Yakiniku Tsutsui

Restaurant Details

Located close to Kyoto Imperial Palace, few restaurants can accomplish what Yakiniku Tsutsui’s ode to Japanese barbecue meats does on a daily basis. With one of the city’s best yakiniku programs and a striking Japanese horse chestnut counter, the restaurant is one of the eateries to employ the rare karashi aging technique to soak out the true flavor and tenderness of its beef.

The old-school, slow-drying process involves hanging wagyu in a controlled aging chamber for about 14 days, with precise adjustments to temperature and humidity. This method deepens the beef’s flavor and texture. The owner carefully selects Japanese Black heifers for their ideal fat-to-meat ratio, further enriched by the karashi aging method. The result is a perfect balance of umami-rich flavor and melt-in-your-mouth tenderness.

The dipping sauce reflects the restaurant’s deep respect for tradition. The store uses honjozo koikuchi soy sauce from Matsuno Shoyu, a traditional Kyoto-based brewery that ferments its soy in Edo-period wooden barrels. This richly aged soy sauce serves as the foundation for a meticulously crafted blend, designed to enhance the wagyu’s natural sweetness and umami.

The yakiniku course follows a ‘less is more’ philosophy, offering fewer pieces per cut to allow diners to experience a greater variety. The owner, drawing on 20 years of expertise, carefully selects and slices Japanese Black wagyu based on its fiber and shape — always considering each guest’s preference. The meal concludes with ochazuke, a comforting dish where rice is topped with marbled beef. It is a fitting end that embodies the essence of Japanese culinary tradition.

Today, Yakiniku Tsutsui remains a small restaurant with big dreams. Take a seat at the counter, where the owner eagerly shares his knowledge of yakiniku, or unwind in a private room.