Zauo Fishing Restaurant Namba (Osaka, JAPAN) ★★★☆☆

Team Aussie is leaving Osaka for Tokyo tomorrow, so we had one last chance to get together for a meal. I was thinking about doing something different — something interesting for the kids tonight and came up with the idea of a fishing restaurant.

Namba (難波) is the place to be if you ever want to visit a fishing restaurant. A lot of them are basically tourist traps, often tied to poor service (and not-great food) but Zauo Fishing Restaurant Namba seemed to have better ratings than the rest. At least from a service standpoint.

The walk from Namba Station was much longer than expected, and it took a while for all 12 of us to arrive. After we took the escalator down to basement level (Sotetsu Grand Fresa Osaka Namba), there it was: a giant replica wooden boat.

Zauo Fishing Restaurant Namba is a highly popular, experiential seafood izakaya in Osaka where diners can catch their own fish from a giant indoor tank and have it cooked to order.

The dining tables are built on and around a massive replica wooden boat, surrounded by water teeming with fish like sea bream, flounder, and mackerel.

It didn’t take long for the kids to jump right in. They were handed fishing rods/nets and started fishing immediately. Look at the reaction from little cousin!

It didn't take long before this guy caught his first ever fish with his rod. 

The two sea bream (3,500 yen per fish) caught by little nugget were immediately sent to the kitchen where the first one was prepared as sashimi.

The second was served in a hotpot with vegetables. 

And daddy gets all the vegetables but no sea bream. 😔

As an izakaya, the restaurant also had a decent food menu to choose from, including sushi, skewers, and more. Once we realized we couldn’t exactly rely on the seafood we caught (since the prices are… steep), we quickly turned our attention to the izakaya menu.

Deep-fried scallops (660 yen) — Actually not a bad snack for the price.

Deep-fried octopus (858 yen) — Crunchy.

Assorted sushi set (1,628 yen) — Meh. 😒

Rice cooked with salmon and salmon roes (1,078 yen) — The piece of salmon fillet from the rice was pretty depressing.

Japanese omelette (680 yen) — One of the more successful dish from tonight's meal.

Shrimp chijimi (748 yen) — Basically a pancake with toppings of shrimps and scallion.

None of us was full, but we all had a great time learning how to fish from the kids. After settling the bill, we took a slow, deliberate walk back toward Dotonbori to soak up the vibe on Team Aussie’s last night in town.

That’s when the kids brought up the idea of getting a nice bowl of ramen. On most nights, I would’ve called them crazy — but not tonight. My first response was “Let’s go! Daddy’s hungry too!” 😂😂

Food Rating: 4.4/10

Price: ￥￥￥

Address: B1F Sotetsu Grand Fresa Osaka Namba, 1-1-13 Nipponbashi, Chuo-ku, Osaka, 542-0086 Japan

Closest Metro Station: Kintetsu-Nippombashi

Tel: +81 (0)6 6121-5882

Website: https://www.zauo.com/shops/namba/

Opening Hours: 11:30am - 3:00pm, 4:00pm - 11:00pm (Sat - Sun), 5:00pm - 11:00pm (Mon - Fri)

Mugi to Tori 麥×鷄 (Osaka, JAPAN) ★★★★☆

Everyone was feeling the heat in Kyoto, so none of us really had much of an appetite when we were enjoying our Japanese skewers tonight. But now that we have left Umeda and back in Shinsaibashi, I suddenly found myself getting a little hungry.

While everyone else decided to call it a night, I decided to head out for something warm and comforting. And I already had the perfect spot in mind — Mugi to Tori (麥×鷄), just a few steps from our hotel.

The highly rated ramen shop was closing in less than half an hour so I had to hurry to get my ticket from the vending machine.

I last visited Mugi to Tori back in 2023, and I still vaguely remembered the lingering aftertaste of their signature broth. Tonight, I finally got to relive that moment — two years later.

Mugi x Uni (2,200 yen) — Their creamy chicken broth is blended with rich sea urchin, which makes it one of the more luxurious ramens in Shinsaibashi. The chicken broth is long-boiled, then whipped right before serving to create a smooth, velvety cap of fine bubbles—rich in flavor without feeling overly greasy.

As a fan of awa-kei (bubble-style/foam-style, 泡系) ramen, I love how the noodles seem to sink into that silky, “cappuccino-like” layer of foam on top. As usual, I took a quick sip of the broth first, then focused on the noodles. The broth was deeply umami-rich, with flavor coming from both the chicken base and the uni front and centre.

The buckwheat noodles were clinging to the broth beautifully.

The marinated soft-boiled egg was faultless.

The silky and flavorful pork chashu soaked up the broth brilliantly.

