Best Yakiniku Restaurants in Tokyo: Top 12 Choices

One of the most popular types of restaurants in Japan are yakiniku restaurants, and for good reason. Translating to “grilled meat,” yakiniku is a hands-on barbecue experience in Japan that brings people together around a table-size grill. 

So, if you want to partake in this culinary rite of passage, look no further than this list of the best yakiniku restaurants in Tokyo. 

Yakiniku involves grilling bite-size pieces of meat over a charcoal grill or electric gas griddle, usually on mesh or iron plates. The meat is served raw, allowing you — or your dedicated server — to cook it to your preference. This is where the fun begins, because you can eat as you go with friends and loved ones! 

Those familiar with Korean barbecue might wonder about the difference between Japanese and Korean-style grilling. In Korean barbecue restaurants, the meat is marinated in something like a bulgogi sauce and then grilled by customers. In Japanese yakiniku restaurants, the meat is cooked before dipping it into a variety of sauces. 

Now that we’ve learned how the Japanese barbecue experience works, let’s take a look at the top yakiniku restaurants in Tokyo and what makes them so special.

Modeled after the retired speakeasy at the original location in New York, YAKINIKU 37west NY screams elegance from the first step inside. Everyone comes together for a meal here, from businessmen to families. 

The dedication to creating the best dining experience isn’t just limited to the interior design, though. YAKINIKU 37west NY has a patented “owner’s meat” system, a method of selecting, freeze-drying and aging the meat in heavily monitored atmospheric conditions. This process is so intensive that it takes 90 days from the selection to the plating, ensuring every diner gets top-shelf meat. 

Witness the craftsmanship that goes into each dish at Yakiniku Kappo Note by sitting at the coveted counter seats, or enjoy your meal uninterrupted in the private rooms. 

Using the highest-grade wagyu beef, the meat takes center stage in Yakiniku Kappo Note’s seasonal menu. Omakase courses such as the Takara course or Gin course include sashimi and grilled dishes, assuring that the culinary talent goes beyond the beef. 

Wash it all down with shochu, wine or a glass of sake from their special selection. 

Eating barbecue while overlooking one of the most iconic spots in Japan, the Shibuya Scramble Crossing? Sign us up! 

The “King of Yakiniku” sign greeting guests at the entryway rings true without breaking the bank. Ushihachi’s philosophy is that you shouldn’t have to spend too much to get quality barbecue, making it an affordable destination for date nights, family nights or hanging out with friends. 

Using only female kuroge wagyu beef cows, the choice of meat is equally matched by the choice of scenic venue, complete with floor-to-ceiling windows to accentuate the dazzling view. 

Choose from a 70-drink menu of spritzers, cocktails and more. 

Savor a quiet meal in the busy district of Shinjuku at Nikutei Futago iki Shinjuku, a cozy yakiniku restaurant offering a break from the crowds at both the intimate table area and in the private dining rooms. 

Taste meat from around the country with its 80-dish menu, featuring Ota beef from Hyogo Prefecture and Sendai beef from Miyagi Prefecture. Visitors will be delighted upon seeing the long list of meat cuts available for your choosing. 

To accompany it all, Nikutei Futago uses Funakubo Shoten rice, just like most Michelin-starred restaurants in Japan. 

Taking the refinery of upscale eateries and the community aspect of casual restaurants, Niku-Azabu Nishi-Azabu invites everyone to share a delicious meal in their hip Nishiazabu location. 

This budget-friendly restaurant offers the premium cuts of  A5 black wagyu beef you might expect, but also brings a few unique dishes for an even more memorable meal, including meat sushi, complementary meat “cake” for birthday celebrations and tender tripe that’s been simmered for six hours. 

No matter what cut you select, you’ll get no less than eight sauces to choose from, making for a sauce-smothered meaty extravaganza that’ll leave you feeling content for the rest of your trip.

Have you ever had your steak come with a proof of pedigree? Here at Koishikawa Nakasei, yours will. 

