Restaurant in Osaka, Japan
One Michelin star, creative format, book ahead.
capi holds a 2024 Michelin star and a 4.4 Google rating in Osaka's Kita Ward, delivering creative cuisine at ¥¥¥ — a tier below HAJIME and Fujiya 1935, making it one of the more accessible starred options in the city. Signature dishes include the contrasting Caviar, Squid and Aubergine and the concentrated Bakuretsu Gyokai risotto. Book well ahead; tables are hard to secure.
Yes — with caveats. capi holds a 2024 Michelin one star and a Google rating of 4.4 from 43 reviews, which puts it in a credible but not rarefied tier for innovative cuisine in Osaka. At ¥¥¥ pricing it sits a step below the ¥¥¥¥ heavy-hitters like HAJIME and Fujiya 1935, making it one of the more accessible entry points into Osaka's Michelin-starred innovative dining scene. If you want a special-occasion dinner that does not require a ¥¥¥¥ budget, this is a serious option.
The kitchen works in the creative vein — dishes built around the natural character of each ingredient rather than technique for its own sake. Two dishes anchor the reputation. The 'Caviar, Squid and Aubergine' is the calling card: the interplay of saltiness from the caviar and sweetness from the aubergine creates a flavour profile that is genuinely distinct rather than simply luxurious. The second is 'Bakuretsu Gyokai' , loosely translated as 'Exploding Seafood' , a combination of baked risotto with a concentrated fish-and-shellfish broth. The name is playful; the dish is not. Aroma and depth of flavour are the point.
The address , 北新地PLACE, sixth floor, in Kita Ward's Sonezaki Shinchi district , places capi in Osaka's upmarket dining and entertainment corridor. This is not a neighbourhood restaurant. It is a destination, and the setting will read as appropriately formal for a celebration or client dinner without tipping into the austere register of the very top tier.
For a special occasion, weeknight bookings tend to offer a quieter room and more attentive pacing than Friday or Saturday service in Sonezaki Shinchi, where the surrounding district gets busy. If you are visiting Osaka specifically to eat well, aligning capi with a midweek itinerary alongside other Kita Ward restaurants makes logistical sense. Spring and autumn are the most comfortable seasons to be in Osaka, and the city's overall dining scene , see our full Osaka restaurants guide , is at its most active during those windows.
This is not a venue where off-premise eating is relevant. The 'Bakuretsu Gyokai' dish is defined by billowing aroma and the immediate experience of the broth meeting the risotto; that does not survive a delivery window. The 'Caviar, Squid and Aubergine' is a precision construction. If you are considering capi, the answer is to eat there. The food is not designed to travel.
If capi is fully booked or you want to plan a wider Osaka itinerary, our full Osaka restaurants guide covers the city's Michelin-starred and critically recognised options. For stays, see our Osaka hotels guide. For bars in the same Kita Ward corridor, our Osaka bars guide has current picks. Elsewhere in the Kansai region, Gion Sasaki in Kyoto and akordu in Nara are worth considering if you are building a multi-city trip. For innovative dining elsewhere in Japan, Harutaka in Tokyo and Goh in Fukuoka are strong reference points. Outside Japan, Soigné in Seoul and Thevar in Singapore operate in a comparable creative register.
capi is an innovative, Michelin-starred restaurant in Osaka's Kita Ward, priced at ¥¥¥. It operates at a level that rewards diners who come with an appetite for creative combinations rather than traditional Japanese or French formats. Booking is hard , secure a table well in advance. The sixth-floor address in Sonezaki Shinchi means the room is a destination, not a drop-in.
At ¥¥¥ pricing with a 2024 Michelin star, the value proposition is solid relative to Osaka's ¥¥¥¥ creative restaurants. If the signature dishes , particularly the Caviar, Squid and Aubergine and the Bakuretsu Gyokai , are representative of the full menu, the kitchen is delivering genuine creativity at a price point that does not demand the same commitment as HAJIME or Fujiya 1935.
No dress code is published, but the combination of Michelin recognition, ¥¥¥ pricing, and a sixth-floor address in Sonezaki Shinchi's upmarket corridor points clearly toward smart casual as a floor. For a special occasion or client dinner, err toward dressed up. Jeans are a risk; a jacket is not.
The two dishes the venue is known for are 'Caviar, Squid and Aubergine' , built on the contrast between caviar saltiness and aubergine sweetness , and 'Bakuretsu Gyokai', a baked risotto with concentrated fish-and-shellfish broth. Both are on-menu signatures. Ask about current availability when booking.
Yes, for creative dining in Osaka at the ¥¥¥ tier. Compared to HAJIME and La Cime, which charge ¥¥¥¥, capi delivers Michelin-starred innovative cuisine at a lower spend threshold. The trade-off may be in room size or service depth, but on the food evidence available, the star is earned.