The chicken chashu was very tender and juicy.

The marinated bamboo shoots were thick-cut, giving them a really satisfying mouthfeel. But I could probably do without the seaweed and purple onion, as there were already plenty of flavors and textures in the bowl.

Earlier, while we were on the way back from Umeda, we have taken a little time to enjoy the city-wide display of illuminations along some of the main roads.

I felt really blessed to have made it to both Mugi to Tori (麥×鷄) and Men Style Tanimoto Ke Honmachi (麵スタイル谷本家 本町店), two of the most coveted ramen spots in the Shinsaibashi area. This is definitely one of the highlights of my Osaka trip.

Food Rating: 7.4/10

Price: ￥￥￥

Address: 3-1-16 Minamisenba, Chuo-ku, Osaka, 542-0081 Japan

Closest Metro Station: Shinsaibashi 

Tel: +81 (0)6 6121-7601

Website: www.instagram.com/mugi_tori

Opening Hours: 10:30am - 3:00pm, 6:00pm - 10:00pm daily

Kushikatsu Shiruhisa Ohatsu Tenjin 串かつ 知留久 お初天神店 (Osaka, JAPAN) ★★★★☆

I have secretly prepared a surprise for little nugget tonight. He’s been asking when we’ll be having kushikatsu on this trip, and I’ve kept my plans close to the chest all this time.

Founded in 1946, Kushikatsu Shiruhisa Ohatsu Tenjin (串かつ 知留久 お初天神店) is a high-end, historic deep-fried skewer restaurant in Osaka. It’s famously credited with creating the omakase-style dining approach for kushikatsu meals, and inventing the multi-compartment sauce plate that’s now standard across Japan.

This branch of Kushikatsu Shiruhisa is located inside K’s Square Building (ケイズスクエアビル) in East Umeda (東梅田). Not the easiest place to get to unless you know Osaka well enough.

We just came back from Kyoto in late afternoon and once we emerged from Osaka station, we started making our way to Kushikatsu Shiruhisa. While some of us wanted to hang around Hep five before dinner, mom wasn’t walking very well with her bad knee, so I called a Uber to get us there .

Eating Kushikatsu without sitting at the counter table will be uncivilized. So, once we got into the restaurant, I immediately signaled for the bar. 

Luckily, there was one lady who spoke reasonably good English and she guided us throughout the night. 👍🏻👍🏻

Dinner officially got started and we were presented with their signature multi-compartment sauce plate topped with a small bucket of chilled vegetables. For a restaurant best known for introducing omakase to the Kushikatsu world, we didn’t hesitate to give it a try. Of course, we also got some skewers from the a la carte menu to satisfy everyone’s craving.

Beef sirloin — Very very tender. It worked especially well with the special beef sauce that tasted like a little like American BBQ sauce.

Shiitake mushroom — Always a crowd pleaser. Very very juicy, and perfect with the lighter batter.

Minced fish with shiso leaf and mustard — Beautifully decorated and tasted even better than it looked.

Shrimp — Another a crowd pleaser. Flaky on the outside, yet springy and firm inside. It was a good sign when nobody wanted to share the skewer.  😂😂

Zucchini — Best enjoyed with salt. This was a little on the hard side.

Salmon with salmon roes, mayo — The salmon roe, mayo, mustard seeds, and crispy seaweed all came together for a great mix of flavors and textures. Super good.

Tilefish — Best enjoyed with salt. This came with incredible sweetness and the crispy scales just perfect.

Eggplant — Stuffed with minced fish (That's what my notes said)? I didn’t dare to ask, but the texture and flavor were really interesting once the two came together.

A huge thank-you to our new friend, who was incredibly helpful all night — she served and explained the dishes while standing right between the chef and me. Thankfully, she spoke just enough English for us to communicate without any issues.

When we were about to leave, we noticed this section of the dining area with regular tables. It reminded me a lot of a German beer hall or a traditional German restaurant. But who would want to sit here if the bar tables are open. 

I could tell some of us were still a little hungry, but the scorching heat in Kyoto had really worn us out. In the end, everyone just wanted to head back to the hotel, relax, and chill. Except for me, I have got plans for a nice bowl of chicken paitan ramen (鶏ガラパイタン).

Food Rating: 7.1/10

Price: ￥￥￥￥

Address: 1/F, K's Square Building, 2-8-15 Sonezaki, Kita-ku, Osaka 530-0057, Japan

Closest Metro Station: Higashi-Umeda

Tel: +81 (0)6 6312-2703

Website: https://www.shiruhisa.com/

Opening Hours: 11:30am - 2:00pm, 5:00pm - 10:00pm (Thu - Tue)