Yakiniku Gyujin: Some Things Stand Out Here

There are so many yakiniku or BBQ restaurants in Japan, and many of them seem to be quite similar. Afterall, it consists of just meat, dipping sauce and the grill. Where they differ are in the quality of meat, flavours of the tare (the sauce or marinade) and seasonings. The side dishes available may also differ widely.

At Gyujin, the beef tongue on the menu caught my eye. Normally it is cut in thin rounds, but here they had a dish where it was cut in strips lengthwise. To be honest the texture and flavour were not all that different compared to the rounds. While the larger size made it slightly harder to eat, the umami does last longer in the mouth and increases as you continue to chew.

Two cuts of beef tongue

Overall, the tare and seasoning at this restaurant are mild, and on the sweeter side of things. This was actually one thing that I enjoyed about this yakiniku. So many restaurants boldly season their meats and often the flavour of the meat is lost. At Gyujin, I really got the sense of the meat was what was most predominent, as it good quality meat should be.

Area: about a 2-minute walk southwest of Ozone station 大曾根駅
Restaurant: 焼肉 Gyujin
Map: https://www.hotpepper.jp/strJ001119383/map/
Hours: 5-12pm (LO 11:30pm)