Kushikatsu Daruma Shinsekai Sohonten

Restaurant · Kushikatsu$Shinsekai (Naniwa-ku), Osaka

The original branch of the Daruma kushikatsu chain, frying breaded skewers in Shinsekai since 1929 under its famous no-double-dipping rule.

At a glance

Type: Kushikatsu
Area: Shinsekai (Naniwa-ku), Osaka, Japan
Price: $ · Budget
Official site: kushikatu-daruma.com

Good to know

Open every day
Around 40 kinds of skewers
Cash only

Why we recommend it

Daruma is the best-known name in kushikatsu, the deep-fried skewers that are Shinsekai's signature food, and this is the original shop, founded in 1929. The company now has branches across Osaka, including a Dotonbori building topped by its rotating Daruma figure, but the small Shinsekai main shop is where the story began and where many visitors come to try the dish for the first time.

Kushikatsu are skewers of meat, seafood and vegetables coated in batter and breadcrumbs and fried until crisp. Daruma credits its reputation to three things: its original batter, the oil it fries in, and its secret sauce. The menu runs to around 40 kinds of skewer, from beef, pork and prawn to shiitake mushroom and seasonal vegetables. If you are unsure where to start, the Sohonten set gives you nine varieties, and the restaurant recommends adding doteyaki, beef tendon stewed in miso, which is another Osaka standard.

The most famous thing about eating here is the rule printed on signs all around the counter: no double dipping. The sauce sits in a shared steel container, so each skewer may only go in once. If you want more sauce after biting, use one of the raw cabbage leaves provided free on the counter to scoop it on. It is a rule taken seriously here, and following it is part of the fun. The company trains its cooks through an in-house fry master certification.

The restaurant is open every day of the year, from late morning until the late evening, with last orders 30 minutes before closing. Credit cards are not accepted, so bring cash. Queues can build at weekends and around lunch, but skewers are quick to cook, and prices are low, which makes it a good budget lunch for couples, families and solo travellers alike.

The shop is in the middle of Shinsekai, a few minutes' walk from Ebisucho Station on the Osaka Metro Sakaisuji Line and Dobutsuen-mae Station on the Midosuji Line, and close to Tsutenkaku Tower. Combine lunch with a climb of the tower, a walk along Janjan Yokocho or an afternoon in Tennoji Park.