This is probably the best halal restaurant we ever visited. No kidding. The food, the vibe, and the service are superb!

Matsuri Japanese Food Restaurant, Osaka

Matsuri is a Japanese Food Restaurant in Osaka that serve halal food. Muslim can eat many kind of Japanese dishes without any worry. From sushi to ramen, takoyaki to okonimiyaki, yaki soba to gyoza. All of them are halal!

We came to this restaurant around 6 PM during winter. It was freezing outside and we look for something warm. Thank God the restaurant was not full at that time. We can have a table without prior reservation and we didn’t have to queue (to be honest, we don’t get why Japanese love to queue for certain food/place while they have so many options to enjoy delicious food).

The restaurant is considered small compared to those we have in Indonesia, but it is quite normal in Japan. They have two rooms, the main dining room equipped with chairs and tables, and one VIP room with Japanese style. Maybe at its full house state, a total of 20 persons will be the maximum number. As I remember, there were only 1 chef and 1 multitasking man (the cashier, the waiter, the greeter, the photographer -you know, Asian visitors will absolutely need him) working inside this restaurant. Both of them are Japanese.

As we entered the restaurant, the multitasking man handed us the menu and left us alone while we chose what we want to have. Surprisingly, they have so many food with reasonable price! If it was lunch time, probably we would ordered most of them. But since it’s already night and we were super duper hungry, we ordered something simple, common, and fast enough to be served. Ramen and Okonimiyaki desu. Oh wait, that’s not all. We also ordered Gyoza and Oshiruko.

Gyoza, Ramen, and Okonimiyaki

While we were waiting for the food, the multitasking man handed us a “Muslim’s Diary” and a set of coloring pens. The book is basically fill with messages from the guests. It was fun reading it. We found out that Matsuri have been visited by so many Muslim (and non-Muslim) from all over the world. I bet that book is not the first or second one they had. Maybe they have to change the book every month because there will be no paper left to write. We also left some messages there, kindly let us know if you read it 🙂

Muslim’s Diary

Let’s go back to the food. I cannot remember anymore whether they served them fast or not, because what I recall the most is the taste. I think it was the best ramen I have ever had so far. It was maybe because of the weather, maybe because of my empty stomach, or maybe the taste is absolutely perfect. But I would love to go there and eat its ramen again when I visit Osaka. Oh, H ordered a second bowl :))

a bowl of ramen for ¥750

How about the other food? They were also nice. The okonomiyaki sauce was a bit too much for me, but still acceptable. The Oshiruko? Mmm.. I had a better one somewhere, but I can’t remember (pardon my unreliable memory). The price was so cheap, you just have to pay ¥380 for a cup of warm soup full of red bean porridge and 2 pieces of mochi . The gyoza was also nice and warm. We were just very happy that we finally can eat halal gyoza. The price for 6 pieces is ¥480.

Oshiruko ¥380

While we ate there, several guests came. There was a Japanese couple who ordered takoyaki. They seemed had fun making it. Even for Japanese this restaurant is also nice, right?

After we paid the bill, the multitasking man gave us a pair of chopstick as a souvenir. What a nice service Matsuri has! Before we left, I bought 2 packs of Samurai Ramen that was sold in this restaurant because I want to taste the ramen again at home. Find out about Samurai Ramen here.

PS: although we never tried it, it said that the restaurant has a wudhu place and prayer room too.

Edit: We visited them for the second time and “borrow” their prayer room. It’s a small space for their worker but they provide sajadah and mukena there.

What: Matsuri Japanese Food Restaurant
Where: 3 Chome-27-17 Yoshino, Fukushima-ku, Ōsaka-shi, Ōsaka-fu 553-0006
How to go: Nodahanshin Station (Exit 7) [access]
How much: side dish starts from ¥280, lunch/dinner set start from ¥680, ramen ¥750