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As we reported earlier, Osaka had a star-studded night at the Michelin Guide Kyoto Osaka 2026 ceremony on April 23. The city saw one new two-star restaurant, four new one-star restaurants, nine new Bib Gourmands and 16 newly Selected entries make this year’s guide.
That takes the city’s total to 235 restaurants, four more than last year’s record 231 and just nine shy of Kyoto’s 244. Osaka now counts three three-star, 12 two-star (up from 11) and 66 one-star (up from 65) restaurants, alongside 59 Bib Gourmands and three Green Stars.
Here’s a quick look at the new additions to know about – from a quietly exacting kappo hideout in Uehonmachi and a Kyushu-sourced sushi counter in Kitashinchi to a Bangkok chef in a Nakazakicho backstreet and a one-year-old ramen shop near Koreatown.
The new two-star: Teruya
Teruya is a small seven-seat counter restaurant, a few minutes’ walk from Tanimachi 9-chome Station and hidden among quiet residential streets, that the Michelin inspectors have deemed well worth a detour for. Chef Katsunori Teruya and his wife have been quietly turning out kappo cuisine here since 2018. Literally meaning ‘cut and cook’, kappo is an Osaka-born style of high-end Japanese cooking, distinguished by the chef preparing the food in front of diners at the counter.
Trained in Kyoto, Teruya is recognised by Michelin for an understated, ingredient-led style: meticulous behind-the-scenes work, a focus on careful harmony, and steamed and simmered dishes that draw the aroma of each ingredient into the broth. As the inspectors put it, the cuisine is ‘simple on the surface, yet distinctive in its unseen craftsmanship’.
The four newly starred
Ukitacho Ima, the six-seat Japanese restaurant we reported on when it became one of Michelin’s selected restaurants in March, jumps straight to one star less than two months later. Set on a quiet stretch of Ukida just east of Nakazakicho, it’s run by a chef who spent years honing his skills at the renowned Honkotsuki before opening on his own. Inspectors highlighted his ‘earnest cooking backed by daily training’ and the conviction that knife technique can change the flavour of sashimi.
Empathie, near the ever-lively Temma, has been the talk of Osaka’s French scene since opening in May 2025. Chef-owner Yuji Tsuji previously led Fukushima’s Liaison to a Michelin star three years running before going out on his own, and at his 10-seat counter he leans on simple French preparation and luxe ingredients – caviar, foie gras, truffles – often finished tableside. Michelin describes it as ‘counter-style French cooking that highlights ingredients with simplicity’.
Sushi Shigenaga just south of Umeda in Kitashinchi opened in 2021 and has been quietly building a reputation since. The 12-seat counter on the third floor is manned by Chef Shigenaga, whose menu reflects his origins in Kagoshima: the fish is sourced mostly from Kyushu and there are Satsuma cut-glass sake cups behind the bar.
Hachi, in Uehonmachi near Tennoji, takes the most ceremonial approach of the four. Set in a refined modern sukiya-style space, the small counter restaurant serves an omakase that moves from dashi soup through sashimi, seasonal vegetables and meats grilled over binchotan charcoal, and handmade soba – before finishing with moist omogashi sweets and a matcha tea ceremony.
The Bib Gourmand additions
Osaka’s nine new Bib Gourmands cover a lot of culinary ground: Thai (Pitak Gohan), Chinese (Chukashunsai Morimoto), tonkatsu (Tonkatsu Minato), Japanese (Shuko Osaka Manpukudou), French (Diva, Bistrot Neuf), yakitori (Sumisho Mikuriya, Sumibi Iwata) and ramen (Mendokoro Subete). A few that caught our eye:
Tonkatsu Minato is the spinoff of two-Michelin-starred tempura specialist Shunsaiten Tsuchiya, and it shows in the precision: pork cutlets cooked at low temperature for around 20–30 minutes before serving, with a roster of branded pork cuts and a line-up of sauces, salts and condiments to match. The counter-only restaurant is not far from Dotonbori and attracts a lot of traffic, so expect a wait.
Mendokoro Subete is a year-old ramen joint in Osaka’s Koreatown that’s been generating serious queues since opening. The signature is a thick-bodied chicken paitan, while seasonal one-offs like a recent Oyster Pepe Ramen have created something of their own followings, keeping regulars coming back.
Pitak Gohan – also one of our four Selected picks from March – goes from Selected to Bib Gourmand in a single edition; a rare leap and a quiet vindication for one of the most exciting casual openings of the past year. Tucked down a backstreet in Nakazakicho and not far from Umeda, the Thai kitchen is run by Bangkok-born chef Pitak. Generous à la carte dishes are designed for sharing: think ground pork and glass noodle salad, gai yang grilled chicken with coriander, and seafood and egg curry stir-fries.
You can find the full list of Osaka restaurants on the Michelin website here.
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