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Nama Horumon Itataki 生ホルモン いただき @ Osaka

by live2makan
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I walked past this place almost every night for the week in Osaka and was blown away by the fragrant of the burning offals. Only in Japan can you get a BBQ restaurant that is specialised in beef offals.

A view of the entrance to a café, showcasing a wooden door with a circular sign stating 'The Perfect' in English and Japanese. Inside, two staff members in black shirts are preparing food at the counter, while the vibrant atmosphere is highlighted by hanging lights and a mix of decor visible through the glass.
Ground floor entrance

Nama Horumon Itataki is a yakiniku restaurant that specialised in beef offals called horumon (a play on the Greek word “hormone”, meaning “stimulation”, which was what the Japanese refer to offals in the past). The name is also similar to the Kansai dialect term hōrumon (放る物), which means “discarded goods”. This cuisine is also called horumonyaki but it was trademarked and therefore not used elsewhere except in Osaka by Kitazato Shigeo in 1940.

A bustling kitchen scene featuring a chef preparing food. The kitchen is equipped with various pots and pans, steaming dishes, and neatly stacked plates. The atmosphere is lively with hints of steam and cooking equipment visible.
A black menu board displaying food items and prices in Japanese, with a logo featuring a cow on a mountain in the centre. Two staff members are engaged in preparation tasks in the kitchen area.

I placed an order of six different cuts of offals with my broken Japanese. Each horumon cut now has its ideal way of preparation, reflecting Japan’s cultural approach of respectfully making the most of ingredients, the Japanese philosophy of “Mottainai” (もったいない).

A table setting featuring a portable grill with a mesh top, chopsticks, a small blue plate, a black dish of sauce, a lemon wedge, and a folded napkin on a wooden surface.
A Japanese menu featuring various dishes, including grilled meats, sushi, and side dishes, with prices listed beside each item. The menu is illustrated with drawings and includes detailed descriptions in Japanese.

They have almost every internal organ of the cow on the menu. Each horumon cut offers a completely different texture—chewy, springy, or juicy with melting fat. So I had to make my choices carefully so that I can enjoy the entire spectrum of textures and flavours. In case you are thinking what’s missing, it’s the reproduction organs 😉

A table setting featuring a grill, a cold beer in a glass, a portion of seasoned vegetables on a black plate, a small bowl of rice, and a white napkin.
キムチ盛合せ Assorted kimchis

There’s a cover charge as well, but there’s no otoshi for the cover as it was for the unlimited supply of garlic and onions, as well as ice cubes. I will come to that later. I ordered an ice-cold draft beer and some kimchi to start with. The assortment came with three types of kimochi (キムチ, Japanese word for Korean kimchi) – 白菜キムチ (napa cabbage), 胡瓜キムチ (cucumber kimchi), and 日替りキムチ (daily special kimchi).

Raw meat garnished with green onions on a decorative plate.
新鮮レバー (Fresh liver)
Sliced marinated meat on a decorative plate, seasoned with pepper.
塩タン (Salted beef tongue)

The first two cuts were fresh liver and salted beef tongue. Beef liver is full of iron and Vitamin B12 that helps to reduce stress. Many do not like that irony bloody taste, but I love it. And beef tongue has always been a favourite ingredient of mine, they cook very easily as they are slice thinly across.

Grilled pieces of meat on a barbecue grill with a green garnish
A selection of grilled meat pieces served on a patterned blue plate, including tender slices and chunks.

So I had to watch the timing for these two ingredients carefully so as not to overcook them. Do not be fooled by the gas grill even there was no flame, it was really hot and the tongue and liver cooked very quickly.

