Oban

A few skewers of kushikatsu alongside oden steeped in a sweet broth make for the sort of evening at Oban where you can enjoy a little at a time over drinks. Diners have remarked on the oden’s sweet seasoning and how its broth flavours the ingredients. Reports also mention bamboo shoots and cabbage rolls; the beef sinew was described as tender from slow cooking and easy to eat. The ingredients on offer may vary, so check at the restaurant if you have a particular one in mind. Visitors have also singled out doteyaki, a beef dish with a sweet flavour.

You can order kushikatsu as a selection or choose individual skewers. The menu lists vegetables such as lotus root, burdock and tomato, as well as beef cutlet, prawn and horse mackerel. If you’re not sure where to start, try the chef’s selection of seven skewers, then add any ingredients that catch your eye. Diners have commented that there were plenty of skewers to enjoy.

Beyond the fried skewers, small plates include simmered taro and grated daikon with dried baby sardines. There is also plain rice and vegetable rice porridge, making it possible to put together anything from a light snack to a meal-ending bowl. Drinks include beer served in a mug and highballs flavoured with ginger, yuzu and apple. You might start with a classic, then choose a fruit-flavoured drink for the next round.

Oban is a kushikatsu restaurant in Funabashichō, Tennōji Ward. It opens in the late afternoon and is an option for an evening meal.