First night in Osaka, I was walking around my neighbourhood looking for a place to have dinner. And usually when I dine alone, I would settle for an izakaya. I saw one interesting place but they were full booked, so I made a reservation for the next evening.
Kagura serves fresh seafood from the Osaka Central Wholesale Market and Kizu Market. They serve body-friendly creative Japanese cuisine through cooking methods that preserve nutritional value and by creating a relaxing atmosphere, a Japanese dining philosophy known as “Ishoku Dogen” (medicine and food share the same origin).
Right next to the entrance are some fishtanks that house some live seafood. Tonight’s special was live squid. Unfortunately I couldn’t finish one whole squid by myself, so I had to give it a miss.
I looked through the Japanese menu as the English menu online did not offer the menu of the day. The online menu only had their regular items, the hamburger steak. The daily menu had a variety of fresh seafood and special items.
I was seated at the counter, my favourite spot as it is a casual space where even solo diners can feel welcome. They also offer private rooms and traditional Horigotatsu (sunken hearth) seating you have a bigger group. Just like any other izakaya, the otoshi (お通し) was provided as part of the cover charge (席料).
Mizu nasu (水茄子), translated to water eggplant, is a rare variety of Japanese eggplant from the Senshu region of Osaka that has such a high water content and thin skin that it can be eaten completely raw like a fruit. It has a refreshing, slightly sweet flavour profile reminiscent of a crisp fruit or cucumber.
It was torn by hand, chilled, and served raw with a ponzu dressing and a sprinkling of bonito flakes.
Next course, an assortment of sashimi for one person. There’s one piece of everything on the menu – striped jack (shima aji), pike conger (hamo), sweet shrimp (amaebi), boiled octopus (tako), squid (ika), sea beam (madai), tuna (maguro) and tuna belly (chutoro).
I did not notice the price of this piece of grilled fish as I love the ribbonfish – it is one of my comfort food anywhere. Tachiuo (cutlassfish) is highly expensive in Japan because it cannot be commercially farmed, requires meticulous individual handling, and is judged heavily on its cosmetic appearance. While cheap, bulk-frozen ribbonfish exists in global commodity markets, premium Japanese tachiuo commands a massive price premium. Fishermen perform shinkei jime (inserting a spike into the spinal nerve to instantly stop lactic acid buildup) and sumotoshiki (a specialised water-flushing blood removal method). These meticulous steps preserve the soft, sweet, clean flavour profile of the white flesh but add significantly to the labour cost. This tiny piece costed ¥3,200, but the chef did justice to it as it was delicious.
Next, something from their regular menu. I saw my neighbour ordered this and got food envy. So I ordered one for myself. The hamburger patty was made a la minute right in front of me, and the grilled on the teppanyaki grill at the side. The meat used was Japanese kuroge beef with great marbling, but not some branded wagyu. But it was good enough for a patty.
With my limited Japanese, I couldn’t understand what the other options were, but I pick the demiglace sauce, which looked and tasted delicious. The hamburger steak was on point – grilled perfectly, juicy and generous. I would have asked for a bowl of rice if not for my policy of not having carbs for two meals in a row.
And one for the road, I order another item because of food envy. The mentaiko buta-maki is made by wrapping a whole sac of mentaiko with thinly sliced pork belly. And again, it was prepared right in front of me, and not from some pre-prepared portions from the freezer. The salt was totally unnecessary as the mentaiko provided all the flavours.
It was jolly atmosphere in the izakaya, the chef tried to strike up a conversation with me with his limited English, while I tried to reply with my even worse Japanese. It was such delightful evening that I decided to forgo my prepare list of restaurants to go to this trip and trust my instincts like this. Except for the tachiuo, everything else was reasonably priced. But definitely not a cheap place for an izakaya, but the quality of the food made up the difference. Will come again in a bigger group.
Shinsaibashi Kagura 心斎橋 神楽
1F, Mansion Umayado, 1-13-3 Higashi-Shinsaibashi, Chuo-ku, Osaka City
大阪府大阪市中央区東心斎橋1-13-3マンション馬やど1階
Tel : +81 (06) 6251 0831
Visited Aug 2026
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