Osaka Station Restaurants showcase Japan's Foodie Capital

Teppan-yaki to Wine COCOLO specializes in teppanyaki cuisine, a style of Japanese food cooked on an open griddle, made with Italian cooking influences. Traditional Japanese foods are given a Western spin, such as okonomiyaki pancake made with seasonal vegetables, bacon, and cheese and topped with a whole grilled tomato that’s slowly roasted until sweet, for a dish that pairs excellently with wine. The okonomiyaki pancake is molded in the shape of a heart after the name of the restaurant “COCOLO”, which means “heart” in Japanese. If you’re looking for restaurants near Osaka Station, one visit to this one will surely warm yours.

Dinner: 3,500 JPY

Visit Shabutei Nishiumeda for Japanese shabu shabu, a hot pot meal in which thinly sliced meat and vegetables cut into bite-sized pieces are cooked tableside by swishing them lightly in water just before eating. The restaurant sources their premium marbled A5-grade Japanese beef from top producers in Kyushu and around Japan, slicing every cut of meat to the optimum thickness for a succulent taste. Whether dining alone or with friends and family, this is one of the Osaka Station restaurants that manages to provide an atmosphere both homey and hip.

Dinner: 2,500 JPY / Lunch: 900 JPY

If you yearn for restaurants near Osaka Station that serve wonderful Japanese cuisine along with perfectly paired spirits, put this one high on your list. From dry sake suited to raw dishes such as sashimi, to shochu from around Japan or renowned French wines, Nishitenman Yuigokoro offers a wide selection of carefully curated drink pairings to suit every flavor and taste. Before taking over the restaurant, the head chef spent over a decade training in various Japanese cooking methods to perfect his craft.

Dinner: 7,000 JPY / Lunch: 1,200 JPY

Osaka Station restaurants run the gourmet gamut, and they wouldn’t be complete without mention of Yoshitaro, an excellent izakaya, (a type of Japanese gastropub) that offers up beer, sake, and plenty of stellar bar food. Their dishes are the perfect size for sampling a number of different items over drinks. Be sure to try one of Yoshitaro’s deep-fried fish cakes made with fish mince mixed with one of 25 different seasonal and local specialty ingredients, such as red pickled ginger and thickly-sliced bacon.

Dinner: 2,999 JPY

For the finest yakiniku (Japanese barbecue), visit Nikusho Sakura, an Osaka Station restaurant serving the rare A5 brand of Japanese black beef from Shiraoi, Hokkaido, known as Abe beef. Their daily Special Selection of Beef offers a careful assortment of rare cuts of meat delivered fresh that day, and is especially recommended for discovering something new. Savor it with an item off their extensive side menu, which includes flying fish and soup made from Hokkaido's Kagome kelp.

Dinner: 4,000 JPY

If you expect that most restaurants near Osaka Station are probably Japanese, then think again--Osaka is a bastion of international cuisine as well. At BISTRO tesoron UNA VACCO, enjoy a variety of Western-style dishes that highlight the flavors of their ingredients in a simple manner, such as the house specialty Tesoron French Onion Soup. It’s made by first stewing onions extensively to bring out their exquisite flavor, and then finishing the dish with a sprinkle of crispy fried onions. Their mozzarella baguette with browned anchovy butter sauce, which has an exceptional, juicy flavor that envelops the tastebuds, also comes highly recommended.

Dinner: 4,000 JPY

Kushiage Osaka Ryori cuisine d'Osaka Ryo specializes in kushiage, an Osaka staple of breaded and deep-fried foods on skewers. The restaurant, one of the best restaurants near Osaka station, spares no efforts in securing the best ingredients. Enjoy items like tender young bamboo shoots in the springtime, freshly dug from mountain soil by the restaurant’s staff. The ingredients are breaded very lightly to preserve their original flavor for a light, pleasant taste.

Dinner: 8,000 JPY / Lunch: 4,000 JPY

For irresistible Italian, check out XEX WEST whose prized “Pizza D.O.C” came in first place at the Napoli Pizza World Festival, the most prestigious pizza festival in the world. Their delectable pies are wood-fired in a stone oven for the best texture and flavor. This is one of the restaurants near Osaka Station that caters to every mood, offering three different sections: An Italian-themed section, a Japanese-style section, and a bar area.

Dinner: 6,000 JPY / Lunch: 1,650 JPY

At Chi-fu, taste the complex flavors of traditional Chinese cuisine made with a personal touch. The restaurant uses organic produce grown in the Osaka area, on the head chef’s family farm, prepared with a harmony of logic and intuition for an unforgettable flavor. Their specialty Peking Duck with Shinryoku Vegetables features fermented black beans, along with fresh spring greens such as tara sprouts and butterbur sprouts with sweet bean paste miso.

Dinner: 20,000 JPY / Lunch: 7,000 JPY

While there may be a number of Osaka Station restaurants that try to satisfy the ramen lover in all of us, RAMEN IGEI stands a noodle apart. It specializes in tonkotsu seafood ramen made with pork bones, simmered for days in a fragrant seafood broth that, for all its velvety thickness and bold flavor, possesses a surprisingly light aftertaste. Their noodles are sourced from one of the top-10 ramen noodle producers in the country and have a wonderfully springy texture that will leave every diner yearning for “kaedama,” or a second helping of noodles.

Dinner: 1,000 JPY / Lunch: 1,000 JPY

Visit Joyato Toyosaki Honke for traditional Japanese cooking made with premium ingredients by a veteran chef. Their oden hot pot features a number of simple items such as Cabbage Rolls stuffed with minced pork and green onions and prepared with elegance for a flavor that leaves a deep impact on every diner. Be sure to try their handmade Ganmodoki tofu fritters as well as their famed Akashi octopus, a luxury seafood ingredient which the restaurant has prepared expertly for many years.

Dinner: 4,000 JPY / Lunch: 800 JPY

Of course, any proper list of Osaka Station restaurants would not be complete without seafood. Tosa Ryori Tsukasa Osaka Chayamachi Branch is a sushi restaurant specializing in seafood dishes from the Tosa region, the traditional name of Kochi prefecture on the island of Shikoku. Experience regional favorites, such as Katsuo Tataki prepared with fresh, tasty bonito fish. The restaurant sources their bonito from Kochi, Chiba, Miyagi, and Nagasaki, selecting fish with a luminous red color, spring texture, and a generous amount of fat for the very best flavor. The fish is seasoned with natural salt and cooked until light brown, then thinly sliced and topped with homemade “naoshi”, a speciality Kochi condiment made by adding citrus to salt, as well as delicious salt ponzu sauce.

Dinner: 6,500 JPY / Lunch: 1,800 JPY

Whether visiting Osaka on holiday or simply transiting through the station to other cities in the Kansai region, Osaka Station restaurants offer a medley of delicious opportunities. Search Savor Japan for a guide to the best conveniently-located restaurants by Osaka station and across Japan.