Cinquecento runs a flat-price cocktail bar in Amerikamura, the youth-culture quarter behind Shinsaibashi in central Osaka. The name is Italian for five hundred, and the rule is simple, since every drink on the list costs 500 yen. Inside Osaka files it as the city's original 500-yen martini bar, open since 2003.
Published May 31, 2026 · By Tom Callahan
The room
The room is small and informal, a counter-led space pitched at travellers and the local expat crowd rather than a hushed hotel bar. An Australian owner set the tone, and the staff work in English, which makes it an easy first stop for visitors who do not speak Japanese. The look is casual and worn-in, built for volume and conversation over polish.
Amerikamura, often shortened to Amemura, is the district that gives the bar its young, international crowd, a grid of vintage shops and small music venues a few minutes from Shinsaibashi. That setting keeps the room loose and the turnover quick. Cinquecento works as a base for a night in the area rather than a destination in its own right.
What to order
The headline is the martini list, which Inside Osaka counts at more than fifty variations, from the dirty martini to sweeter chocolate and apple builds. Each one holds the same 500-yen price, so the cost of trying three is the cost most bars charge for one. The kitchen is not the point here, and the draw is the sheer spread of cheap, made-to-order cocktails.
Beyond the martinis, the list runs to other original cocktails at the same flat price, which lets a mixed group drink across styles without anyone overspending. Tripadvisor reviewers return to the value first and the friendly, English-speaking service second. The single rule, one price for every glass, is what keeps the orders coming.
Who it is for
Cinquecento fits a traveller after an affordable, low-stakes night in Amerikamura, a group bar-hopping through Shinsaibashi, and anyone who rates value and variety over a designed cocktail room. Skip it for a quiet date or a refined omakase-style bar experience, since this is a loud, busy, casual space. It rewards drinkers who come to work through the martini list rather than nurse one drink.
Best time to go
The bar runs late, into the early hours every night and to around 3am on Sunday, which makes it a reliable last call when the rest of Amerikamura winds down. Weekends fill fast, so an earlier seat at the counter buys the bartender's attention. Time Out Osaka lists it among the area's go-to bars, and a weeknight visit is the calm way in.
The late close makes it a natural last stop on an Amerikamura crawl, after the smaller bars nearby call time. Most travellers find it through word of mouth and the bilingual staff rather than a sign on the street. Arrive before the weekend peak for a counter seat and a proper run through the list.
The detail worth knowing
The flat 500-yen format is the whole identity, and it has held the bar in Osaka's nightlife rotation for more than twenty years. The price covers original cocktails, not just the classics, so the list rewards curiosity rather than punishing it. For a city better known for serious whisky counters, Cinquecento is the cheerful opposite, and that contrast is exactly why it stays busy.
Two decades of the same simple idea have made it a fixture rather than a novelty, outlasting plenty of slicker openings around it. The Australian ownership and bilingual staff keep it firmly on the visitor map. It is a rare Osaka bar where the gimmick and the drink hold together.
The bottom line
Cinquecento is Amerikamura's 500-yen cocktail bar, a casual, English-friendly room with more than fifty martinis at one flat price. Come late, take a counter seat, and order more than one. It is the easiest-value night in central Osaka, and the martini list is the reason to keep ordering.
Keep exploring with our best cocktail bars in Osaka guide, the full Osaka bar guide, and our edit of cocktail bars worldwide. Pair Cinquecento with Bar Augusta, Bar K, and Bar Nayuta.
