楽 Tanoshi Japanese Tapas and Sake Bar — Restaurant in Osaka

Fantastic restaurant. As tourists on a short stay in Osaka, we were just heading in a general direction looking for dinner and Tanoshi looked really authentic & inviting from the outside, so we thought we'd give it a try.

Something we've really loved about Japan has been the smaller independent restaurants, like Tanoshi. We were lucky enough to arrive at a time while it was still quiet, so didn't have to queue, but it filled up quickly.

The owner/head chef was really friendly, helpful and speaks perfect English, so we had no trouble ordering and everything arrived exactly as described.

We ordered noodle & rice bowls plus several tapas-style smaller dishes, all of which were delicious, well-presented & perfectly cooked. We also much enjoyed the various fruit juices & beers served.

The meal was incredibly good value for the high standard of food and we had a great evening. If you can get a seat, or don't mind a short wait for one, definitely...

This review is from an American tourist point of view. The fabulous shop is everything you read about for small Japanese restaurants. It focuses on one main dish - pork katsu don (fried pork cutlet with slightly scrambled eggs) with a lot of different side dishes ranging from fried chicken to a chilled potato salad. It has 2 tables for 4 people each and 3 bar spots... it is small. Each dish is made to order and made with 3 eggs! The owner speaks very good English.

Aside from great food, I liked his better selection of whiskey at excellent prices. I had a dinner, side dish, highball, and high end whiskey ... about $22USD... how is that...

Instead of eating at the tourist traps around us, I led my family in the rain to this little restaurant and wow, it definitely delivered.

We ordered the pork katsu don, yuzu pepper wings, garlic soy wings and crispy Camembert with berry sauce. Food was delicious, scrumptious, moorish, deserving of all the yummy adjectives.

The pork katsu don was so delicious I actually felt sad taking my last bite. I will forever dream of that dish.

As an added bonus there was a good selection of non alcoholic drinks too. Son and I enjoyed our blackcurrant sodas very much.

Owner was lovely and...