The sights, sounds and smells of bygone days are ever present down in Shin-Umeda Shokudogai, the sprawling postwar-era labyrinth of ‘food streets’ underneath Osaka Station. Going strong here since 1971 is Ekitei, a hole-in-the-wall eatery that specialises in akashiyaki, a fluffier version of takoyaki named after and associated with the Hyogo prefecture city of Akashi.
In akashiyaki, bits of octopus are wrapped in egg-rich batter, fried on an iron pan and served in a warm dashi broth. In Ekitei’s version dashi is also used to flavour the batter, adding some punch to the otherwise light dumplings, which are always prepared to order.
Offering counter seating only and open until 11pm seven days a week, this is a spot that both works perfectly for a quick lunch and makes for an ideal stop on a bar-hopping round. Besides akashiyaki, they offer oden simmered in the aforementioned dashi, a selection of teppanyaki dishes and a competently curated list of adult beverages. At ¥1,150, the akashiyaki drink set – a plate of dumplings plus your choice of booze from six options including beer, sake and shochu – is an especially good deal.