Restaurant in Osaka, Japan
Eight seats, referral only, consistently awarded.
Tada is a referral-only, eight-seat sushi counter in Kitashinchi, Osaka, with a Tabelog score of 3.88 and nine consecutive years of Tabelog Award recognition including Silver in 2021. Dinner runs JPY 40,000–49,999 per head. Book it for a serious omakase occasion — if you can secure the referral. No walk-ins, no lunch service.
Yes — if you can get in. Tada is a referral-only, eight-seat counter in Kitashinchi that has held Tabelog Bronze every year since 2017 (Silver in 2021) and a Tabelog score of 3.88, with a Google rating of 4.9 across more than 1,400 reviews. Dinner runs JPY 40,000–49,999 per head. That puts it squarely in Osaka's serious omakase tier, and the sustained award record across nine consecutive years argues the kitchen has not coasted. If you are planning a special occasion meal in Osaka and sushi is the format you want, Tada belongs on your shortlist — provided you have the referral access to make a reservation.
Tada occupies the fourth floor of the Eiraku Linden Building in Sonezakishinchi, Kita Ward , the dense, after-dark district that Osaka's business and dining crowd treats as its natural habitat. Eight counter seats, no private rooms, no walk-ins. The space is described as a relaxing counter environment, which in Japanese sushi terms means close, quiet, and deliberately unhurried. Photography has been prohibited since 2009 (allowed only for private buyouts), which sets a clear tone: the meal is for the people at the counter, not the feed. For a date, a small-group celebration, or a solo food trip built around serious sushi, the format works well. For anyone who needs a private room or a larger party configuration, the venue does offer full buyouts for up to 20 people , that option is worth knowing if a corporate or celebratory group booking is the use case.
A single visit to Tada is the experience most guests will plan around, but the counter format and the kitchen's noted focus on fish sourcing reward return visits differently than a restaurant with a fixed seasonal menu. On a first visit, the objective is direct: let the omakase run and benchmark the technical standard. Tabelog's Sushi WEST Top 100 selection (2021, 2022, 2025) signals consistent quality in a competitive regional category. On a second visit, the drink program becomes the sharper focus , Tada is particular about both sake and wine, accepts BYO, and the interaction between the beverage choices and the sushi course sequencing is where regulars build a more personal experience. The BYO policy is practically useful for anyone who wants to bring a specific bottle and worth factoring into the per-head cost calculation. A third visit, if you reach that stage, is when the referral network that got you in becomes an asset: private reservation rules lift the photography ban, and the buyout format for up to 20 people turns the space into a genuinely different occasion.
Tada is open Monday through Saturday from 18:00 to 02:00. Sunday is closed. There is no lunch service. The late closing time (02:00) makes it compatible with a longer Kitashinchi evening rather than a standalone dinner-and-done booking. No parking on site , the venue is a five-minute walk from Kitashinchi Station on the JR Tozai Line, 136 metres away, so transit is the practical approach. Credit cards accepted (Visa, Mastercard, JCB, Amex); no electronic money or QR code payments. The venue is fully non-smoking indoors, with ashtrays available outside.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price (dinner) | Booking difficulty | Leading for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tada | Sushi / Omakase | JPY 40,000–49,999 | Referral only | Intimate sushi counter, special occasion |
| HAJIME | French / Innovative | ¥¥¥¥ | Hard to book | Conceptual tasting menu, design-forward |
| La Cime | French | ¥¥¥¥ | Moderate | French technique in Osaka context |
| Kashiwaya Osaka Senriyama | Japanese | ¥¥¥ | Accessible | Traditional kaiseki, calmer pace |
| Taian | Kaiseki / Japanese | ¥¥¥ | Moderate | Kaiseki at a lower entry price |
| Fujiya 1935 | Innovative | ¥¥¥¥ | Moderate | Creative tasting format |
Tada has won the Tabelog Award every year from 2017 through 2026 , Bronze in most years, Silver in 2021. It has been selected for the Tabelog Sushi WEST Top 100 in 2021, 2022, and 2025. The Opinionated About Dining list recommended it in 2023. That breadth of recognition across Japanese platform awards and international editorial selection gives the venue credibility in both local and visiting-diner contexts. The Tabelog score of 3.88 (with a 4.03 noted for the 2025 Bronze year) and the Google rating of 4.9 from over 1,400 reviewers are harder to dismiss than a single publication mention.
For more on where to eat, drink, and stay in Osaka, see our full Osaka restaurants guide, Osaka hotels guide, Osaka bars guide, Osaka wineries guide, and Osaka experiences guide. If you are building a Japan itinerary around serious sushi and fish-forward dining, Harutaka in Tokyo and Gion Sasaki in Kyoto are the natural regional comparisons. For other styles of high-end dining across Japan, see akordu in Nara, Goh in Fukuoka, 1000 in Yokohama, and 6 in Okinawa. For omakase at a comparable price point in a different continent, Le Bernardin in New York City and Lazy Bear in San Francisco offer a useful calibration point for what JPY 40,000–49,999 buys in the Western fine-dining context.
| Venue | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Tada | — | |
| HAJIME | ¥¥¥¥ | — |
| La Cime | ¥¥¥¥ | — |
| Kashiwaya Osaka Senriyama | ¥¥¥ | — |
| Taian | ¥¥¥ | — |
| Fujiya 1935 | ¥¥¥¥ | — |
What to weigh when choosing between Tada and alternatives.
There is no documented information on how Tada accommodates dietary restrictions. Given the referral-only, 8-seat counter format and the kitchen's noted focus on fish sourcing, this is a venue where restrictions should be raised directly when securing your referral, not assumed to be handled. Counter omakase at this price tier (¥40,000–¥49,999) rarely works well for guests who cannot eat fish or shellfish.
Yes — the counter format suits solo diners well. Eight seats, no private rooms, and a relaxed counter space make Tada one of the better solo options in Osaka's fine dining tier. Solo guests eat at the same counter as everyone else, so there is no penalty for going alone. The referral-only entry requirement is the real barrier, not the group size.
Tada is a counter-only restaurant with 8 seats — the counter is the entire dining room. There is no separate bar area. All guests sit at the counter, and walk-ins are not accepted; the venue is reservation-only by referral.
Dinner is your only option. Tada has no lunch service and opens at 18:00 Monday through Saturday, closing at 02:00. Sunday is closed entirely. At ¥40,000–¥49,999 per head for dinner, plan for a full evening rather than a quick meal.
Specific menu items are not documented in available records for Tada. The kitchen is noted on Tabelog for a particular focus on fish sourcing, which is the foundation of a counter sushi experience at this price point (¥40,000–¥49,999). Omakase is the format here — you follow the chef's selection, not a printed menu.
Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat 18:00 - 02:00
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
