When visiting Osaka, how could you miss one of its signature foods, kushikatsu? When it comes to famous kushikatsu restaurants in Osaka, the well-known chain Daruma has to be mentioned, and this time I visited its most iconic location, the Shinsekai main store!
Compared with the other locations, the main store is really tiny, with only about ten counter seats. The interior shows its age and is a little less modern and comfortable, but it has much more of the atmosphere of a traditional small Japanese restaurant.
There are no tablets for self-service ordering here, so you need to order directly from the chef. However, menus in other languages are available, making it fairly tourist-friendly. The most interesting part was that almost everyone in the restaurant at the time was Japanese. You could see the natural, familiar interactions between the customers and the chef up close, as if you had stepped into an izakaya that was part of everyday life in Japan.
Although there are other Daruma locations near Shinsekai, I think the most appealing thing about the main store is its unpretentious, strongly local, old-fashioned atmosphere. Coming here isn’t just about trying Osaka kushikatsu—it feels more like experiencing authentic Japanese food culture.
