Kushikatsu Daruma - Dotombori

It was an overall fun experience with a very lively, energetic vibe, which is clearly one of this place’s main attractions. Unfortunately, the food itself didn’t quite work for me. Everything we tried felt overly doughy, which some people may enjoy, but it wasn’t to my taste. We ordered three ¥2,300 combo sets and added a few extra skewers, including ox tongue. While the presentation looked appealing, most of the skewers were heavily coated in thick batter with very little filling inside. The oysters were small, the beef was thin, and the balance between batter and ingredients felt off. As a result, the meal was underwhelming and, in my opinion, not worth the price. On the positive side, the servers were friendly, attentive, and did a great job maintaining the upbeat atmosphere. Taking everything into account, the lively vibe, good service, heavy batter, and high cost. I would only recommend this place to those who truly enjoy deep-fried, corndog-style food and don’t mind paying a premium for it.

A specialty of Osaka known as Oden, the basic premise seems simple enough, skewered meat, seafood or vegetables covered in a crispy batter deep fried to golden brown. Seems simple enough but having had this dish at different establishments, I can start to appreciate the better ones. Now Kushikatsu Daruma (KD) has like 3 branches spread out throughout the Dotombori area, which might raise your tourist eyebrows when it comes to quality and more importantly consistency, but having eaten at a couple of hole in the wall locales compared to KD and the difference is clear. Sure the place might smell a little like stale deep fried food but the actual skewers are fried with relatively fresh oil, ingredients are pretty good too, I had a good mix of seafood, beef, pork and chicken and they were all done pretty well, a stark contrast to the greasy, taste like it was fried twice Odens we had a few days earlier. Strangely though, our pick was the humble sausage, the taste outshone every single meat in our selection and we ordered that repeatedly. For what it is, its hard to screw this up, but we appreciate the extra effort it takes to ensure that even deep fried stuff taste fresh.

Order one sauce dip + cabbage for the table, then start with ~8-10 skewers per person and order more as needed. Etiquette is to not double-dip in the sauce, but it’s your table = your rules. Credit cards accepted, menu has English. Line moves at a reasonable pace given that the restaurant is quite spacious inside. Sauce is available for free at the table too from a bottle but it’s more convenient to dip. The kushikatsu is decent here but some items were too heavy and it’s very easy to get fried-food fatigue. Consider eating a half-meal here (like 5 skewers a person), stopping before you pass the point of diminishing returns, and then going elsewhere for variety. I like the mozzarella cheese skewer, rice cake skewer, and most of the vegetable skewers. I did not like the camembert cheese skewer (too oily), omi skewer (too heavy), the normal beef skewer (too tough), the beef tongue meatball skewer (weird tasting, and this is coming from a beef tongue lover), or the pufferfish skewer (too much like a typical fishstick).

You can order food via QR code. I like the fried food with beer and soft drinks. It's very delicious. I go there regularly. Sometimes you have to wait in line a bit.

Long waiting line but not take much time. The place has 2 floors and many seats. The price start at 130yen excluded tax. In average I think one person will take at least 10sticks to start to feel empty. The cleanliness quite poor, inside has a bad smell and sticky floor. The staffs are kind and try to communicate.

Had the best kushikatsu at Kushikatsu Daruma in Dotonbori. The combo meal was fire! Every skewer was fried to perfection, so crunchy and not greasy at all. TBH, the shrimp and beef were my faves - super juicy. ​The sauce is key. Just remember the no double-dipping rule, lol. The vibe there is also on point. Y'all gotta try this spot if you're in Osaka!

Nice friend food joint. You can get everything here fried. They have set items that you can get s sampling of everything, but you can also order ala carte. Order through a QR code, which also has an English version, so ordering was a breeze. You can watch them make everything for you. Everything was good, but the shrimp for me. It was tough and seemed to be less fresh. Other than that, we enjoyed our lunch. Wish the water was in plastic not bottled since we could have taken them with us. Just look for the angry chef, and you can get a pretty good meal.

It felt like a tourist trap. I paid a lot and I didn’t even get full. Bill ended up being ¥4,000 for a few sticks, sauce (that I can get for free at the table 🤦🏻‍♀️) and a highball. Taste-wise, it’s alright. It’s deep fried so can’t really mess that up. I suggest skipping this one and trying kushikatsu at more local joints for better quality and more affordable prices.