Yakiniku Nikudarake Nishiazabu

Restaurant Details

Walk along the illustrious streets of Nishi Azabu, and you’ll see a pristine-white noren curtain written with the kanji for “wagyu” — this is Yakiniku Nikudarake. A glorious mix of style and substance, Nikudarake’s installation in the splashy neighborhood presents its guests with the finest possible beef cooked to perfection at their table.

Nikudarake prides itself on ingredient standards that are a cut above the rest. The restaurant purchases Tajima-based Tamura beef from auctions at the Tokyto meat market. Procuring the animal is no easy feat, let alone growing one. The award-winning Tamura beef is a rare breed of cow developed by the creators of Kobe beef. The beef is famous for its melt-in-your-mouth quality due to its astonishingly low melting point — when the meat meets heat, it cooks almost instantly.

Chefs spend one to two weeks preparing the wagyu before serving it to diners, dry-aging it to bring out the meat’s umami. Each cut is a revelation, from the tender tongue and skirt steak of Japanese Black beef to the renowned Tamura beef, Omi beef — known as the "father of all Japanese beef" — and Shiretoko beef, raised by the Ohashi Farm in a World Heritage site. These selections are sourced through extensive visits to local farms. A special tare sauce formulated from aged soy sauce, pure rice mirin, miso and sugar turns the wagyu from plain meaty to multilayered flavorful.

All dining at Nikudarake is private. With low lighting, spectacular selection of alcohol and dishes served on immaculate ceramic plates, every element is designed to bring diners an elegant evening of yakiniku.