6 of the best cocktail bars in Osaka

Sister bar to the Bible Club in Portland, Oregon, this Osaka outpost will transport you back to the pre-Prohibition era of 19th-century America. The attention to detail here is faultless, from the discreet basement location to the old-world wooden interior filled with vintage newspaper clippings and posters as well as antique crystal glassware and decor.

The house cocktail menu features a mix of reimagined classics and new creations accented with Japanese spirits and ingredients. Highlights include the Negroni Flip with gin, vermouth, Campari, egg, simple syrup and orange bitters, and the refreshing Mr Hendrick’s with gin, lime, cucumber and house-made cardamom syrup. Alongside these are a small selection of dessert-style cocktails that are perfect as a nightcap, as well as four mocktails.

Gucci Giardino is impeccably styled – exactly what you’d expect from the Italian luxury house. Located within the redesigned Gucci boutique at the upscale Herbis Plaza in Umeda, this Osaka outpost is only the second Gucci bar in the world. It follows the original Gucci Giardino in Florence, which was ranked on the 2025 World’s 50 Best Bars extended list.

The sleek interior is dominated by high-gloss black and red, softened by warm wood panelling, and outfitted with plush leather sofas. There’s a clear attention to craftsmanship. At the entrance, an imposing bamboo installation by contemporary artist Tanabe Chikuunsai IV sets the scene, while a similarly intricate weave appears throughout the interior as a subtle nod to bamboo’s status as a signature Gucci material.

That level of artistry carries through to the well-curated menu. Each page is dedicated to a classic cocktail – negroni, margarita, Old Fashioned, pisco sour, etc – but there's nothing conventional about the list. Every cocktail is offered in two iterations: an inspired reinvention drawing on Japanese and Italian flavours, along with a non-alcoholic version.

The Memoire de Negroni is perfectly balanced: slightly sweeter and more floral while retaining the drink’s signature herbal bitterness. It incorporates yuzu sake and butterfly pea flower-infused gin to produce a striking purple hue as a tribute to Florence, Gucci’s birthplace.

Despite its posh pedigree, Gucci Giardino doesn’t feel intimidating; in fact, it’s surprisingly and disarmingly relaxed. The atmosphere is refined yet approachable, and the service attentive but never stuffy, making Gucci Giardino a rare, refreshing find in the luxury world.

Located near Sakaisuji-Hommachi Station in the bustling business district of central Osaka, Ista is a small eight-seater with big ambitions. It’s also somewhat of a rebel – a coffee shop that operates in the evening, pulling espresso shots long after others of its kind have closed for the day. More interestingly, it doubles as a cocktail bar with one of the most unique and cohesive menus in the city.

Owner-bartender Fumiaki Nozato has a laser-focused vision where everything revolves around coffee. Beans are roasted in-house with the micro-roaster tucked away at the end of the narrow bar, before forming the base of his speciality coffee cocktails. Highlights include the decadent Maillard Banana Shake, made with the namesake fruit, rum, milk, chocolate and espresso, as well as the cake-like Element, a world competition winner consisting of coffee, brandy, rose, raspberry, cream and Campari.

Ista’s creativity truly shines in the menu section labeled ‘Coffee Tree Cocktails’. Here, the innovative concoctions reimagine what coffee cocktails can be by utilising other parts of the tree: cherries, flowers and even the leaves. 

The eye-catching Tea Experience comes served like a tea ceremony, where you whisk the matcha in the bowl before pouring it into a rocks glass filled with a refreshing mix of gin, meloncello, coffee flower, elderflower and green guava. There’s also the vodka-based coffee cherry lemonade and the warm Kouyou cocktail made with roasted coffee leaves. These imaginative drinks truly showcase Nozato’s strength as an award-winning bartender and coffee cocktail champion...

Locating Craftroom takes some effort. Firstly, the bar is tucked two floors below ground in the old-fashioned Osaka Ekimae Daiichi Building in Umeda. Once you reach the right floor, amid a maze of local izakaya, keep your eyes peeled, as the bar is hidden behind a nondescript facade with a sign so small you could easily miss it.

But once you’re seated, you’re in for a treat. The warm, cosy space feels homely, with jazz playing softly in the background. The bar is helmed by the 2016 runner-up of the World Class global final, Ryu Fujii, who honed his skills at the esteemed Bar K before striking out on his own.

In 2024, Craftroom made history as the first bar in Osaka to earn a spot on the prestigious Asia’s 50 Best Bars list, and the acclaim is well deserved. The menu is a showcase of technique and creativity, with an array of inspired concoctions listed alongside inventive twists on classic cocktails.

Tucked away in a quiet corner of the serene Zentis Osaka hotel, Upstairz bar offers a calming retreat from the city’s pulsating nightlife. The space carries a clean, refined polish, anchored by an island bar with a row of cosy little booths running along one wall. 

Upstairz bar is led by award-winning bartender Norihiko Furuse, who has made his mark in some of the region’s top industry competitions. What’s particularly interesting about Upstairz is its long list of original cocktails, many of which are built around fruit, herbs and shochu, a clear Japanese spirit distilled from rice, barley, sweet potatoes or buckwheat, similar to vodka. 

On the menu, you’ll find Furuse’s Wine of Citrus Heart, an immensely drinkable blend of gin, grapefruit, shiso and Timut pepper, which won the Refreshing Challenge at the 2022 Diageo World Class Japan final. For a Japan-inspired concoction, the Wasabi Smash offers a lip-smacking introduction to the iconic flavours of wasabi and shiso, rounded out with lemon, orgeat, tequila and gin.

To find Bar Nayuta, head to Amerikamura and look for a nondescript multi-storey building opposite Triangle Park, marked by an intricate geometric symbol on one of the signboards outside. Then, make your way up to the fifth floor and duck through a very low door. Inside, you’ll discover a dimly lit, rustic bar, where countless bottles spill from wooden shelves onto the floor around them.

The bar looks like a mad alchemist’s home, and that’s not too wild an assumption as Nayuta is known for creating its own infusions, bitters and liqueurs. There’s no menu, so just tell the knowledgeable bartender your preferred taste and poison and wait for your bespoke cocktail. Therein lies the fun and appeal of Nayuta, and before you know it, you’ll be throwing new flavour combinations and alcohol choices at the mixologist on duty and looking forward to being surprised.