Restaurant in Osaka, Japan
Butter sauces, game seasons, relaxed French.
Kamekichi is a Michelin Plate French country restaurant in Osaka's Chuo Ward, earning back-to-back recognition in 2024 and 2025 at a ¥¥ price point. The kitchen leads with butter-and-cream sauces, classic bistro dishes, and a seasonal game menu featuring mallard and partridge. For a special occasion dinner without the ¥¥¥¥ price tag, it is a direct yes.
If you have already eaten at Kamekichi once, you already know what brings you back: the butter-and-cream sauces that French country cooking does better than almost any other tradition, cooked here with enough commitment to earn consecutive Michelin Plate recognition in 2024 and 2025. For a special occasion dinner in Osaka's Chuo Ward that does not require a four-figure budget, Kamekichi is one of the clearest yes-decisions in the city's French category. Book it.
The name alone tells you something useful about what to expect. The chef named the restaurant after his own nickname — a deliberate signal that the room should feel relaxed, not ceremonial. That framing matters when you are deciding between Kamekichi and the ¥¥¥¥ French addresses in Osaka like La Cime or Différence. Kamekichi sits a full price tier below those restaurants, yet it earns Michelin recognition on culinary grounds, not on spectacle or tasting-menu theatre.
The menu reads like a case study in French country technique done with conviction: quiche Lorraine, cassoulet, beef cheek simmered in red wine. These are not dishes that succeed through novelty. They succeed when the fundamentals are right — long braises, properly constructed pastry, stocks that have had enough time. The fact that Kamekichi holds a Michelin Plate across back-to-back years at the ¥¥ price range tells you the kitchen is executing those fundamentals consistently, not coasting on a single strong season.
Game programme is the detail that separates Kamekichi from most French restaurants operating at this price point in Japan. Mallard and Daurian partridge appear in season , ingredients that require sourcing relationships and kitchen confidence to handle well. If you are visiting during the game season, that is the specific reason to time a booking around it. French restaurants across the Kansai region that handle game with this level of seriousness at a ¥¥ price point are not common. For comparison, if you have previously explored French technique at La Bécasse or LE PONT DE CIEL, Kamekichi occupies a different register , more personal in scale, more focused on French country canon than on refinement and innovation.
À la carte structure at dinner is worth noting for anyone booking a table of two or more: portions are described as generous and designed for sharing. This is French country cooking as it is meant to be eaten , communal rather than composed-plate individual. For a celebratory dinner where the point is the table experience rather than a chef's tasting narrative, that format works well. The sauces are the reference point the kitchen itself cites as the true pleasure of the cooking. Expect butter and cream used without restraint, which is accurate to the tradition and a signal to anyone who needs lighter cooking that this kitchen is not the place to modify.
Kamekichi has a Google rating of 4.3 across 243 reviews , a meaningful sample for a restaurant at this address and price tier. That kind of sustained rating alongside two consecutive Michelin Plate awards suggests the kitchen is not producing isolated brilliant meals; it is producing consistent ones. Consistency at the ¥¥ level in this tradition is the harder achievement, and it is what makes Kamekichi worth the return visit that its regulars clearly make.
For broader context when planning your Osaka trip, see our full Osaka restaurants guide, our full Osaka hotels guide, and our full Osaka bars guide. If you are building a wider Kansai or Japan itinerary, also consider Gion Sasaki in Kyoto and akordu in Nara for regional contrast. French dining at a comparable level of seriousness elsewhere in Japan is worth cross-referencing at Harutaka in Tokyo. For those travelling further afield, Les Amis in Singapore and Hotel de Ville Crissier in Crissier represent reference-level French cooking in Asia and Europe respectively. Other Osaka dining worth exploring is at nent. For a broader picture of what Osaka offers beyond restaurants, see our full Osaka experiences guide, our full Osaka wineries guide, and further afield at Goh in Fukuoka, 1000 in Yokohama, and 6 in Okinawa.
