KAHALA

Such a diverse range of foods. I was not expecting things like fondue but here are. The dishes were eclectic and exciting. A very cool (and pricey 😅) experience. if you feel like splurging out i’d totally recommend

カハラ opened in 1971 and has been running for 54 years. The elderly chef still works entirely by hand, personally preparing and finishing every dish in the kitchen. The restaurant operates in two seatings. Guests who don’t speak Japanese can only book the later slot around 8 PM. Despite rumours online, I experienced no discrimination or discomfort; the chef’s assistant at the counter introduced each dish using simple English and a translation device. Potato, Cauliflower & Caviar ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Silky and delicate, with caviar salinity, cauliflower freshness and a rounded cheese aroma. Beautifully balanced. Hassun ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Conger eel with a faint green pepper fragrance, very tender. Buffalo mozzarella with a mild dairy note and a whisper of ginger. Anago, soft and sweet. Bacon with aromatic richness and a touch of acidity. Nameko mushrooms, crisp and juicy. Hokkigai clam, bouncy and sweet with miso and truffle fragrance. Kashkaval Cheese ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Pan-seared for a deep aroma, stretchy cheese paired with nori fragrance. Curry Puff ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Light and crisp, assertively spicy with a savoury finish. The coffee oil adds strong roasted aroma. Shark Fin with “Awayuki” Salt ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Crisp, salty, elastic whole fin. Pumpkin is seasoned with awayuki salt—mild in salinity yet full of rice-like aroma. Cold Noodles with Karasumi ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Springy noodles with lightly salty, slightly bitter accents. Fragrant but modest. Cheese Pot ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Shrimp is crisp and sweet; cheese is rich without heaviness. Abalone is tender and chewy, its flavour surprisingly clear beneath the cheese. Herring roe–kombu is crisp, deeply oceanic, and bursts with roe. Lily Bulb, Tomato & Yuzu ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Smooth and dense; lily’s freshness mixed with tomato acidity and sweetness. Salad ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Lightly acidic, refreshing, with sesame fragrance. Wagyu with Garlic Chips ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ An intense punch of wasabi—eye-watering but exhilarating. Rich marbling and lingering aroma. Wagyu with Grated Daikon ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ A slightly acidic sauce and unique crisp garnish; tender beef. Wagyu with Garlic Chips & Awayuki Salt ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Half the wasabi amount makes it perfectly balanced. Fragrant garlic, gentle salinity, and a subtle rice aroma. Fried Corn Rice ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Glossy grains with rich corn aroma. The lacquerware bowl is handmade by the chef himself. Watermelon with Grape Jelly ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Grape sweetness is strong, finishing with a sake-like sweetness that makes the watermelon taste even sweeter. Coffee Caramel Mikan Brûlée ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Coffee and caramel open the palate, followed by mikan fruitiness intertwined with creaminess. Petit Fours ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Milk tea with pronounced tea and dairy notes. Mango chocolate—a slightly unusual pairing. Total: ¥86,500 / 2 people Recommendation score: 8.5/10

The Chef and his son are delivering a versatile omakase menu combining Western and Japanese dishes and tastes. Interesting, refreshing combinations with known ingredients create a unique flavor experience. Besides that just amazing atmosphere and very nice chef/employees. Overall great experience.

My friend recommended this restaurant since it's her favorite and the one she revisits the most in Osaka. It's so good, and I highly recommend it to all food lovers. The chef and his son were very nice and tried to explain everything in English for foreigners

I would best describe this as French inspired Kaiseki. The chef has delivered French style cooking methods to Japanese food with aplomb. Was an amazing experience that I would highly recommend. There was a person working there who spoke very good English to help explain dishes.

Small counter in the middle of Kitashinchi serving creative cuisine by a chef who grew bored of beef years ago. It's definitely worth a visit though perhaps not a return

Past its prime

予約で18時から。 ずっと行ってみたかったお店！！ 念願の初訪問(⁎ᴗ͈ˬᴗ͈⁎) 店内満席でした。 頼んだメニュー＼(*⌒0⌒)♪ ･おまかせコース 覚えてる内容だけ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ ･食前酒 ･キャビア ･前菜盛り合わせ ･フカヒレ 百合根 ･タケノコ ･タケノコの皮 ･カラスミ カハラ麺 ･チーズフォンデュ ･にんにくチップ ･サラダ ･お肉達 ･豆ご飯 ･パンナコッタ ･チョコ 終始ワクワクやし、 どれも美味しすぎた♡ タケノコの皮は初めて食べたんですが、 これはこれで好みかも！ってなりました！ タケノコのがもちろん美味しいけど。 あの有名なカハラ麺！！ カラスミたっぷりで めちゃくちゃ美味しい(*´﹃｀*) お肉も全く重たくなくて、 重なりあってるお肉頂くの初めてで すごい新鮮でたくさん食べ方もあって 一緒に行ってる方のも頂いてペロリ♡ ミルフィーユ状最高！！ にんにくチップと食べるのがやはりオススメ！ フカヒレと百合根も めちゃくちゃ美味しかった。 しかも見た目がオシャレ( ˶'꒳'˵ ) 量が結構出てくるって聞いていて あんまり量食べれないから、 ドキドキしていたけど、 美味しくて余裕で完食でした(*･∀-)db(-ω･*) むしろ人のお肉まで食べちゃったくらい！笑 ありがとうございます♡ ごちそうさまでしたm(_ _)m また行けるなら行きたいなー。 お店の方も愛想よくて楽しかったです！

