Kanidouraku Dotombori-Honten
Kanidouraku is one of the most known restaurants in Osaka. If you love crab, you must try this place. They have three branches along Dotombori; we dined at the main one. It has Japanese style seating, with horigotatsu, a low table with a sunken pit for the legs, so you will be asked to take your shoes off. Tables located in the dining rooms on the upper floors have a great view of the Dotonbori canal. We ordered a set course which consisted of various presentations of snow crab. It included boiled crab, crab sashimi, crab hot pot and rice porridge, which was made at our table by the waitress by adding rice, beaten eggs and spring onion to the remaining stock. Food came dish by dish without a rush, and we immensely enjoyed the whole experience. If you want to have a meal here during the lunchtime or in the evening, make a reservation in advance as it’s always packed. We opted to go mid-afternoon, and there was no problem getting a table by the window overlooking the canal. By the time we finished the restaurant was full.
Price: Kagetsu Set – 6,300 Jpy
Address: 1-6-18 Dotombori, Chuo-ku, Chuo, Osaka
Kimukatsu Osaka Shochikuza
Tonkatsu is a Japanese dish which consists of a breaded and deep-fried pork cutlet. Kimukatsu serves a 25-layer pork katsu which is an interesting take on a traditional dish. It was very tasty, crispy on the outside and juicy inside. It’s in the high-end price range for tonkatsu, so I’d recommend going at lunchtime during weekdays as the price is considerably lower. We shared one set and an extra order of shrimps between the two of us.
Address: 1-9-19 Dotonbori, Chuo-ku, Osaka Shochikuza B1F, Osaka
Genjisoba
Genjisoba is a small, cosy restaurant specialising in soba, thin noodles made from buckwheat flour. As you enter, you can smell the buckwheat which is grinded at the front of the shop in the stone mill. Soba can be served cold with a dipping sauce or in a hot broth as a noodle soup. It’s delicious both ways.
Address: 4-5-8 Namba, Chuo-ku, Nanchi Terminal Bldg, Osaka
Ichiran Dotonbori Main Building
Ichiran is a popular 24/7 ramen chain that is all over Japan. The queue at the Dotonbori Branch is usually pretty long, so it’s best to go during off-peak time. The seating consist of individual cubicles, however, you can fold the wooden panel separating you from the neighbour if you are not eating alone. The bamboo shutter in front separates the customer from the kitchen; the staff will open it to collect your order and serve you the food. As in many ramen shops in Japan, you select your food from the vending machine, pay and get the tickets for each item you ordered. Then you fill out a form with your preferences, as you can customise ramen to your taste, choosing the noodle texture, spiciness level, stock richness, amount of garlic etc. The forms are usually distributed while you are in the queue to speed up the process. Once you are seated, the staff will collect the tickets and the form from you.
Address: 7-18 Soemoncho, Chuo-ku, Chuo, Osaka
Kiji Umeda Sky Building
The Kiji Umeda is located in the basement of Umeda Sky Building. The food area was designed to look like a charming Japanese town, making it pleasant to wander through and look for this restaurant which was quite tricky to find as like most restaurants in Japan they only had a Japanese name outside. The place was mostly filled with locals, and the menu was only in Japanese; however, the owner spoke some English and had explained the choices to us. They specialise in Yakisoba and Okonomiyaki, rich Japanese omelettes made from eggs, flour, dashi, nagaimo, shredded cabbage and other ingredients of choice like various meats or seafood. The batter is fried on both sides and finished with okonomiyaki sauce, mayonnaise, dried seaweed and bonito flakes. All the food is cooked on the big teppanyaki grill and then transferred to the hot plate at your table so that it will stay warm. If you would like to see how they are made, ask for the counter seats.
Address: 1-1-90 Oyodonaka, Kita-ku, Umeda Sky Bldg. B1F Takimi Koji, Osaka
Dotonbori Kukuru Main Shop
Takoyaki is the most iconic street food in Osaka. It’s a ball-shaped snack made from eggs, flour and dashi stock batter typically filled with octopus and cooked in a special moulded pan. After the balls are ready, they are topped with takoyaki sauce, mayonnaise, aonori powder and bonito flakes. They are golden brown on the outside and soft, almost melting inside. You will very easily spot kukuru, just look for a giant octopus.
