27 must-go restaurants in Eastern Osaka

Kita-Kawachi

Turning off the heavily trafficked National Route 1 in Hirakata and entering this restaurant set in a traditional Japanese country house feels almost like a mini-journey back into a simpler, more beautiful time. Nakanaka’s inspired kaiseki omakase (from ¥9,350) highlights a wide variety of Osaka vegetables, which receive strong backing from seasonal produce grown in nearby Nara and Kyoto. Meals end with a filling serving of rice cooked right at your table over an old-school wood-fired stove.

Sobakiri Tensho takes soba to another level, sourcing multiple varieties of high-grade buckwheat from throughout the country to ensure its noodles – whether thinly cut or roughly ground – are always on point. To savour the ingredient in its simplest, most fundamental form, try the sobagaki, an oblong-shaped, lightly boiled dumpling made from dough containing nothing but buckwheat flour and water. Get there early: the day’s meals often sell out in about an hour.

Laser-focused specialist eatery Marusho has been doing a roaring trade in nothing but pan-fried, thin-skinned gyoza dumplings and beer since 1969. Reservations are essential and taken only from 3pm on the same day – and you’ll need to tell them how many servings you plan on eating in advance.

Yamamoto is one of Osaka’s top exponents of yoshoku, the Japanese interpretation of ‘Western’ food, which over the decades has become part of the national cuisine in its own right. Visit at lunchtime for a taste of the omurice – rice wrapped in omelette and topped with a minced meat patty and deep-fried shrimp.

The history of the former post town of Moriguchi comes alive at Chami, an orthodox kaiseki restaurant helmed by the Kyoto-trained Takuya Funami. Ever conscious of the need to align his craft with contemporary tastes, Funami infuses the revered traditions of Japan’s hyper-seasonal haute cuisine with a playful sensibility – and high-grade ingredients from throughout Osaka prefecture. Reservations are essential for all kaiseki meals, but the restaurant also offers a set lunch for walk-ins and same-day reservations.

The expert chefs at this Kadoma favourite know how to bring out the best in seasonal ingredients. They don’t forget to have fun while doing their thing either, taking requests from diners and customising dishes on the fly. The cuisine is Italian with a local twist, full of joy for both the eyes and the taste buds.

Udon doesn’t have to be so serious, as proven by the playful cooks at this Shijonawate noodle joint that doubles as a pub. Get your fill of dishes like the udon tessa – thin slices of noodles eaten with ponzu and grated daikon flavoured with chilli pepper – and be sure to explore the plentiful tempura selection.

Kadoma lotus root is a heirloom vegetable that’s been grown in this area just east of Osaka city for centuries. Savour the sweet and satisfyingly crunchy delicacy in more forms than you knew existed at the restaurant of fourth-generation lotus root farmer Masanori Nakanishi, who turns his own produce into distinctive dishes like the cake-like renkon mochi. If you make it this far, do consider going all out with an elaborate multicourse lotus root meal.

Twenty kinds of seasonal sashimi is just the beginning – if you enjoy pairing your alcohol with fresh seafood, you might never want to leave Ajiyoshi. Neyagawa’s discerning drinkers and pescatarians flock to this fish-focused izakaya, where you can choose from a dizzying variety of raw, grilled, steamed and deep-fried fish to fuel a night of imbibing. The admirable attention to detail on display extends to the house-made soy sauce, of which there are separate varieties for sushi and sashimi.

While staying true to the instantly recognisable aesthetics, no-frills flavours and accommodating pricing of traditional chuka – Japanified Chinese cuisine – Yamaguchi rises above the crowd with its commitment to quality ingredients, homemade sauces and frequently changing but always inspired dinner specials. In autumn, look out for dishes incorporating distinctive local produce like Manchurian wild rice stems (makomodake), which are grown in the nearby village of Chihaya-Akasaka.

Naka-Kawachi

Grill master Kohei Morinaga soaked up serious bird knowledge at Ayamuya, the first restaurant in Osaka to receive a Michelin star for its yakitori, before breaking out on his own to start an omakase-only chicken skewer joint. That decision is now paying off handsomely: Working together with sous chef Noboru Nishiguchi, Morinaga uses specially made titanium skewers and a self-built grill to bring out the dizzying umami in heirloom chicken from Akita and Kyoto, all while complementing the yakitori with an array of compromise-free side dishes.

Dongan caters first and foremost to the sizeable Vietnamese community in Yao, so you can bet the flavours are authentic. Warm both body and soul with a bowl of beef pho, served in an aromatic but refreshingly light soup simmered for 12 hours, and finish off with a choice serving of chè (Vietnamese dessert).

Decadent cakes finished with seasonal produce and baked beauties giving off enticingly buttery flavours line the shelves at what has to be one of Osaka’s most detail-oriented patisseries. We’d be remiss not to rave about the artistic tarts, topped with ultra-ripe fruit sourced directly from trusted farmers.

The value-conscious gourmand’s favourite in Yao for 40 years and counting, Bon Chic is where traditional French sensibilities shake hands with local, seasonal vegetables like Yao wakagobo burdock root and edamame. The restaurant displays an admirable commitment to using ingredients from its surroundings, with even the house red wine being an exclusive product, made as it is from grapes grown by the head chef-cum-sommelier himself.

