The Taste of Osaka: Must-Try Dining Spots in Japan's Foodie Capital
The taste of Osaka: discover these must-try dining spots
Eat your way around one of Japan’s foodie capitals, from bustling street stalls to serene Michelin-starred dining rooms.
Japan’s third-largest city is often referred to as the nation’s kitchen, and no wonder. Seen as a way of life, Osakans are obsessed with food. It is said that locals spend more money on eating out than on anything else, which might explain the famous expression kuidaore – to eat oneself to ruin (or eat ‘til you drop).
As with everything, Osakans take a spirited approach to eating. You’ll encounter a riot of color, noise, and giant eccentric restaurant signs – and possibly even a flamethrower blasting fire to create the perfectly seared piece of tuna. Our advice? Come hungry and with a sense of culinary adventure, and you’ll have the time (and meals) of your life.
Osaka’s buzzing street food scene embodies the city’s zest for life, with locals enjoying brothy ramen, enthusiastically tucking into messy okonomiyaki (pancake fritters), and sipping sake cocktails in tucked-away micro bars. The neon-lit Dotonbori district, packed with food stalls and all types of restaurants, is a great starting point – allow plenty of time to eat your way around the main thoroughfare and many side streets.
For okonomiyaki, try longstanding favorites CHIBO or Tsuruhashi Fugetsu, or tuck into kushikatsu (battered and fried meat and vegetable skewers) at Kushikatsu Daruma (2-3-9 Ebisu-higashi, Naniwa-ku, Osaka-shi, 556-0002), which welcomes you with a giant grinning 3D face above its entrance. By contrast, Dotonbori Imai Honten (1-7-22 Dotonbori, Chuo-ku, Osaka-shi, 542-0071) is a decidedly unshowy restaurant. A mainstay for more than seven decades, those in-the-know will happily queue for its excellent kitsune udon, a noodle soup made with a special dashi (broth) recipe that has been passed down generations.
Osaka is also known for its yokocho, lantern-lit alleys lined with small izakaya bars that serve sake and local beer, accompanied by inexpensive snacks and dishes. For an authentic experience, go barhopping with a local after-work crowd along Hozenji Yokocho alley in Dotonbori, or Jan Jan Yokocho alley in the Shinsekai district – Osaka’s retro downtown area.
Five must-try dishes
1. Takoyaki
This popular ball-shaped snack is made with batter and diced or minced octopus, as well as pickled ginger, green onion, and tempura scraps. Deep-fried in a special molded pan, the balls are brushed with Takoyaki sauce and mayonnaise, and sprinkled with green laver and shavings of dried bonito.
2. Okonomiyaki
This Japanese pancake fritter comes in various styles across Japan. In Osaka, shredded cabbage and other ingredients such as squid, prawn, octopus or meat are mixed into a flour-based batter and cooked before being topped with lashings of okonomiyaki sauce, mayonnaise, green laver, and dried bonito.
3. Kushikatsu
An omni-present street food staple that can be made with chicken, pork, or seafood. Skewered on bamboo kushi together with seasonal vegetables, they’re then dipped in egg, flour and panko, and deep-fried before being served with or without tonkatsu sauce.
4. Kitsune Udon
A local udon noodle specialty, served in a hot soup and topped with a deep-fried piece of tofu. Fried tofu is believed to be a fox's favorite snack, hence the name kitsune – meaning fox in Japanese.
5. Kappo
Not so much a dish as a dining experience. While Kyoto is usually associated with kaiseki, Osaka’s laid-back culture gave birth to the less structured and more informal version, kappo. This style of cuisine originated in 1910, and today you can find numerous kappo restaurants around Osaka.
The restaurants of the future
Home to 80 Michelin-starred restaurants, Osaka certainly isn’t short on fine-dining options – and the city’s award-winning chefs are known as masters of their craft who treat their plates like canvases. Many of them spent time abroad to hone their skills at some of the world’s top gourmet destinations – eventually returning home with a modern approach to cooking that skillfully fuses quintessential Japanese heritage with sprinkles of Western ingredients and techniques.
At first look, the three-Michelin-starred Kashiwaya Osaka Senriyama (2-5-18 Senriyamanishi, Suita, Osaka, 565-0851) appears to be a traditional ryotei, but the ceremonial dining room and ephemeral atmosphere belies chef-patron Hideaki Matsuo’s contemporary menu. Based on the traditional division of the year into 24 seasons, the chef features experimental dishes such as dragon cloud grill – a delicate, egg-based entrée which was inspired by French soufflé.
Michelin-starred sister restaurant Kashiwaya Osaka Kitashinchi (5F, 1-7-4 Sonezakishinchi, Kita-ku, Osaka, 530-0002) goes one step further, with the chef preparing everything at the counter in front of guests – a feature not found in a typical ryotei.
Explore Osaka with Diners Club
Look for the Diners Club International and Discover acceptance marks to know where you can stay, dine, and shop when in Osaka.
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