Robata-no Sato Osaka 炉端の佐藤 – A Sake Paradise at Takashimaya Osaka Store

Robata-no Sato at Namba, Osaka (炉端の佐藤 大阪難波店) is a restaurant situated on the 9th floor of the Takashimaya Osaka Department Store. Like many large stores in Japan, the top few floors are devoted to food outlets and restaurants. In this case, the 7, 8 and 9 floors are zoned as the “Namba Dining Maison”. Out of the many restaurants there, we were drawn to Robata-no Sato which is a great place for trying different types of sake with food.

This wonderful display of sake bottles called out to us. It was easy to decide to have lunch there.

Robata-no Sato Osaka Menu

The menu at Robata-no Sato appears focused on grilled seafood items. There were other items like sashimi and horse meat. We ordered some sashimi and a few grilled seafood items.

The Sake Menu

The sake menu was more substantial than the food menu. A wide selection of sake was available – in bottles or smaller units by way of glasses or carafes. Which is convenient for those who don’t drink much or wish to try a variety. Of course the prices vary according to quality. But we found the prices to be reasonable – the typical glass of sake costs from around 400 Yen and each carafe around 1,080 Yen.

We tried two types of sake in carafes over the course of our meal. They were served in metal containers immersed in ice within a wooden box. The type of sake and its tasting notes were displayed on a stand and changed each time a different sake was served. It was too bad that we could not read Japanese and could only make do from the general description of sweetness / dryness given by our server.

We thought that the sake served out of the metal container tasted fresher than usual. The sake may have remained at a more consistently low temperature, or perhaps just a placebo effect because it looked so good. Whatever the case, it was a different experience.

The Food

By comparison to the sake, the food was more predictable. At Robata-no Sato Osaka, the sashimi (1,480 yen) was good, but not to the standard of the specialist sushi places.

The grilled seafood were better than the sashimi. The scallops (1,000 yen each) was the best. The grilled prawns (780 yen for 3) and salmon belly (600 yen) were quite good as well.

The grilled Atka mackerel (1,200 yen) is not a refined fish but it had a good balance of the strong mackerel flavour and oiliness to give it a complex taste.

The simple, pure taste of seafood is such a good match with cold sake. Better still when there were so many varieties to discover at Robata-no Sato Osaka. It is a restaurant in Namba, Osaka which we would want to make a repeat visit.

Ratings:
Food: 4
Service: 3
Value: 4
Atmosphere: 4
Overall Rating: 4 TOPs

Robata-no Sato Osaka 炉端の佐藤 大阪難波店 

Takashimaya Dining Maison 9F
5-1-18, Namba, Chuo-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka, 542-0076

Weekdays 11: 00-15: 30 (last order 14:30) 17: 30-23: 00 (last order 22:00) 
Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays 11: 00-23: 00 (last order 22:00)

Tel: 06-6634-8848

More information on the Gurunavi Site