Those who have read up on wagyu types in Japan will know that they all hail from the Tajima cattle of Hyogo Prefecture, the source of the famed kuroge wagyu. 

Nakasei, however, takes this one step further by serving “pureblood” Tajima beef, which has never been cross-bred with other cattle breeds. Diners are shown the pedigree of each head of cattle upon eating, ensuring that they know the exact origin and quality of their meat before eating it. 

Each cut is aged for up to three months and paired with the perfect glass of wine. Even better? During sakura cherry blossom season, you can enjoy views of the renowned Harimazaka Slope from the restaurant, lined with over 120 cherry trees. 

Head on over to the luxe district of Ginza to have a meal grilled before your very eyes. At Yakiniku Ushi Jirushi Ginza, each table is assigned a master griller to take your meat from raw to melt-in-your-mouth perfection. 

This restaurant exclusively uses female black cattle that are safely, sustainably and humanely raised at the Toraji Ranch. Once they make it to the table, they’re paired with a drink from an extensive collection of wines, teas and sakes to top it all off. 

Find out why this branch made it to 2024’s Tabelog Top 100 Restaurants list for yourself by booking a table today. 

Get back to the basics at this old-fashioned yakiniku joint in Shinjuku. 

Founded in 1986, Yakiniku Shuka Rien uses a secret tare dipping sauce with the best cuts of Kagoshima-raised wagyu cattle to create a meal that will leave you more than satisfied. 

In addition to the superb barbecue, you can sample Korean-style appetizers like kimchi and bibimbap to enhance the dining experience with a few flavors you may not have tried before.

There’s nothing the owners of Yakiniku Mutsumi love more than wordplay — except Tohoku-raised beef, of course. With a kanji name that initially reads as the number six repeated thrice, Mutsumi also amuses guests with the dramatically named lunch menu, “a thousand autumns of longing.” 

Everything about Mutsumi is traditionally Japanese, from the light wood furnishings to the traditional dress worn by staff. Where they really shake things up, though, is the different cuts of beef tongue, including soft and chewy parts, or thick and thin slices. The restaurant’s fermented sauce brings something extra to every dish, as does the luxurious offerings of meat sushi and caviar. 

Of course, no meal at Yakiniku Mutsumi would be complete without a selection of wine, of which they have many, ranging from California vineyard-born New World wines to the French Domaine de Baronarques. 

Going viral after its opening in 2023 for its instant-smoked yukhoe, Yakiniku Inoue Ginza sees itself as a “scientific reaction” between two chefs, one of whom is a yakiniku veteran and the other the former head of a Tokyo hotel kitchen. 

This restaurant is all about pushing the menu, offering foes gras pudding, exemplary seafood from across the country and premium wagyu beef — all served raw so guests can grill to their liking. 

The exclusivity doesn’t stop with the spectacular nighttime view at this luxurious Ginza eatery. In fact, Ginza Himuka uses the ultra-rare Ozaki wagyu beef, hailing from the Ozaki ranch in Miyazaki, which has won the title of the best beef in Japan in the so-called “Wagyu Olympics” each year. 

To add to the experience, Ginza Himuka serves multiple frosted (highly marbled) cuts from the same cow, also letting visitors enjoy the delicacies of Ozaki beef yukhoe and nikuzushi (meat sushi).

At Masu Roppongi, you can get the best of both worlds by eating either at the counter for a casual wagyu feast or in the elegantly designed semi-private rooms. The sleekness of the venue is matched by the quality of the A5 kuroge wagyu beef, but the menu offers even more. 

Take advantage of the clever renditions of wagyu dishes, such as wagyu sushi with salmon roe, sea urchin and caviar, or try juicy mushrooms stir-fried in wagyu stock.

Top the night off with a glass of beer, champagne, sake, plum wine or shochu —whichever suits your fancy. 

Hungry for more meat-filled memories? Explore the best wagyu restaurants in Tokyo, where to find affordable wagyu and our full selection of yakiniku restaurants in Japan.