Articles / Tourist Guide / Osaka Tourist Guide / Osaka Restaurants

Osaka is officially recognized as ?the national kitchen? of Japan. Osaka restaurants have caused the worldwide recognition for Japanese food culture due to their accurate classification of types of restaurants.

Staying in Osaka you will have no trouble looking for a restaurant to dine out in, the restaurants will sneak up on you out of every corner in every street. Japanese and American, Italian and French, Chinese and Thai, cheap and real expensive ? you will only have to choose. We recommend you visiting one of those places (or rather each of them ? if you have enough time and money):

Japanese Restaurants:

Asuki, Kakiyasu, Kiji Umeda, Aizuya, Mimiu Honten, Kineya, Wakamatsu, Gataro 

Italian Restaurants:

Pietra Santa, Olive House, Windows on the World, Osteria Gaudente, Loro, Modo Di Ponte Vecchio, Ohsama no Daidokoro, Pietro (OPA)

Thai Restaurant:

Kaisenkita, Krungtep, Tawan Thai, Coelacanth, Asia Garden

Indian Restaurants:

Banjara, Surya, Pina Khana, Aja Kaja, Bruno, Ashoka, Bombay Kitchen Shinsaibash

American Restaurants:

Trader Vics, Wolfgang Puck Cafe, KUAAINA, Hilton, Fugestu USA, Inkas (Los), Hard Rock Cafe, Loco mon

French Restaurants:

Chez Wada, Wine Museum, Hemingway, Matsumotoro, Barbes, Kitchen Stadium, Jafance, Wine Bar & Restaurant Burdigala

Chinese Restaurants:

551 Horai, Seiryumon, Shinoa  

Contemporary Restaurants:

Nesupa, Kappa Yokocho, Shooby Dooby, Chanto, Dagaz, Kurogami, Daidaiya, Cante Teas

It is a peculiar feature of Japanese restaurants in Osaka to specialize in one type of food used for their dishes. Major types of such restaurants are called Sushi-ya (specialize in sushi, where customers may sit at a regular table or by a sushi-bar watching the chef cookong), Kaiten-zushi (sushi are displayed on a special conveyor belt), Soba-ya (specialize in soba and udon noodles based dishes), Ramen-ya (specialize in Chinese style noodles based dishes), Kare-ya (specialize  in curry rice ? kareraisu), Tonkatsu-ya (specialize in tonkatsu, which are deeply fired pork cutlets), Gyudon-ya (gyudon are beef domburi ? affordable fast-food type restaurants), Okonomiyaki-ya (specialize in okonomiyaki and occasionally monjayaki.which are prepared by the customers themselves on special little ovens), Yakitori-ya (specialize in yakitori ? grilled chicken skewers), Tempura-ya (specialize in tempura dishes), Unagi-ya (unagy ? fresh water eels), Sukiyaki-ya (restaurants specializes in sukiyaki and shabu-s; tend to be expensive and therefore are not very numerous).

Other minor types of Osaka restaurants which offer broader range of food specialties include izakaya: ( the most popular restaurant type among the Japanese; in such places they usually serve small amounts of food to go with drinks); family Restaurant and Shokudo (a variety of Western, Chinese and Japanese dishes); teishoku-ya (specialize in teishoku ? set menus).