At the same ¥¥¥ tier, KAHALA and Comptoir Feu are worth considering. For kaiseki at ¥¥¥, Taian is a strong option. If budget allows ¥¥¥¥, Fujiya 1935 and HAJIME operate at a higher technical ceiling. See our full Osaka guide for a broader view.
Yes. The Michelin star, the Kita Ward address, and the ¥¥¥ price point combine to create a setting that reads as celebration-appropriate without being intimidating. It is a better fit for a date night or milestone dinner than a loud group gathering. Book a weeknight if possible , the room will be quieter and service more attentive.
No published information is available on dietary accommodation. Given the tasting-menu format typical of Michelin-starred innovative restaurants, contact the venue directly when booking to discuss any requirements. Do not assume flexibility , the kitchen builds dishes around specific ingredient interactions.
| Venue | Awards | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| capi | The natural deliciousness of ingredients is expressed, mindful of the characteristics of each. Creative combinations weave a cuisine that lingers in the memory. The signature dish, ‘Caviar, Squid and Aubergine’, brings out a unique flavour profile through the interplay of saltiness and sweetness. ‘Bakuretsu Gyokai’, meaning ‘Exploding Seafood’, is a dish that combines baked risotto with soup of fish and shellfish, its humorous name conjuring an image of billowing aroma and concentrated flavour.; Michelin 1 Star (2024) | ¥¥¥ | — |
| HAJIME | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | ¥¥¥¥ | — |
| La Cime | Michelin 2 Star, World's 50 Best | ¥¥¥¥ | — |
| Kashiwaya Osaka Senriyama | Michelin 3 Star | ¥¥¥ | — |
| Taian | Michelin 3 Star | ¥¥¥ | — |
| Fujiya 1935 | Michelin 2 Star | ¥¥¥¥ | — |
A quick look at how capi measures up.
capi sits on the sixth floor in Kita Ward's Sonezaki Shinchi district and holds a 2024 Michelin one star for creative, ingredient-led cooking. The format is innovative rather than traditional Japanese, so expect combinations that are deliberately unexpected. Booking ahead is advisable for this neighbourhood — Sonezaki Shinchi fills on weekends. Arrive knowing the kitchen's two signature dishes: 'Caviar, Squid and Aubergine' and 'Bakuretsu Gyokai', a baked risotto with fish and shellfish soup.
At the ¥¥¥ price point, capi's Michelin one star (2024) gives reasonable validation for what you're spending. The kitchen's approach — building dishes around the natural character of each ingredient rather than layering technique — means the value is felt in precision and flavour logic rather than portion volume. If you prefer a la carte flexibility, the format here is unlikely to suit you. For creative tasting menus in Osaka at this tier, capi competes credibly with La Cime, though La Cime sits at a higher price bracket.
The venue data does not specify a dress code, but a Michelin-starred restaurant in Sonezaki Shinchi's business dining district broadly calls for neat, presentable clothing. A jacket for men is a safe call; overly casual attire would be out of step with the room. Confirm directly with the venue at booking if dress expectations matter to you.
Two dishes are documented from the kitchen: 'Caviar, Squid and Aubergine', which plays saltiness against sweetness for an atypical flavour profile, and 'Bakuretsu Gyokai' ('Exploding Seafood'), a baked risotto combined with a concentrated fish and shellfish soup. If the format is a set menu, these may be included by default — check at booking whether ordering flexibility exists.
At ¥¥¥ with a 2024 Michelin one star, capi sits at a reasonable value position within Osaka's Michelin tier — it is not the city's most expensive option, and the creative cooking is credentialled. That said, if you are weighing a single special-occasion booking at this price level, Fujiya 1935 (two Michelin stars) or HAJIME (three Michelin stars) offer more decorated kitchens, though at a higher cost. capi makes most sense if you want a Michelin-starred creative meal without the premium of the city's top tier.
For creative European-influenced fine dining, La Cime is the closest comparable but runs a higher price point. Fujiya 1935 holds two Michelin stars and works in a similarly inventive register. HAJIME is Osaka's most decorated restaurant at three Michelin stars and is in a different category of investment and formality. For kaiseki, Kashiwaya and Taian are both Michelin-starred and serve a fundamentally different format from capi's innovative approach.
Yes — the Michelin one star (2024) and creative kitchen make capi a credible special-occasion choice, particularly for a smaller group or a couple. Weeknight bookings in Sonezaki Shinchi tend to offer a quieter pace than weekend service. The sixth-floor address in a dedicated dining building supports a self-contained evening rather than a casual drop-in, which suits the format.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
