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Osaka’s best international restaurants
Osaka is a city of food! So of course the Japanese fare is amazing! Osaka’s specialty dishes will have you hungry for more! And there is, unsurprisingly, much more lurking in the food scene that extends across borders and into the world of the international.
Join me on a culinary adventure through some of Osaka’s most fun and delicious international inspired restaurants.
[Locations]
■Sri Lankan banana leaf curry—Nuwara Kade
Have you ever had Sri Lankan food?…Well, neither had I until I found this interesting looking restaurant, Rodda Group, with a Sri Lankan flag flying out front. The restaurant itself is small, with only counter seating and two small tables in the back. The owner/chef greeted me with a smile and recommended the gyamirasa (a rice dish topped in your choice of curry and surrounded with a selection of colorful flavorful sides).
I was immediately hooked. Only after about 4 years of living the curry-lovers dream, did I discover that there is another amazing Sri Lankan restaurant nearby, run by the owner’s younger brother.
Nuwara Kade is located near Awaza Station and is a bit more spacious with counter seating and many tables. This would be my first choice with a group of 4 or more. And the menu is slightly more extensive than Rodda Group’s.
You can order a plate of curries, chutneys, and rice that comes steamed in a banana leaf. I repeat, you can order your meal in-a-banana-leaf. You have the choice to order your meal with a spoon or try what the chef recommends—eat with your fingers! This adds another level of complexity to your dish and the chef promises, it tastes better.
The curry selection changes regularly, and features a lot of variety: chicken, pork, mutton, fish, prawn, organ meat (horumon), deer, cuttlefish, goat, wild boar, pork rib, and more. Choose your curry over basmati rice, biryani, with noodles or steamed in a banana leaf.
■ Burgers and bikes!—The Panhead’s Heaven Saloon
It’s a motor-head burger joint, right near Kujo Station, and their burgers are huge! The owners are a couple who both love the United States and have spent time living in New York and Philadelphia. They brought back a lot of flavor and a taste for Americana.
The floors are that classic checkered tile. The walls are covered in animal skulls, license plates, and other saloon decorations. And the bikes! The owner is a Harley-Davidson enthusiast and owns a collection of motorcycles, some of which are on display in the dining area for guests to ogle as they eat. It’s obviously a popular biker hangout in Osaka, so look out front for a line of motorcycles.
As I said, the burgers here are huge! The owners pride themselves on the story of a customer dislocating his jaw on a burger. This may be a joke, or an actual incident. Regardless, it’s within the realm of possibility.
The burgers come with fries, onion rings, snack-pack potato chips, or smile potatoes. American favorites like Cherry Coke, Dr. Pepper, and Root Beer are often on the menu. If you’re not a burger person, try the soup. It’s big enough to feed 5 people and comes with a home-made bagel side.
■ Italian pizzas and trucks!—Ciao!
I first discovered this pizza truck near the aquarium in Tempozan. I have since spotted it in the shopping arcade near Bentencho, at Yahata Park near Osaka Pool, and countless other places around town. The brick-oven pizza is to die for and goes great with an ice-cold Moretti. It’s a treat to find this red, white, and green truck when you’re out in the city.
And there’s one place where you can always find it—in front of the Ciao! Restaurant near Asashiobashi Station. Pizzas are of course on the menu! Plus they serve prosciutto and salami antipasto plates, fabulous creamy cheese and grape pasta that has been on their menu since before it was a fad, and sweets that will transport you to southern Italy, where the chef/owner studied Italian cuisine.
■ Danish open-sandwiches—Smørrebrød Kitchen Nakanoshima
You’d never guess this restaurant would be on the second floor of Osaka Prefectural Nakanoshima Library, but it is! The building itself is a treat with its turn of the century architecture. A winding hallway connects to the grand staircase and wraps around to connect you to the corridor where this hidden gem is tucked away.
The restaurant specializes in Smørrebrød— traditional Danish open-sandwiches, which may be topped with meats, fish, cheese, or other spreads. They are works of art on a plate and fabulous to eat. I can confirm that the chocolate/berry/macaron Smørrebrød will make your visit worthwhile.
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