Grilled marinated meat slices topped with sesame seeds and served with sliced green onions.
あぶしん (Beef heart)
A close-up of a black dish containing dumplings coated in a glossy sesame sauce, topped with sesame seeds and accompanied by chopped green onions.
てっちゃん (Large intestines)
A blue plate with slices of marinated fish topped with sesame seeds and garnished with chopped spring onions, placed on a wooden table.
名物まるちゃん (Small intestines)

Next up, the ingredients that are fatty and need more time on the grill. Maruchan (まるちゃん) is a colloquial term for beef small intestines. They are very fatty, sweet meaty taste. Tecchan (てっちゃん), or large intestine, on the other hand, has a soft and chewy texture and need more time to get the right texture. It should be marinated with a sweet sauce. And then there’s abushin (あぶしん) or cow’s heart. It is almost like a piece of lean meat but with a crunchy texture.

Grilling various cuts of meat on a barbecue, with smoke and flames rising.
Grilled chicken pieces sizzling on a charcoal grill with smoke rising, accompanied by a piece of ice on the grill.

The intestines rendered a lot of fats when grilled, and that’s what made the grill flared and produced all those wonderful smoke. But it can be quite annoying for the rest of the room, so ice cubes (remember them?) were provided to help regulate the flares. By placing them on the grill, they melted into the fire and reduced the smoking. When a smart technique that I will try next time when I have a BBQ at home.

A bowl of spicy kimchi with chunks of orange radish, garnished with sesame seeds, served on a wooden table.
山芋キムチ (Japanese yam kimchi)

There’s another kimochi that was not served in the platter and that was yamaimo (Japanese yam) kimchi. I always like the crunchiness of yamaimo and it was really delicious and cut through the greasiness of the offals effectively.

A bowl of marinated beef chunks topped with green onions and sesame seeds, resting in a pool of sauce.
ふわ (Beef lungs)
Chunks of marinated meat with green onions grilling on a charcoal barbecue.

The last offal for the evening was fuwa (ふわ) or beef lungs. Sometimes they are translated as sweetbread (which is pancreas) but usually cow’s pancreas are not served. This organ is spongy and has a very light taste. I love it as a soup and this was the first time I had it as a yakiniku ingredient.

A plate of marbled beef slices seasoned with pepper, arranged on a dark stone plate.
和牛カルビ (Wagyu short ribs)
Two pieces of meat grilling on a barbecue with smoke rising.

Other than organs, they do offer a limited selection of beef cuts, sausages and chicken. There’s no pork on the menu. I ordered a portion wagyu karubi (和牛カルビ), which is boneless beef short ribs, prized for its rich marbling and fast-rendering fat over direct heat. This was in preparation for the finale of the evening.

A bowl of cold noodles topped with cucumber, green onions, sesame seeds, and a spicy sauce, accompanied by a small dish of kimchi and grilled meat.
キムチ冷麺 (Kimchi cold noodles)
A bowl of spicy Korean noodle soup featuring chunks of beef, fresh vegetables like cucumber and spinach, and garnished with sesame seeds.

The tradition of yakiniku is to finish the meal with a cold noodle. All the remaining meat and kimchi were added to the chewy noodles for a wholesome final course. The kimchi helped to reduce the greasiness of the meat and improved the appetite to finish the noodles.

A small, warmly lit restaurant at night, with large windows displaying its interior. The building is located on a narrow street, surrounded by taller modern buildings. A person is standing by the entrance, and bicycles are parked outside.
The inviting lights and aroma of Nama Horumon Itataki 生ホルモン いただき (堺筋本町)

The dinner came up to around ¥1,000 with drinks. The food was delicious, and it was mainly self-service. Perhaps I ordered too much for one person, but I don’t come to Japan that often these days so I got a bit greedy. Nevertheless, I will definitely recommend that you try this cuisine when you are there, and if you can get over the “yuck” factor of eating offals.

Nama Horumon Itataki 生ホルモン いただき (堺筋本町)
2 Chome-6-12 Kitakyuhojimachi, Chuo Ward, Osaka, 541-0057, Japan
大阪府大阪市中央区北久宝寺町2-6-13
Tel : +81662815578

Visited Aug 2026

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