Creo-ru Sachi

Every Osaka native knows Creo-ru. Even in a city that is widely regarded to be the world’s capital of takoyaki — octopus balls — Creo-ru is one of the restaurants most famous for it. Situated in the riverside district of Dotonbori, which Creo-ru likes to call the heart of “kuidaore,” or “eat-till-you-drop,” the restaurant consistently sees long lines and guests departing with full stomachs. While Creo-ru built its reputation on the humble takoyaki, its branch restaurant Sachi offers a slightly different street food — skewers. But this isn’t exactly the breaded and fried kushikatsu offered at most street stalls and roadside carts: instead, Sachi offers something quite a bit more upmarket: wagyu beef and premium seafood skewers. Creo-ru Sachi’s wagyu beef is from Kagoshima Prefecture, one of the regions in Japan most famous for its wagyu beef; Kagoshima produces almost 20% of Japan’s entire wagyu every year. Quantity doesn’t supplant quantity, however; the Kagoshima Kuroushi cow is widely regarded to provide some of the most flavorful and tender wagyu. To accompany such renowned wagyu, the restaurant also provides it with some of the finest seafood available to it, such as oysters from the coastal town of Minamisanriku in Miyagi Prefecture — one of the regions most renowned for oysters in the whole Tohoku region. Creo-ru Sachi knows its audience very well: it’s decidedly an Osaka-style experience. A meal here is for the kind of person who wants to immerse themselves in a decidedly Osaka environment, surrounded by raucous chatter, clinking glasses and the general wash of celebration. It’s the essence of Dotonbori in a single restaurant.