Six Seats, Two People — What Running This Place Is Really Like
People sometimes ask me who's in the kitchen, and who's out front. The honest answer is: there's only two of us to ask about.
I'm the owner of Kaiebi — Shellfish, Shrimp & Crab — a 6-seat seafood counter in Shinsaibashi, Osaka. My wife (I'll call her Mizuki-chan, the way we always do) and I run the whole thing ourselves.
No kitchen you can't see, no staff you'll never meet
There's no back room full of cooks here. Every plate that reaches the counter — the live lobster, the shellfish, everything — has already passed through my own hands and my own judgment. I don't delegate that part, ever.
Mizuki-chan takes care of the counter itself: pouring drinks, keeping the mood warm, plating the simple things once they're ready, and putting together a little handwritten welcome card for each table. It's a small gesture, but she means it every time.
Some nights, it really is just me
I want to be honest about something. Mizuki-chan has her own work during the day, and it keeps her busy. On nights we didn't already have a booking, she sometimes takes the evening off — which means some nights, I'm running the whole counter alone: cooking, pouring, talking.
I don't see that as something to hide. If you're the kind of traveler who's a little tired of restaurants built for tour groups — big laminated menus, tables turned every forty minutes — I think knowing this actually helps. What you're getting here is small and real, not polished into something bigger than it is.
You don't need perfect Japanese
We keep an English menu on hand, and even though my own English isn't flawless, I'll walk you through anything — what the lobster is like, what to order if you're unsure. Quite a few of our guests come from outside Japan, and honestly, that's one of my favorite parts of doing this.
For me, going out to eat was never just about the food. It ties back to something I believe:
"Through dining out, make life a little richer."
Whether it's the two of us behind the counter, or just me on a quieter night, that's what I want every visit here to hold onto.
Thank you for reading to the end!
Kaiebi (貝と海老そして蟹) — Shellfish, Shrimp & Crab
📍 2-7-11 Shinsaibashi-suji, Chuo-ku, Osaka (Nippo Royal Building 1F)
📞 06-6213-3881
🕐 12:00–17:00 (daytime, one reservation-only party per day) / 17:00–25:00 (last entry 22:30)
📅 Irregular holidays
💺 Counter seating for 6 (private bookings from 4 guests, up to 8)
