30 must-go restaurants in Osaka city

Representing the cutting edge of Osaka gastronomy, Yusuke Takada’s ever-evolving La Cime has built up a border-crossing reputation with its bold ingredient pairings. Here, seasonal greens like bitter melon or Kamo nasu eggplant may be enhanced with a vinaigrette incorporating ishiru fish sauce from the Noto Peninsula, in what’s only one example of Takada’s determination to enhance his world-class cooking with undervalued ingredients and condiments used in regional cuisines across Japan.

The first restaurant in Japan to receive a Michelin star for Mexican cuisine, chef Willy Monroy’s Milpa serves modern Mexican dishes rooted in indigenous ingredients and traditional cooking methods, elevated with a touch of Japanese influence and flavours. Formerly of Noma Kyoto, Monroy travels effortlessly between culinary cultures, showcasing the rich history and regional variety of his home country’s cooking with a sensibility and meticulosity tailor-made for Japan’s fine dining scene. 

Having spent many long years in Italy, honing his skills across rural trattorias and Michelin-starred restaurants alike, Masaaki Fujita dares to be transgressive in his kitchen. At Lacerba, he’s made a name for himself showcasing Japanese ingredients in the rich context of regional Italian cuisine, but his latest invention is perhaps the boldest one yet: an entire line of artisanal sweets marrying traditional dolce with the tropical flavours of Okinawa.

Hidden away among the drab office buildings of Honmachi, this French favourite has held on to its Michelin star for eight years running. Chef Kosei Fujita is building a gastronomic style all of his own with umami-rich, aromatic dishes that reflect the seasons – and are as pretty to look at as any work of fine art.

An Osaka chef through and through, the free-wheeling Tadayoshi Yamada has no qualms about blending Japanese culinary culture with French and Italian techniques and flavours. When eating at RiVi, come prepared to smile: Yamada loves to show local pride with dishes like a kofun-shaped rillette.

A leading name in Osaka’s fusion dining scene, Chi-Fu combines Chinese culinary traditions with Western and Japanese influences to memorable effect. Chef Yuji Fujita is noted for his obsessive dedication to getting the aromas and flavours of each dish to pair perfectly, fine-tuning his creations down to the tiniest details such as serving temperature and bite size. His popular wine pairings are available in non-alcoholic versions, too. 

Osaka’s premier urban winery occupies a handsome two-storey space some 15 minutes on foot from Shinsaibashi Station. The tanks of the winemaking facility on the ground floor are visible from the Italian restaurant upstairs, where you get the opportunity to taste Fujimaru’s own wines, made entirely with grapes grown in the area around Osaka. Raise a glass to the local terroir while savouring quality Italian cuisine from appetisers to pasta and fish just a quick stroll from the city centre.

Eager to take on a new challenge together with a team of up-and-coming cooks, chef Shintaro Katayama moved his signature restaurant to fresh digs in March 2025. His new space combines the shoin style of teahouse architecture with contemporary sensibilities, including a sizeable counter that provides an ample canvas for Katayama’s bountiful dishes. From the vividly coloured hassun appetisers to the moreish clay-pot rice that crowns every meal at Rakushin, this is delicate kaiseki at its boldest.

Trained in classical cooking at Osaka institution Ajikitcho, chef Keisuke Mifune channels his vast knowledge of cha-kaiseki – the ornate and highly formal meal served at a traditional tea gathering – into orthodox but imaginative series of dishes, beginning with a colourful expression of the season in the form of the hassun appetiser platter. For a kaiseki place, the atmosphere at Yugen is decidedly laid-back, making it the ideal restaurant for those fairly new to Japanese haute cuisine.

Jovial chef Takayuki Saki hails from Takamatsu across the Inland Sea but has been in the Kansai sushi game since age 16 – plenty of time to develop a distinctive feel for local seafood, around which he structures the artistic omakase meals on offer at this Kita-Shinchi gem.

Clear, aromatic and deeply flavourful, the dashi steals the spotlight at this elevated udon eatery. And no wonder: the broth is painstakingly crafted from high-end ingredients, as you might expect at an offshoot of the two-Michelin-starred Miyamoto, one of Osaka’s leading washoku restaurants. 

In 2010, Nagahori became the world’s first izakaya to earn a Michelin star. Fifteen years later, Shigeo Nakamura’s establishment retains its place at the summit of Osaka’s gastropub scene, serving up no-frills dishes highlighting veg selected by the chef himself – including heirloom greens like Kaizuka sawa nasu eggplant. 

An omakase-style tonkatsu counter likely to change your perception of what’s usually dismissed as little more than greasy comfort food, Koshiro offers multiple servings with different cuts of meat – three for lunch, six in the evening – each a different expression of the genius idea of breaded and fried pork.

Takoume near Dotonbori was founded back in 1844 and is considered Japan’s oldest oden restaurant. It specialises in Kanto-daki, the Osaka variety of this classic comfort food and winter warmer, which is lighter in colour and sweeter than the punchy oden common in eastern Japan. Take your pick of around 30 oden options, including daikon radish, surimi fish cakes and various vegetables, plus a few specials like the tako-kanroni (sweet stewed octopus), served in largely unchanged form for 180 years.

