Sazae お料理 サザエ (Osaka, JAPAN) ★★★☆☆

We had a pretty eventful day exploring some of the main attractions in Kyoto. Like we always do, we wrapped things up just before dinner time to avoid the crowd so by 6:30pm, we found ourselves at HEP FIVE in Osaka already. Someone was especially happy to be back in Osaka as he's already eyeing some game time after dinner!

Tonight's dinner venue was Sazae (お料理 サザエ), a modern izakaya with a diverse, jack-of-all-trades menu that spans from sushi and sashimi to pasta and even Spanish paella.

The two-story izakaya boasts an open kitchen and counter tables on the ground floor.

We took the elevator up to the second floor where a more comfortable dining space awaits. The ordering here was done via a QRCode so that was easy for us Hongkongers to navigate.

Sable fish with Saikyo miso (1,080 yen) – Mom wanted something simple tonight and this was exactly what the doctor ordered.

Crab cream croquette (480 yen) – One of the highlights of the night. These croquettes were filled with a rich, creamy crab mixture and mashed potatoes, paired beautifully with a shrimp bisque sauce. They were so good, I ended up ordering two just to make sure everyone got a hand on it.

Sea urchin carbonara (1,280 yen) – Always a crowd-pleaser when you have creamy sea urchin and pasta together. The pasta itself was decent, though the sauce tasted more like egg yolk than uni, which was a bit of a letdown.

Sushi platter (1,680 yen) – Some sushi for Jelloman. A shame that some of the sashimi like scallop were already sold out.

Paella-style clay pot rice (1,680 yen) – This came when everyone was already done. Despite its appearance, it didn’t taste much like a traditional Spanish paella. Aside from the yellow rice and seafood, it lacked the characteristic flavors we were expecting from a typical paella.

I didn't have the energy to snap photos of everything we ordered tonight. But I could tell you this, there were a lot of hits and misses (croquette was a hit and the rice definitely a miss). Service was also just borderline OK but I guess it's partially the language barrier. None of the servers here really speak any English but hey, this place is not meant for tourists anyways! 

Food Rating: 5.6/10

Price: ￥￥

Address: 4-29 Komatsubaracho, Kita-ku, Osaka, 530-0018, Japan

Closest Metro Station: Umeda / Higashi-Umeda

Tel: +81 (0)6 6766-4620

Opening Hours: 11:30am - 1:00am (Sun - Thu), 11:30am - 2:00am (Fri - Sat)