My husband and I celebrated Valentine's Day with Kahala. Kahala is a Michelin 2 stars restaurant. Since this restaurant only serves 16 people max. per day, we made our reservation as early as on 11/15/2017. We were lucky enough to get a table at 8:40pm on Valentine's Day. It took us a while to find the entrance of the restaurant even with the help of Google map, so I recommend people to be there early. The whole dinning experience is amazing. The waiter knows the ingredient's names in different dialogues. Kahala welcomes their guest with Kyoho grape wine, which is only made for Kahala. I wish I can have an extra shot of that. It is the best sake I have ever had. The chef is a 73 years old man, and he showed some ingredients to each guest every time he presented us a dish. Some of the dishes are not made from expensive ingredients, but with the chef's creativity, all dishes taste unique and delicious. Let me tell you what dishes I like. They are Japanese cheese with seaweed, curry puff, Sweet Potato chain, abalones and bread with Japanese cheese, 5 layers yakiniku beef, and red bean creme brûlée. The whole experience is definitely memorable!!

Kahala (they prefer to be called Kahala than kahara) has 2 Michelin stars, but I found the quality of its food to be better than several 3 Michelin star restaurants that I've been to (e.g., Kichisen in Kyoto). Here are my detailed reviews of each dish: Matsukate mushroom and chestnut soup (4/5) - Very aromatic, earthy dish. Amuse bouche platter (5/5) - This dish included 6 amuse bouches: baby kumamoto oyster, yam with caviar, shrimp with eggplants and chinese chilli sauce, Japanese dried fish, Maguro with mustard seeds, and slow cooked fatty Wagyu beef. Every single element was cooked to perfection. My favorite part of this dish was the slow cooked wagyu beef. The particular cut used in this dish consisted of 90% fat, it was rich and melt-in-your-mouth soft. Curry with choux pastry (5/5) - their take on the Japanese curry bread. Delicious. Curry oil (5/5) - At this point, they gave us a tablespoon of their special "curry oil" to drink. This was my first time drinking oil, but damn it was delicious. It was almost like a rich, savory, curry broth. It went down my throat very smoothly. Japanese cheese with seaweed (4/5) - They used some special cheese from okayama, and melted it on top of seaweed. Pretty decent. Grilled platter (5/5) - This dish contained 4 different grilled dishes: abalone, sweet potato, deep fried leek roots, and Japanese flying pumpkin. In the middle of the dish they had a small cup of their special "snow salt". The salt was made using 50% rice flour, it looked like tiny snow flakes and tasted amazing. The abalone was grilled to perfection, the sweet potato was good, but what surprised me was the 2 other dishes: deep fried leek roots and Japanese flying pumpkin. First, this was my first time eating leek roots, I did not realize how delicious it was (or that it was eatable). Second, the pumpkin they served us was called the "flying pumpkin". They gave us a picture of the pumpkins after, and it seemed like these pumpkins were grew while hanging in the air, quite interesting. Truffle Soba (5/5) - This was not only the best soba I've tasted, but also the best noodle dish I've ever tasted. Their soba noodles were also specially made to have a light curry flavor, and were so soft and tender! It also came with shaved italian autumn truffle on top. It was mind-blowingly good. Crab and shark fin (5/5) - First time having shark fin, I liked the texture a lot. This Shark fin was obtained legally by removing it from a single pre-killed shark. leek soup (4/5) - Soup made using the body of the leek roots that we had previously. **Beef specialty** (5/5) - I have no idea what this dish was called, but I refuse to believe that there exists a superior beef dish than this in this world. This particular dish was like beef tepanyaki with a twist. Each beef slice consists of 5 thinly sliced A5 wagyu, with fat in between. The entire slice was cooked at a metal plate in front of you for a very short period of time. When served, the top and bottom layers were crispy, the second and fourth layers were pink, and the center layer was rare. All these layers were coated in melted wagyu fat. I overwhelmed with true bliss while eating this dish. Osaka and Merlot grapes (4/5) - fruit course. Very refreshing after the previous dish. figs panacotta with coffee oil (5/5) - Solid desert, and that coffee oil was so good. Indian themed Chai course (5/5) - Chai with toasted fennel seeds and chocolate basil. I usually don't like fennel seeds nor basil, but they candy coated the fennel seeds and chocolate coated the basil. I liked it a lot. A nice conclusion to the whole meal. Overall, the entire meal costed around $300, but it was probably one of the best, if not the best meals I've had in my life. I would come to eat here again every time I visit Osaka.