Restaurant in Osaka, Japan
Personal kappo, Michelin-noted, easy to book.
A counter-kappo room on the second floor of a Dojima office building, Konishi holds a 2025 Michelin Plate and a 4.7 Google rating. At ¥¥¥, it delivers a personal chef-to-diner experience with Ishikawa sake and a focused, region-driven menu. The right booking for a special occasion dinner without the ¥¥¥¥ price tag of Osaka's formal kaiseki rooms.
Konishi earns its 2025 Michelin Plate on the strength of a focused, personal kappo menu in a room that demands nothing from you except attention. The address — a second-floor unit in a multi-tenant building in Dojima, Kita Ward — gives nothing away, and that opacity is partly the point. If you want a chef-driven counter experience in Osaka without paying ¥¥¥¥ prices, this is a strong booking. Book it for a date, a quiet business dinner, or any occasion where the food should do the talking.
The physical centrepiece of Konishi is the counter itself , cypress and cherrywood, built by the chef's elder brother, a carpenter. That detail matters less as a piece of trivia and more as a signal about how this place operates: with craft taken seriously at every layer, not just on the plate. Kappo, as a format, is built around the chef cooking in front of you, and the counter here makes that exchange feel considered rather than performative. For a special occasion dinner, a counter seat at Konishi is the right choice. You are close to the action without being crowded, and the format encourages a natural progression through the meal rather than a rigid tasting structure.
The menu reflects where the chef is from. He hails from Ishikawa Prefecture, and the sake list follows accordingly , expect bottles from that region, and order them. Ishikawa sake tends toward a cleaner, more mineral style than the sweeter profiles associated with southern Japan, and it pairs well with a kappo format where seafood and seasoned vegetables cycle through the progression. The dishes verified in the record include bell peppers, salted and finely chopped, topped generously with katsuobushi , a preparation that is simple on the surface but shows restraint and confidence. Tekkamaki closes the meal for many diners: raw tuna and vinegared rice in seaweed, the kind of ending that punctuates rather than overwhelms.
Konishi sits comfortably in the ¥¥¥ price tier, which puts it below the ¥¥¥¥ operators in Osaka's more formal kaiseki and French-influenced rooms. For a celebration dinner where the atmosphere matters as much as the food, the counter format and the intimacy of the room work in your favour. This is not a large-group venue , kappo counters are typically compact, and the atmosphere is quieter and more focused than a standard restaurant floor. If your group is four or more, check capacity before booking; the format suits parties of two or three most naturally. For a date or a two-person celebration, it is close to ideal at this price point.
The Dojima location in Kita Ward is well-positioned relative to central Osaka. The building is a multi-tenant commercial address, which means first-time visitors should confirm the exact unit and floor before arrival , second floor, 第二京松ビル. Arriving prepared makes the experience more relaxed. No website or phone number is listed in available data, so booking will require either a walk-in approach or a third-party reservation platform that covers the venue.
Osaka has strong kappo and kaiseki options across price tiers. At ¥¥¥, Kashiwaya Osaka Senriyama operates in a more formal register and is better suited to diners who want a structured multi-course kaiseki progression. Taian at ¥¥¥ is another kaiseki reference at this tier. Konishi differentiates through the kappo format and the personal character of the room , less ceremony, more directness. If the counter-and-chef dynamic is what you're after, Konishi is the right call at this price. Across Japan, comparable counter-driven experiences with a strong regional identity include Harutaka in Tokyo and Gion Sasaki in Kyoto, both of which operate at a higher price tier but share the same philosophy of chef-to-diner proximity.
For visitors building a broader Osaka itinerary, Miyamoto, Oimatsu Hisano, Tenjimbashi Aoki, and Yugen are all worth considering depending on format preference. See our full Osaka restaurants guide for a ranked view across categories. For the wider trip, our Osaka hotels guide, bars guide, and experiences guide cover the rest of the city. Further afield, akordu in Nara and Goh in Fukuoka are worth the travel for serious diners making a Kansai-and-beyond circuit. Tokyo-based comparisons for kappo and Japanese counter dining include Myojaku and Azabu Kadowaki.
Booking difficulty is rated Easy. The Google rating stands at 4.7 from 29 reviews , a small sample but a consistent one. No website or phone contact is available in current data, so third-party platforms or a direct visit to enquire are the most reliable routes. The address is 1 Chome-3-34 Dojima, Kita Ward, Osaka 530-0003, second floor of the 第二京松ビル building. No dress code data is available, but kappo in Japan at this price tier typically calls for smart-casual at minimum , see the FAQ below for more on that. Hours are not confirmed in available data; contact ahead to verify current service times before making the trip.
| Venue | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Konishi | ¥¥¥ | — |
| HAJIME | ¥¥¥¥ | — |
| La Cime | ¥¥¥¥ | — |
| Kashiwaya Osaka Senriyama | ¥¥¥ | — |
| Taian | ¥¥¥ | — |
| Fujiya 1935 | ¥¥¥¥ | — |
Side-by-side comparison to help you decide where to book.
Neat, understated clothing is appropriate. Konishi is a counter-style kappo in a multi-tenant building in Dojima — the room is personal rather than formal, so strict dress codes are unlikely. Avoid anything too casual; the ¥¥¥ price tier and Michelin Plate recognition signal that some care is expected. When in doubt, smart trousers and a clean top will place you correctly.
Konishi operates at the back of a multi-tenant building — find the entrance before you arrive rather than hunting for it on the night. The format is kappo, meaning the chef prepares and presents dishes at the counter in front of you, so engagement with the food and the cook is part of the experience. The sake list draws from the chef's home prefecture of Ishikawa, and ordering from it is one of the better reasons to be here. Booking is rated Easy, so securing a seat is not the obstacle it would be at Osaka's tighter-capacity kaiseki rooms.
No dietary information is documented for Konishi. Counter-style kappo menus are typically chef-driven and structured in advance, which can make last-minute substitutions difficult. check the venue's official channels before booking if restrictions are a factor — the absence of a listed website or phone number means the most reliable route is through your reservation channel or the building directly at 1 Chome-3-34 Dojima, Kita Ward.
At ¥¥¥, Konishi sits below Osaka's most formal kaiseki and French-influenced rooms and delivers a more personal, lower-pressure experience than those tiers. The 2025 Michelin Plate recognition confirms the kitchen is cooking at a level that justifies the spend. If you want ceremony and multi-course formality, Kashiwaya Osaka Senriyama at ¥¥¥¥ is the better fit; if you want a skilled chef working close in front of you without the overhead of a full kaiseki production, Konishi holds the value.
The menu at Konishi reflects the chef's personal style — documented highlights include bell peppers with katsuobushi and tekkamaki as a closing item, which signals a focused, unfussy approach rather than a showcase of luxury ingredients. That is the point: the value here is craft and restraint, not prestige plating. If you are expecting the multi-act progression of a kaiseki format, this is not that. If a chef-directed counter sequence at ¥¥¥ with Michelin Plate backing sounds right, it is.
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