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Osaka

Kashiwaya

柏屋

With a promise to preserve Japanese culture, Kashiwaya offers authentic kaiseki cuisine and heavenly hospitality. Reflecting its deep appreciation for tea ceremony and traditional art, the three-star restaurant offers a true experience of Wabisabi—an ancient aesthetics that finds beauty in imperfection of nature. Dining in beautifully curated private rooms, the classic recipes are reimagined with Chef Matsuo’s creative touches.

Situated in a quiet and remote Osaka suburb, Kashiwaya presents a warm welcome to the guests as they walk under the beautiful pine trees and soft-lit lanterns. As you breath in the soft fragrance of incense, your heart finds peace and calm, as if you’re taken hundreds of years back in time.

True to the traditional architectural style of sukiya-zukuri, the restaurant is comprised of seven private dining houses, each set up with its own tea room. Meaning “abode of refinement,” the sukiya design respects beauty inherent in natural materials and favors fine details over grand features. The result is pure elegance and serenity, a perfect scene to indulge Matsuo’s mastery cuisine.

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CUISINE

A true experience of Wabisabi

Kashiwaya offers orthodox kaiseki, which finds its roots in the world of tea ceremony. Every dish has its own place and meaning through the flow of the seasonal meal. As each course is served, Matsuo stands ready to share the stories behind it, whether it be its cultural significance or culinary technique or personal episodes from the chef. Without the context, the dish cannot realize its full potential, Matsuo believes.

The assorted tray of appetisers sets a colorful start to the meal. The tiny bowls and plates carry their own gems like karasumi salted fish roe and kombu cured bream infused in umami. A clear aromatic soup follows with steamed shrimp, shiitake mushroom, turnip, shungiku leaves, topped with a beautifully carved peel of yellow yuzu citrus. A parade of snow crab is a beauty not only for the tongue but the eyes. The wooden basket holds morsels of succulent crab meat, aromatic eggs and creamy miso (liver), offering an array of flavors and textures.

From the grill, a beautiful piece of amadai tilefish and shrimp are salted and baked to perfection, with the light crisp skin complementing the juicy inside. Next on the menu is a bowl of duck meat balls. The meat is soft and packed with umami, accompanied by a colorful trio of turnip, shungiku leaves and yuzu citrus. Their signature seasonal dessert is a colorful collection of sweet squares. Each piece is presented on delicate silver leaf-shaped plates and embroidered with intricate and colorful patterns. They are almost too beautiful to eat. Another of their favorite desserts is the azuki beans parfait. Served in a crystal glass, it offers an elegant finish to the meal with its beautiful layers of fruits and sweetness.

Kashiwaya cuisine #0
Kashiwaya cuisine #1

CHEF

Hideaki Matsuo

As second generation chef, Hideaki Matsuo has renewed Kashiwaya by incorporating modern elements into the the established restaurant, which was founded by his father in 1977. A passionate collector of Japanese artifacts, Matsuo’s father gave up his liquor business in his late forties to open up his own restaurant that could bring his collection to life.

In college, young Matsuo pursued a completely different interest of theoretical physics. But his encounter with tea ceremony turned his heart towards the beauty of Japanese traditions. He began to spend more time with his father, explored many restaurants and museums together and discussed everything from calligraphy to ceramics to cooking. His own dream started to grow. Upon graduation, he began his apprenticeship at Shofukuro, an established kaiseki restaurant in Shiga Prefecture, just north of Osaka. Shocked by the sophistication of their cuisine and service, it was here that Matsuo began his long pursuit to master the ways of omotenashi—Japanese-style hospitality.

“When it comes to hospitality, cleaning the floor is equally as important as cooking a dish,” Matsuo reminds himself of what he was taught. Matsuo returned to his father’s Kashiwaya at age 25 when the restaurant was facing tough times in finding and keeping the right chef. For the next few years, the father and son worked hard together to bring the business back on track. When his father proposed to bring in a new chef, Matsuo quickly rejected the idea and instead embarked on a project to rehaul the restaurant. For close to ten years, Matsuo focused on diligently following his learnings and techniques from Shofukuro. Only then, he felt he had earned enough experience to incorporate his own ideas into Kashiwaya’s menu.

“At mid-forties, I was finally confident enough to create dishes that I had thought of myself. Before then, I could imagine the dishes but couldn’t bring them to life,” Matsuo explains, stressing the importance of having both the ideas and the skills to produce new recipes.

Vision
“The experience of Kashiwaya is to be enjoyed with the heart,” Matsuo says, whose vision is to present the best of Japanese culture. “It’s not just about tasting the food but understanding where it came from, how it was created and what it all means.” His next challenge is to expand his passion overseas, starting in Asia. He is mulling opening a new restaurant in Hong Kong in a few years to offer more people an opportunity to experience Japanese culture through food. He also wants to pass on his learnings to younger chefs of different nationalities.

Thanks to his dedication in nurturing the next generation, many young chefs at Kashiwaya have stayed, creating a family-like business. “I try to ask my staff for their opinion and share ideas for our direction,” Matsuo says. “We’re a team and we want to move forward together.”

SALONE

During the renovation in 2016, the one place Matsuo poured his passion into was an open space on the second floor of the building. On the walls hang indigo dyes by master craftsman Sachio Yoshioka, while a sculpture by Yui Tsujimura stands majestically at the center of room.

Named “Matsu” (pine), the room is designed to serve as a salon where people could gather to appreciate and share thoughts about Japanese heritages and traditions. Season to season, every piece of decor in the room is carefully curated, showcasing the collection of artifacts that Matsuo and his father have accumulated over the years. Every visit to Kashiwaya shall be remembered by encounters with the rare works by exceptional Japanese artists.

Course

Lunch
Ume course (weekday lunch only)
  • The price includes our booking fee of ¥8,000
  • The price includes our booking fee of ¥8,000
¥28,500
¥28,500
Reservation Request
Lunch/ Dinner
Kiku course
  • The price includes our booking fee of ¥8,000
  • The price includes our booking fee of ¥8,000
¥33,500
¥33,500
Reservation Request
Lunch/ Dinner
Take course
  • The price includes our booking fee of ¥8,000
  • The price includes our booking fee of ¥8,000
¥52,000
¥52,000
Reservation Request
Lunch/ Dinner
Ran course
  • The price includes our booking fee of ¥8,000
  • The price includes our booking fee of ¥8,000
¥66,000
¥66,000
Reservation Request
Lunch/ Dinner
Special Course
  • The price includes our booking fee of ¥8,000
  • The price includes our booking fee of ¥8,000
¥83,500
¥83,500
Reservation Request

Osaka

Kashiwaya

柏屋

PRICE
¥28,500
~
CHILD
12
& UP
LUNCH
OPEN
MIN GUESTS
2
PEOPLE
~
GENRE
Kaiseki, Osaka
ADDRESS
1F, 2-5-18 Senriyama Nishi, Suita-shi, Osaka-fu
OPEN
Lunch 12:00-13:00 (LO), Dinner 18:00-19:30 (LO)
CLOSED
Sunday
URL
NA
PHONE
+81-6-6386-2234

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