Audiophiles from far and wide make pilgrimages to this Shinsaibashi record bar, which stocks a collection of some 2,000 titles from Brazilian beats and jazz to mellow hip hop, including classics and new releases alike. Owner and bartender Keiji Maki picks every track himself, pulling records from the shelf one after the other and playing songs that match the moment’s atmosphere. We’d be remiss not to recommend Jazz’s house wine, made at Maki’s vineyard in southern Osaka.

Dempo fishing port is home to this gem of a seafood eatery with a cheerful proprietress and an infrequently seen speciality: detchiri, or hot pot with freshly cut fugu. Meals end with zosui, an umami-packed, congee-like dish prepared by dunking rice into the hot pot and mixing it with the remaining dashi broth.

Deep-fried skewers of meat and vegetables, kushikatsu is crispy golden goodness through and through. Savour the quintessential Osaka delicacy at this standing-only shop where all you need to do is face the counter, grab anything lined up on the silver trays, dip your pick in the thick sauce provided and dig in.

Taking Osaka’s iconic octopus dumplings to a new level, Takoriki makes its takoyaki with only the finest ingredients – top-grade kombu kelp and fish flakes for the dashi broth, the freshest octopus from Ise for filling. Its dainty creations taste heavenly even without the obligatory splash of special sauce.

Putting a healthy twist on iconic ‘konamon’ dishes – the multifarious flour-based eats that fuel daily life in Osaka – this casual izakaya is a pioneer in the admittedly narrow field of gluten-free okonomiyaki. Their speciality ‘buta’ (‘pig’) combines a crispy rice flour crust with a soft-boiled egg to delicious effect.

An unmissable stop on any ramen fan’s Osaka itinerary, Kadoya Shokudo is revered for its orthodox soy sauce-based chuka soba. But to truly give the shop’s memorable noodles – crafted in house every morning from a proprietary blend of domestic wheat – their much-deserved place in the spotlight, order the tsukesoba (dipping noodles). Paired with a rich dipping broth and a hearty serving of toppings, these aromatic, perfectly springy noods might well expand your culinary horizons. 

The food and cultural market that brings the best of the city together under one roof, Time Out Market opened its very first location in Asia in 2025. Situated in the heart of Osaka, the Market showcases the best local chefs, renowned restaurateurs, bars and cultural experiences, all based on Time Out’s editorial curation. It spotlights both the city and Kansai’s award-winning culinary talents and much loved local gems, with 17 kitchens and two bars serving up an exciting mix of flavours.

Fujino is famed for its commitment to brand-name Kawachi duck, sourced anew every morning so that cuts like liver and gizzard can be served while they’re still fresh and flavourful. For the full experience, order the Kawachi duck nabe, a hefty hot pot filled with an aromatic Kansai-style skipjack broth that together with vegetables like traditional Namba negi spring onion, water celery and burdock root lends the meat an extra infusion of flavour. Meals end with hand-cut soba noodles. 

A tiny one-man operation decorated with retro and antique furniture and serving up one or two varieties of piquant curry for lunch, Teishokudo Kongoseki attracts spice fiends from throughout the Kansai area. In the evening, the menu expands to include a cosmopolitan range of set meals.

Kanan meets Italy at this quirky trattoria run by Shota Uematsu, a chef who hails from the aforementioned rural town in southern Osaka Prefecture and channels its landscape, history, culture and ingredients into artistic cuisine that brings together the best of two very different culinary worlds.

Your one-stop shop for quality beer in central Osaka, Mother Tree is a brewpub and bottle shop that should satisfy the cravings of even the most discerning drinker. You’ll find around 15 of their own beers on tap at all times, and the food menu merits equally careful consideration (otherwise you’ll end up trying everything...). The selection of bottled and canned beer is impressive too, with an expertly curated line-up of around 500 varieties from throughout the world.

The runner-up in 2016’s global World Class final, Ryu Fujii showcases his mix mastery at this tiny counter-only hideaway. Never one to rest on his laurels, the widely travelled bartender makes a point of revamping his cocktail menu entirely from year to year, giving discerning drinkers a reason to come back. 

Soy meat hamburg steaks, satisfyingly thick smoothies and hearty salads made with ample organic veg are just a few of the vegan delights on offer at this comfy and centrally located café, which also does away entirely with artificial additives, GMO products and even white sugar.

Tucked away in the basement of a dated mixed-use building a stone’s throw from Osaka Station, this retro-futuristic coffee shop opened in 1970, the year of the Osaka Expo and at the height of the ‘space fever’ that gripped the world after the moon landing of 1969. Admire the cosmic imagery – the ‘night sky’ ceiling with lights that resemble stars is a highlight – while exploring a menu that screams ‘classic kissaten’: think hand-drip coffee, fruit sandwiches, ‘Napolitan’ spaghetti and toast.

Putting a stylish twist on the traditional daifuku – soft mochi usually filled with sweet red bean paste – Shizuku makes its dainty treats entirely without additives. A herbal extract provides the intense colour of the blue raspberry daifuku, while the eye-catching Tsuchi (‘Earth’) incorporates hemp charcoal.

Pastry chef Yoshiki Tsujii may be the guardian of his family’s 55-year cake-making legacy, but he’s not afraid to challenge his adoring regulars with inventive takes on iconic sweets. Some things are best kept the same, though: Tsujii makes his strawberry shortcake with the exact recipe he inherited from his father.