Address: 1 Chome-3-13 Yariyamachi, Chuo Ward, Osaka, 540-0027, Japan. Price Range: ¥¥ , accessible for French dining with Michelin recognition. Reservations: Booking difficulty is rated Easy; advance planning of a week or two for weekend dinners on special occasions is sensible, but last-minute availability is more likely here than at the ¥¥¥¥ French addresses in Osaka. Dress: No dress code data is available; given the casual-by-intent name and ¥¥ positioning, smart casual is a safe default. Hours: Not confirmed in our data , verify directly before travelling. Phone/Website: Not listed in our current data; check Google Maps or local booking platforms for up-to-date contact details.
See the comparison section below for how Kamekichi positions against Osaka's wider French and fine-dining field.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Awards | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kamekichi | French | ¥¥ | The chef wanted his guests to feel comfortable around him, so he named his restaurant after his own nickname. French country favourites fill the menu, including quiche Lorraine, cassoulet and beef cheek simmered in red wine. Game in season, such as mallard and Daurian partridge, are a delight. À la carte items at dinner are generously portioned for sharing. Sauces prepared with liberal amounts of butter and cream are the true pleasure of French cuisine.; Michelin Plate (2025); Michelin Plate (2024) | Easy | — |
| HAJIME | French, Innovative | ¥¥¥¥ | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| La Cime | French | ¥¥¥¥ | Michelin 2 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Kashiwaya Osaka Senriyama | Japanese | ¥¥¥ | Michelin 3 Star | Unknown | — |
| Taian | Kaiseki, Japanese | ¥¥¥ | Michelin 3 Star | Unknown | — |
| Fujiya 1935 | Innovative | ¥¥¥¥ | Michelin 2 Star | Unknown | — |
What to weigh when choosing between Kamekichi and alternatives.
The sharing-portion format at dinner suits groups of two to four well: ordering three or four dishes between a small group is the intended way to eat here. For larger groups, confirm capacity directly with the restaurant, as no private dining or large-group seating information is published. The relaxed bistro atmosphere makes it a practical choice for informal group dinners at ¥¥ pricing.
The menu is built around French country classics anchored in butter, cream, and meat — cassoulet, beef cheek, and seasonal game are the headline dishes — which leaves limited options for vegetarians or those avoiding dairy. No dietary accommodation policy is published. Diners with restrictions should contact the restaurant before booking; the format does not lend itself easily to significant substitutions.
Specific reservation data is not published, but a Michelin Plate bistro in Osaka's Chuo Ward at ¥¥ pricing fills quickly — booking at least one to two weeks ahead is a reasonable baseline, and further in advance during game season when the menu draws repeat visitors. check the venue's official channels to confirm current availability; no online booking link is listed in available sources.
It is manageable solo but not the optimal format here. Dinner à la carte portions are explicitly described as generously sized for sharing, so a solo diner will cover fewer dishes and spend more per item than a pair or small group. If solo is your only option, lunch may offer better-sized individual portions, though hours are not publicly confirmed — worth checking directly.
The name signals the format: the chef named the restaurant after his own nickname, so expect a relaxed room rather than a formal French dining occasion. The menu runs French country classics — cassoulet, quiche Lorraine, beef cheek in red wine — at ¥¥ pricing with Michelin Plate recognition in both 2024 and 2025. Dinner portions are designed for sharing, so come with at least one other person to cover more ground. If you want tasting-menu precision, this is not that restaurant; if you want generous bistro cooking with serious butter-and-cream sauces, it is exactly that.
The chef named the restaurant after his own nickname specifically to signal that guests should feel comfortable, which points toward a relaxed rather than formal dress expectation. Clean, presentable casual clothing fits the French country bistro format; there is no indication that a jacket or formal attire is required at this ¥¥ price point.
The butter-and-cream sauces are the clearest reason to be here, so order dishes that showcase them: the beef cheek simmered in red wine and the cassoulet are the anchors of the French country menu. When game is in season, mallard and Daurian partridge are available and worth prioritising over the year-round dishes. À la carte dinner portions are described as generously sized for sharing, so two people ordering three dishes will eat well.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
