main Store)
    rating-image
    4.0
    57 Reviews
    Gourmet / Alcohol
    Osaka Osakashi Abeno-ku Abenosuji 1-2-34
    This takoyaki (octopus balls) specialist is found near Abeno Harukas. It's a classic crispy outside springy interior takoyaki and has been previously included in the Kansai-area Michelin Guide. You can choose the amount and type of sauce at the shop-front window, and sauce options can be mixed from soy sauce, mayonnaise, aonori (dried green laver), and sesame oil. While the shop is take away only there is an eating space available at a second store nearby that the staff can direct you to.

    staff are very friendly & helpful while asking for direction as we were sort of lost some where some how .

  • Matsuba Sohonten (Shin-Osaka Store)
    rating-image
    3.5
    37 Reviews
    Gourmet / Alcohol
    Osaka Osakashi Yodogawa-ku Nishinakajima 5-16-1 Station Marche Shin-Osaka
    This kushikatsu (skewers of fried food) shop is located in Eki Marche, a shopping area inside Shin-Osaka Station. Large fryers to fry the skewers are inside the store, and you can eat freshly-made kushikatsu inside the station. The dining area only has a counter where you eat while standing. In addition to what is already fry, you can also request them to fry what you want. You can also buy skewers lining the showcase at the take-out corner.

    新幹線利用時 《串カツ》を食べたいけれど カウンターで食べるには時間が無かった為 あきらめようとしましたが 《テイクアウト メニュー》があることを知り 初めて《新大阪セット 内容;串カツ8本[若鶏、椎茸、えび、レンコン、玉ねぎ、キス、牛...

Osaka Areas

around-area-map

While Osaka prefecture is the country's second smallest prefecture, its capital, Osaka City, is the country’s third-largest and arguably one of the most popular in the Kansai region thanks to its vibrant nightlife, the Osaka people’s openness, and its much-loved cuisine, which has earned it the nickname "the nation’s kitchen."

Osaka Photo Album

Browse Interests