All Up in My Grill – Hiroshima’s Best Steakhouses

Mar 30, 2021

All Up in My Grill – Hiroshima’s Best Steakhouses

Considering how highly thought of beef is in this country, it may shock you to discover that although cattle were introduced to Japan sometime in the second century, until the Meiji Restoration (1868) they were only used as draught animals for agriculture and transport, rather than food. But now, ‘wagyu’ (literally ‘Japanese beef’) is revered as being some of the best in the world.

You can find some fantastic steak joints in Hiroshima. And as well as wagyu, there are also many Western-style steakhouses as well. So, what are you waiting for? Grab that knife and fork/pair of chopsticks, and get all up in your grill!

Steakhouse Jinseki

Located on the 21st floor of the Hotel Granvia Hiroshima, Steakhouse Jinseki offers superlative views and even better meat. With seating for just 14 people (currently reduced to eight for social distancing purposes), this teppan-style restaurant serves up the highest quality sirloin and tenderloin steaks, with the chef cooking right in front of you.

Dinner courses will set you back between JPY 12,000 and JPY 18,000, though the lunch courses are a much more reasonable JPY 7,300 and JPY 5,800. As one might expect, lunch periods are extremely popular, and as such, diners should make reservations a minimum of two days in advance.

Where: Hotel Granvia Hiroshima, 1-5 Matsubaracho, Minami Ward, Hiroshima  (map)
Website: hgh.co.jp

Teppanyaki Dontoko

Another teppan-style restaurant where the chef is on show, so if you are lucky enough to get a counter seat at Teppanyaki Dontoko in Hatchobori, you can see your dishes sizzling away in front of your very eyes, the scent of the frying beef wafting up to you, intensifying your anticipation.

They are best known for their tenderloin and chateaubriand cuts of A5 black wagyu beef from Hiroshima and Miyazaki Prefectures. However, other exquisite dishes are available, such as grilled ‘kone’ (brisket), sea urchin, and homemade tofu. Furthermore, they even have English menus, making it easier to know exactly what you’re getting.

Where: Naka Ward, Hatchobori, 12−5 Dai Ni City Building 1F  (map)
Website: teppanyaki-dontoko.com

Ikinari Steak

While the above restaurants are more representative of the Japanese style, Ikinari Steak will be more familiar to western eyes. Originating in Tokyo in 2013, this January saw the chain expand right around Japan, bringing its American-style (well, kind of) steakhouses to the population at large.

You can choose from the sirloin, ribeye, or fillet steak, and your meat will be cut in front of you, dependent on the weight you request, as thick as you like. Also, unlike most places in Japan, you can even choose how you want your steak cooked, from rare right up to well done (though why anyone would be mad enough to choose the latter, I’ll never know!)

Where: 2-1 Mikawacho, Naka Ward, Hiroshima (map)
Website: ikinaristeak.com

---

What is Wagyu?

Though ‘wagyu’ literally means ‘Japanese beef”, it doesn’t mean that all Japanese cattle are wagyu. As a butchery term, it generally refers to four breeds of cow that are genetically disposed towards the fat marbling that gives wagyu its umami flavor.

You may have heard a lot about Kobe (pronounced like ‘bay,’ not Bryant) beef and believe it to be interchangeable with wagyu, but it’s not. Kobe beef – like sparkling wine from the Champagne area of France – comes from cows raised in the Kobe region, and in fact, many Japanese don’t even consider it to be the best of the best. For many, Matsusaka Ushi is superior, while the Imperial family is known to prefer Ohmi Beef.

So, how do you know if you’re getting good wagyu? Well, that’s all down to the rating system. You might see restaurants advertising their beef as being A5 or A4; this rating shows the yield of meat a cow will give and the level of marbling fat that it contains. An ‘A’ rated cow will yield more meat than a ‘B’ rated cow, whilst the higher the number, the more marbling it has, and as such, A5 is the best of the best.

Think of it this way; in the west, you often see cuts ranging from choice to prime. Well, above prime, you’ll find your A4s, and the top of the pops is A5. And if you want to get overly technical, if you can find an A5 with a Beef Marbling Standard (BMS) rating of 12, then your head may explode from the taste, and your bank manager may have a heart attack!

---

Image: by https://www.teppanyaki-dontoko.com/hatchobori/menu.html
Image: via https://www.instagram.com/p/BNhQoAKgny-/
Image: via https://hgh.co.jp/english/dining/jinseki.html
Image: by Hideya HAMANO via flickr.com [CC BY-NC-ND 2.0]
Image: by Allan Salvador via flickr.com [CC BY-NC-ND 2.0]