串カツ
Deep-fried skewers of everything, ¥150 each, with one rule: no double dipping.
Kushikatsu are bite-sized skewers of meat, seafood and vegetables, breaded and deep-fried, dipped in a communal pot of thin Worcestershire-style sauce. It is Osaka's working-class dish, born in the Shinsekai district, and the only rule is never dip a skewer twice. High-end kushiage counters in Tokyo and Osaka turn the same idea into a ¥10,000 omakase of thirty refined skewers.
Shinsekai is where kushikatsu was invented in 1929 and the neighborhood under Tsutenkaku tower is still wall-to-wall skewer shops. The original and its rivals all sit around 3.4 on Tabelog; the difference is atmosphere.
Shinsekai · Namba · Kitashinchi
Order skewers by the handful (beef, shrimp, lotus root, quail egg, cheese are the classics) and a beer. Dip once. Use the free cabbage to scoop more sauce if you want it. Stop when you are full and pay by the number of sticks.
Skewers are displayed or photographed on menus, and the sauce rule is posted in English in every tourist-facing shop.
Casual kushikatsu shops rarely exceed 3.5; a 3.3 to 3.4 in Shinsekai is a great evening. Omakase kushiage counters above 3.6 are a genuine fine-dining experience.
Order skewers by the handful (beef, shrimp, lotus root, quail egg, cheese are the classics) and a beer. Dip once. Use the free cabbage to scoop more sauce if you want it. Stop when you are full and pay by the number of sticks.
Lunch: ¥1,000 to ¥1,800. Dinner: ¥2,000 to ¥3,500 casual, ¥8,000+ for omakase kushiage.
Casual kushikatsu shops rarely exceed 3.5; a 3.3 to 3.4 in Shinsekai is a great evening. Omakase kushiage counters above 3.6 are a genuine fine-dining experience.
Casual: walk-in. Omakase counters: reserve.
Osaka each have a dedicated page. Osaka: Shinsekai is where kushikatsu was invented in 1929 and the neighborhood under Tsutenkaku tower is still wall-to-wall skewer shops.
Open TabeDog, pick kushikatsu, and see Tabelog's top-rated shops around you with hours, prices and payment methods in English.
Find kushikatsu on the map