Foodie Travelers' Guide | Kushikatsu Ueshima - A HIDDEN Osaka Restaurant

If you are foodie, you probably know that Osaka is the place to fulfill your needs. We took a weekend trip to Osaka (we live in Tokyo) and decided to go to one of hidden Kushikatsu restaurants called Ueshima.

These kind of Japanese restaurants could be a bit intimidating for tourists and even for some locals so I will show you what it's like and what you should expect.

Location
How to Order
Food and How to Eat

Location

Ueshima is located in a side street of Amemura which is next to Shinsaibashi. There is no big neon sign like other chain restaurants but instead, you will find a cool beige noren hang from the top of entrance. The restaurant is on the second floor.

Restaurant Info

Ueshima

Address: 1 Chome-6-5 Nishishinsaibashi, Chuo Ward, Osaka, Osaka Prefecture 542-0086
Tel: 06-6241-9433
Business Hour: 5PM-11PM

HOW TO ORDER

There is no menu - so intimidating, right? No worries. It's actually easier than with a menu because all you need to say is STOP. You can't see the price so if you have a budget, you may want to tell the master first. For drinks, they have basics like beer, wine, sake and soft drinks. For wine, they only have half or full bottles, no by glass.

Price depends on how much you eat, but we ended up around ¥21,000 (roughly $190.00) for two. We had 1 alcohol drink each and about 23 kushikatsu total.

After telling them STOP and finish eating the last piece, ask them for check and they will bring it to your table.

FOOD & HOW TO EAT

Their food is simply just KUSHIKATSU, nothing else. Master Ueshima cooks them in the cool vintage looking fryer in the counter and place the freshly made kushikatsu on your plate. You take only kushikatsu and leave the plate on the counter so he can keep using for the next kushikatsu. Before eating kushikatsu, dip into spices and sauce on the table. Master will tell you which spice and sauce is recommended for each one.

Kushikatsu that master makes is AMAZING. Golden coating is so light and crispy. Right after you break the outside coating, condensed flavor inside will explode in your mouth. YUMMY! According to master Ueshima, the most important component to make kushikatsu is the ingredients. He picks up on his own at Kuromon Ichiba Market every morning.