Address: 1-10-5 Dotonbori, Chuo-ku, Osaka
Endo Sushi Chuo Ichiba
Endo serves one of the best sushi in Osaka. It’s located in Osaka Central Fish Market and is only open from 5 am till 2 pm. Get there early to avoid waiting in a long queue. The menu is omakase style, with four preset sushi plates, each consisting of 5 pieces of sushi and priced at 1150 Jpy. The swaps are possible and priced individually. The sushi was delicious; we especially liked the slightly sweetish rice, more intensely seasoned than in other places. They add wasabi to the sushi, so if you don’t like it ask them to leave it out. The miso soup with clams and a hint of ginger was very tasty too.
Address: 1-1-86 Noda Fukushima-ku, Fukushima, Osaka
Harukoma
If you want tasty sushi at an affordable price, this is the place. The restaurant is loud and with a bustling atmosphere, packed with locals. The ordering process is very simple, they have an English menu with pictures and prices, and all you have to do is write down the number corresponding to sushi you want to order, and they’ll serve it to you. Superior Unagi is a must-order. Unagi is a freshwater eel that was filleted, skewered and grilled over charcoal while being basted with a sweet soy sauce. It’s utterly delicious!
Address: 5-5-2 Tenjinbashi, Kita-ku, Osaka
Genrokuzushi Sennichimae
Genrokuzushi Sennichimae is a Kaiten Sushi restaurant, meaning it serves sushi from a conveyor belt. They also have a take away counter with sushi sets replicas, what makes ordering very easy. It’s a decent option if you are looking for a cheap takeaway in the middle of Dotombori, however, regarding quality don’t expect too much.
Address: 2-11-4 Sennichimae, Chuo-ku, Osaka, Osaka Prefecture
Rikuro Ojisan no Mise, Namba Honten
Japanese cheesecake is completely different from western cheesecakes. It’s very light and fluffy, almost like a soufflé. When it’s still warm, it tastes a bit eggy, and to be honest, we didn’t particularly enjoy it. However, after a night in the fridge, it tasted completely different. It was still delicate but firmer, without eggy taste. It was indeed very nice. It’s a dessert you should try at least once while in Japan, and form your own opinion. This place has two different lines, one for freshly baked, still warm cheesecakes and one for cheesecakes that were baked 2 hours before. If you don’t want to buy the whole cheesecake, you can have just a slice at their cafe.
Osaka’s Biggest Market
The Kuromon Market is composed of over 150 shops selling local produce, fresh seafood, meat, fruits and very tempting street food. It is located just a short walk from Nippombashi Subway Station and about 10-15 minutes walk from Dotonbori area. It’s a must, for any foodie visiting Osaka. If you love Japanese food, you will love this market. You can hop from stall to stall and enjoy the best ingredients Japan has to offer. It’s true that these days it’s filled with tourists, but you can still feel the local atmosphere and find utterly delicious food. If you want to avoid big crowds, try visiting it during the weekdays rather than the weekend.
Takoyaki at Takoyaki Doraku Wanaka Kuromon Ichiba
At Kuromon market you can find some of the best takoyaki in Osaka, sold at Takoyaki Doraku Wanaka. The batter and the octopus had a perfect consistency and were generously topped with bonito flakes. If you want to take a seat, they have a seating area inside their stall.
Tako Tamago
Tako Tamago is a baby octopus, with a boiled quail egg stuffed into the head served on a skewer. Many stalls at Kuromon Ichiba market sells them, the ones from a lady with plenty of no photo signs (which I obviously violated!) looked the best.
Unagi Tamagoyaki
The perfect combination of freshly made tamagoyaki and tender unagi. Tamagoyaki literally means grilled egg. It is a type of Japanese omelette, which is made by rolling together several layers of cooked egg in a rectangular omelette pan.
Japanese Fruits
Daiwa Kaen is a famous luxurious fruits store that serves not just delicious fruit juices, but tempting fruits desserts as well. Strawberry juice is highly recommended.
