Kushikatsu and Doteyaki: A Double-Dipping Ban With Nothing to Dip Into
Some fried coatings are thin enough to let the filling do almost all the talking. At Kikuya, the breadcrumbs expected to be heard.
The kushikatsu arrived hot from the fryer, covered in a thick, rough crust. Each bite began with a crunch before getting down to the question of what was inside.
Choosing a counter
Kushikatsu is meat, seafood or vegetables threaded onto skewers, coated in batter and breadcrumbs, then deep-fried. In Shinsekai, the Osaka neighbourhood around Tsutenkaku Tower, finding some is not difficult. Choosing where to eat it takes more work.
I had chosen Kikuya, a tiny counter restaurant. When I visited, the menu was entirely in Japanese, and the owner was talkative, particular and direct, not least about how his customers were eating.
“You've got to have the prawns,” he told one customer. “You still haven't had the aubergine?” he asked another. He said nothing about mine. I chose to take that as approval.
When I visited, Kikuya's house rule was a minimum order of six skewers. A tentative introduction to the food would have to be slightly less tentative.
Beneath the breadcrumbs
Beef, quail egg, onion and whiting were the standouts among the skewers I tried.
The beef and onion held their own against the substantial coating. With the quail egg and whiting—a delicate white fish—the pleasure was more in the contrast: a crunchy exterior followed by something much softer.
The same crust did not make for the same bite.
The sauce helped. It tasted less sweet than many kushikatsu sauces I had tried, with a sharper edge that balanced the richness of the fried coating without overwhelming the filling.
I squeezed it over the skewers from a bottle on the counter, which also simplified one famous piece of Osaka dining etiquette.
Kushikatsu shops traditionally kept the sauce in a shared container, with one strict rule: once you have bitten a skewer, it does not go back in. In spring 2020, as a COVID precaution, Shinsekai shops began replacing the shared containers with bottles. Many have kept them since.
On Kikuya's wall, a large yellow banner forbade double-dipping. On the counter below, there was nothing to dip anything into. I could concentrate on eating, and leave the owner to tell me if I was doing it wrong.
The prices were modest, and the combination of the assertive crust and less-sweet sauce suited me.
Not everything on a stick, however, had been through the fryer.
No breadcrumbs this time
Beside the kushikatsu was doteyaki, another Shinsekai classic, made by slowly simmering beef tendon with miso until tender.
It may still arrive on a skewer, but almost everything else changes.
Even the name works differently. Kushikatsu simply means skewered cutlet. Dote means embankment, from the way the miso is piled around the rim of the pot, and yaki suggests a grill, though doteyaki is simmered.
The ingredient that sounded as though it might require the most chewing turned out to require very little. Kikuya's version was rich, with a thick white-miso sauce that was distinctly sweet.
After the restraint of the kushikatsu sauce, I now had something considerably less restrained in front of me. Doteyaki was not a lighter alternative to the fried food; it was rich in a different way.
One crunched; the other yielded.
The two dishes had agreed on a handle. Apparently, that was enough.
Location
Restaurant
Kikuya (きくや)
In Shinsekai, Osaka
3-4-6 Ebisuhigashi, Naniwa-ku, Osaka, Japan
Practical Information
- Dish
- Kushikatsu and Doteyaki (串カツ・どて焼き)
- Associated area
- Shinsekai, Osaka
- Ordering note
- When I visited, the menu was entirely in Japanese and at least six skewers were required.
- Opening hours
- 12:30–20:00 (last orders 19:30)
- Closing days
- Tuesdays and Wednesdays
- Visitor note
- Hours are taken from restaurant listings; call before making a special trip.
- Phone
- +81 6-6644-3523
Information last checked: September 25, 2026 (listed address, opening hours, closing days and phone number).
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