ZUIENTEI

At ZUIENTEI, on the 15th floor of Hotel Monterey La Soeur Osaka, you can choose between a lunchtime set and a multi-course kaiseki meal, with seasonal rice cooked in a pot as a highlight. The weekday-lunch Mebae Set Meal is an approachable choice: its sample menu pairs tempura of shrimp, pike conger and early-autumn vegetables with two seasonal small dishes. For a more extensive meal, a sample Shikisai Set Meal includes sashimi, chicken simmered and served salad-style, shrimp and vegetable tempura, grilled fish and dashi omelette, among other dishes. Both sample menus include rice cooked with silver salmon, mushrooms and sweet potato; the restaurant also offers the option of changing the rice course to nigiri sushi.

Menus change with the season and from day to day, so the sample dishes offer a sense of what might be served in the set meals and kaiseki courses at a given time. One diner described enjoying the Shikisai Set Meal at lunch and taking time over the meal. Another, who had dinner kaiseki, recalled the finely cut vegetables in an ankake dish and rice cooked to a slightly firm texture that suited their taste, enjoyed at an unhurried pace with chilled sake. It is a setting for lingering over the meal and appreciating the seasonal rice and careful presentation.

The dining room has private rooms with sunken kotatsu seating or tables, as well as counter seats. Celebration plans are also available, including sea bream sekihan, a whole cake and a bouquet. The published set-meal and kaiseki menus are examples, and the restaurant notes that dishes may change. Check when booking if you have a particular dish in mind or would like to use a private room.