01 / ABOUT THE PLACE
About this place
Would you prefer tessa, fugu sliced paper-thin, or the thicker cuts known as tessa (butsu-giri), with more bite? At Hanakago, choosing how to enjoy fugu sashimi is part of planning the meal. One diner who ordered the thicker-cut version singled out its substantial slices and texture. Other fugu dishes include yubiki, a lightly prepared fugu dish, and fried fugu, served in portions of two pieces. There are options to enjoy before gathering around the hot pot, too.
For a meal centred on fugu, you could start with tecchiri, a fugu hot pot, and finish with zosui, rice cooked in the remaining broth. One visitor enjoyed zosui after the hot pot and also remembered the house-made ponzu sauce. Milt is available as sashimi, grilled or in a hot pot, so you can decide whether to add it to the meal or order it as a separate dish. A diner who tried the grilled milt described its silky texture and its flavours with salt and sauce. Hirezake—sake served with grilled fugu fin—also appears on the menu for those looking to pair a drink with their fugu dishes.
Beyond fugu, the menu includes assorted sashimi, nigiri sushi, mackerel pressed sushi and eel dishes. One visitor ordered a half portion of the mackerel pressed sushi, noting its generous mackerel, modest amount of rice and combination with shiso. On another occasion, you might build a meal around sushi or sashimi instead of fugu.
Hanakago is a Japanese restaurant in Shin-Imasato, Ikuno-ku, Osaka. Dinner service runs from 17 to 22 on Tuesdays through Saturdays; the restaurant is closed on Sundays and Mondays. Reservations are available, and booking is recommended for dinner. It may also suit those looking for somewhere to dine as a group.
