Hajime – Osaka – *

We just got back from this one. Lovely time all around. Sneaky to find. Very muted entry so beware of that. We almost circled the building before my significantly more patient wife saw the door. Hit the buzzer and they’re waiting for you. Enter a muted, dimly lit, sitting room until you’re brought into another, equally dimly lit, dining room. The space is gorgeous. Lighting hits all the right places. Nothing left to chance here.

Service was great. Everyone worked hard to speak in English. They explained all the dishes in English without any issues. I can’t imagine how hard that is given how often things change. When we had questions about a dish or something else, they almost always were able to explain it right away. Flow was amazing. Dishes came in rapid fire.

Wine was excellent. They have quite the bottled list but the pairings or Somm’s by the glass choices were excellent. We had a lovely cab from Nagano, only our second Japanese wine and it was excellent. The rest were relatively safe but well chosen for the food.

The start for me was good but not memorable and then just got better and better. Plating was as good as I’ve seen anywhere and the dishes were so good starting at the 3rd or 4th course. Not that they were bad before just not as memorable. The rest of the dishes were home runs including the dessert courses. Really didn’t put a toe out of line.

Definitely a safer choice for Japan. Flavours and textures were much more catered to a western palette but you get almost all local Japanese ingredients. I’d highly recommend if you’re looking for a nice choice in Osaka for a special meal.