8 Best Restaurants in Minami, The Kansai Region

If there is one food Osaka is known for, it is okonomiyaki, a savory pancake that can be filled with vegetables, meat, or seafood. Mizuno, opened in 1945, is one of the city's best and oldest places to try this hearty specialty. Mizuno's okonomiyaki are light and fluffy, using a variety of ingredients delivered from Osaka's Kuromon Market. Sitting at the long teppan counter grill you can watch as the chef whips up a hearty taste of Osaka before your eyes. Long lines form around lunch and dinnertime, but move rather quickly.

Dining at the Swissôtel's flagship restaurant is an elegant escape from the crowds of Osaka. The seasonal kaiseki dinners are presented with exquisite attention to detail, bringing out the flavor of each ingredient. The restaurant offers separate seating at the sushi bar, tempura counter, and even four private rooms. Choose from one of the seasonal set menus, or put your dinner in the hands of the skilled chefs. The staff are also happy to serve Kobe beef from Minami, the hotel's teppanyaki restaurant.

The most famous restaurant on Dotombori-dori—the enormous mechanical crab is a local landmark—Kani Doraku has fine crab dishes at reasonable prices. The lunch set menu includes large portions of crab; dinner is more expensive ¥6,000. If you prefer a quick snack, a stand outside sells crab legs. An English-language menu is available. Reserve a table on weekends.

There's no better place to try Osaka's kappo-ryori (a more intimate, less formal version of kaiseki-ryori) than the restaurant that started the trend. Chef and owner Osamu Ueno scours the markets daily to find the best ingredients for dinner each evening. The menu here is a constantly rotating selection of à la carte items, all superb. If you're unsure about what to order, simply leave it up to the chef for a delightful dinner. The restaurant has a relaxed atmosphere and friendly staff, with counter seating and two private rooms for small groups.

A hip hangout on the fringe of Amerika-mura, Planet 3rd is perfect for a quick snack or a full meal. The food is tasty—consisting mostly of sandwiches, curries, and sweets—and the atmosphere is cool and laid back. In the morning the café serves breakfast from 7 am. The computers at the front are free use for customers.

For a real taste of Osaka, line up for kushi katsu (skewered meats and vegetables) outside Shin Sekai's Yaekatsu. This no-frills, counter-only restaurant has the reputation of being one of Osaka's oldest and best places to get kushi katsu. At dinner the line stretches the length of the shop, so arrive early or be prepared to wait. Yaekatsu is in Shin Sekai's Jan Jan Yokocho shopping street. Coming from Dobutsuen-mae Station, the shop is halfway down the shopping street on your left. The large red-and-white sign is only in Japanese, but pretty easy to spot.

This is one of Osaka's best known fugu (blowfish) restaurants. There are now branches in other parts of town, but this location is the original. In addition to fugu sashimi, the store has fugu nabe (hot pot) and many other varieties. For less-adventurous diners Zuboraya serves a range of Japanese foods, like sushi, tempura, and shabu-shabu.