Yao wakagobo burdock root and a plethora of other local heirloom greens feature prominently in the Italian-inspired dishes served to complement the carefully curated wines and sake at this snug bar, housed in an atmospheric space under the railway tracks near Kintetsu Yao Station. Koto Ryokushu is a labour of love and a true haven for friends of aromatic tipples, whether grape- or rice-based.

You’d think Chinese cuisine had more than enough spice on its own, but the crew behind Hakkai appear to disagree. They have no qualms about applying chuka (Japanified Chinese) techniques to their sinus-clearing curry concoctions, and the results are pretty spectacular. A dozen or so spices go into each of their three signature curries – lamb and cumin, Sichuan mapo tofu and a monthly special – which can be ordered on their own, or all on the same plate for a certain taste bud knockout.

After soaking up knowledge at the source in France and refining his skills at legendary Kobe restaurant Jean Moulin, chef Atsushi Ota returned to his hometown of Kashiwara to set up shop in 2012. There’s no menu at either lunch or dinner, only a single omakase meal that Ota conjures up from ingredients sourced the same morning. Pair yours with a selection of fine vino from the nearby Katashimo Winery, which is also the source of the wine that the chef uses in his celebrated stews and sauces.

Minami-Kawachi

Look out the window of the 150-year-old traditional Japanese house accommodating this Italian restaurant and you’ll see the World Heritage-listed Shiratori no Misasagi, an ancient keyhole-shaped burial mound. But you might be too occupied with the food to even notice: the chefs here afford local vegetables like garden peas starring roles in their imaginative multicourse dinners, which end with dessert hand-crafted by the resident pâtissier. A meal at Viteraska alone merits a trip to Osaka.

Hong Kong’s seafood restaurants are dynamic places, with hungry customers gathering around fish splashing about in aerated tanks, choosing the tastiest-looking specimens for chefs to cook up on the spot. Despite its location way out in the Osaka suburbs, Kishina replicates the experience down to the tiniest details.

Vegetables, eggs, meat – not to mention grasses, wild fruits and edible flowers – from throughout the surrounding Minami-Kawachi area lend a distinctive touch to the wonderfully casual Beccafico’s seasonal cuisine, which tells the stories of local producers through plating and flavours alike.

Grill-it-yourself yakiniku joints are dime a dozen in southern Osaka, but if you’re looking to enjoy high-grade wagyu without breaking the bank, you might as well narrow your options down to one. Queen enjoys the benefit of having a family connection to a local butcher shop, giving the restaurant an insurmountable advantage when it comes to value. Whether it’s chewy intestines or A5-grade chateaubriand you’re after, this place can be counted on to deliver a memorable (and meaty) feast.

Four kinds of artisanal shokupan, Japan’s newly trendy, pillowy soft milk bread, are among the best-selling goodies at Blue Tree Favo, a bakery that deals in ‘everyday luxury’ in the form of around 60 kinds of baked treats. Hit up the shop on a Tuesday to enjoy a 10 percent discount on shokupan, or just make the trip at your leisure to peruse an enticing selection of sandwiches and other deli breads, croissants, and buns filled with seasonal varieties of red bean paste.

If you’re a fan of both old Japanese houses and creative Italian-adjacent cooking, you may never want to leave Daccia. Nature-rich Tondabayashi makes a fitting home for this home-like restaurant, where antique furniture curated by chef Emi Yachida herself contrasts sharply with the inspired fusion cuisine on offer. Yachida’s creativity shines through in a wide variety of dishes, many of which centre organic vegetables while pairing Mediterranean fundamentals with a Japanese essence.

To eat like a Buddhist priest – albeit a rather discerning one – travel out to Kawachi-Nagano for this stunner of a restaurant, which occupies a 16th-century building constructed as the kitchen of a temple associated with the historic Kanshinji Temple nearby. Savour a rice porridge made with azuki beans and tea, traditionally eaten at Kanshinji on the first day of spring, or book a full spread of Buddhist cuisine made with local produce – but no meat, fish or ‘pungent roots’ like garlic or onions.

A true scratch bakery with its own Italian restaurant, Centre de Village does everything in house from carefully selected ingredients – and the difference isn’t hard to taste. They’ve come up with around 150 types of bread so far, so you might spend a moment or two perusing the shelves.

Home-cooked meals made with quality local ingredients and seasoned to the tastes of those most discerning of gourmands – children – Natt’s Cafe is the kind of eatery every parent wishes they had in their neighbourhood. High chairs are available, of course, and diminutive diners are welcome to enter in prams, too.

Tucked away in the mountainous village of Chihaya-Akasaka in rural Minami-Kawachi, near the border of Osaka and Nara prefectures, restaurant, café, hair salon and art gallery Bum juggles its many roles with effortless flair. At the restaurant, the multicourse meals spotlight traditional South Indian cuisine, taking diners on a meditative journey through seasonal flavours and produce as well as a multitude of enticing spices. The restaurant is reservations only, but walk-ins are welcome at the café.