Tempura Makino Namba — Restaurant in Osaka

We visited this restaurant by pure chance in 2019 just before COVID hit and were so impressed by the tempura that we vowed to return the moment the opportunity arose. Come 2025 with the staging of the world expo in Osaka we finally had our reason to revisit perhaps our favourite eatery ever. And it did not disappoint, not one bit at all. It may have even surpassed our previous experience as this time we got a front row seat to all the action. To say the food was outstanding would be an understatement and an injustice to the magnificence of the culinary majesty served up by these maestros of tempura. Every single chef behind the counter working in perfect harmony and synchronicity to prep, fry, construct and assemble the most delectable ensemble of tempura delights. The head chef guided and conducted her team like a seasoned master as we watched and drooled uncontrollably, quietly wishing that the next bowl being assembled was ours. Eating this masterpiece was pure culinary bliss, so good we felt the absolute need to bow our heads to the masterchef and her team of professional assistants in respect and admiration. Heaven does exist on earth. It is located at Tempura Makino Namba. Go there for an experience you will not forget. Tempura will never taste the same again. Life will never be...

The restaurant is divided into two sides, one side is fixed food, the other is the tendon When we got to the line, they asked us what we wanted to eat, and we chose the patio, and we were led to the back by a little girl, who I thought was giving us seats, and then they showed us to the back door and asked us to reline, but we've been in line for an hour, and if you want to confirm your guests' choices, you should do it while you're in line, Instead of waiting until we're in line and telling us to get in line on the other side. After consideration, we decided to eat fixed food, because we have queued for a long time, but the waiter still asked us to queue again many times, although the result of negotiation we queue in the original position, but the scene is very bad, those who do not understand that we cut the line, so the front and back door queue strategy of this store is very bad, you should have a clear sign to inform customers. They are highly advised to improve. In particular, the cashier with less hair seemed to be the head waiter's attitude was very bad. Really got to know the other side of Japanese service. Tempura tastes good, because of the queuing storm, the service attitude is not good, I really do not want...

Delicious & authentic tempura shop 🍤 All orders are made to order. I sat right in front of the frying pot and got a nice view of how the chef prepared the batter, dipped the ingredients into the oil, and served it to each customer 🧑‍🍳

I got the shrimp tempura set 😋 with three shrimp which were very crispy yet soft inside, a huge lotus root slice, a pumpkin wedge, and a shrimp & onion kakiage which was huge and unique! All great on their own and with the dipping sauce. It doesn’t sound like much but I was super full at the end (and honestly a little sick of all the oily deep fry) 😅 There are some free flow pickles which counters the grease quite well. We also tried the tempura egg which was runny!! And the clam miso was chock-full of clams, tasty and very worth!

Seats are limited but the store has a very organized queue system. Waiting times may be a little long; we waited ~40min for a weekday dinner. Overall 10/10 – great food and love the counter experience...