The 10 Best Yakiniku Restaurants You Must Eat in Kumamoto, Japan

Of what does the gourmet in Kumamoto remind you? Is it horse-meat sashimi, ramen, mustard- filled-lotus-root or taipien? Actually, Kumamoto has a lot of tasty gourmet. Even though, what you really want to eat must be the grilled-meat, musn’t it?! Starting with the red-cattle-meat, the black Japanese beef, the home-bred chicken and the grilled horse-meat are all superb for grilling. Grilling all those meats and eating them up! This time, I’m introducing the selected 10 grilled-meat restaurants in Kumamoto!

1. When it comes to grilled-meat in Kumamoto, this is it! [Yakiniku Sudo] provides safe and secure meats.

The restaurant owner who had been trained for 7 years at the famous grilled-meat restaurant in Tokyo, [Yakiniku Kunimoto] opened this popular grilled-meat restaurant in Kumamoto in 2012. He has been particular about choosing the ingredients, such as the black Japanese beef produced in Kyushu and the organic vegetables as well as the rice produced in Kumamoto. He wouldn’t use any food additives, so you can enjoy your meal feeling safe and secure. Apart from a course menu, you can have the assorted meats which are the specials of the day.

The single dish menu is also substantial, especially, Harami (diaphragm meat) and Ranpu (top sirloin butt) of the black Japanese beef produced in Kumamoto prefecture and Tan (tongue) produced in Japan.

The home-made Kimuchi and cold noodles as the side dish are also favourable, especially, the soup for cold noodles is cooked, using the Amakusadaioh’s chicken bone, Japanese kelp produced in Hokkaido, selected dried bonito, the barley flour and its refreshing flavour is popular.

Depending on the circumstances of the arrival of products, they have the unique ingredients, such as Meishanton (pig) reared in Yamatocho, the king of the home-bred chicken, Amakusadaioh and the horse-meat yukke (sashimi). When you visit Kumamoto, please don’t forget visiting there.

2. A purveyor to the citizens of the Kumamoto prefecture! The grilled-meat restaurant which owns its own farm, [Tanakachikusan]

It is a restaurant which wins the highest praise from not only the locals but also the citizens of the Kumamoto prefecture. Saying, “Speaking of the grilled-meat in Amakusa, this is the restaurant!” As the Tanakachikusan which has its own farm has been running the restaurant, the quality of the meat is guaranteed. The cows which are reared among Mother Nature in Amakusa have only moderate fat and a plentiful delicious taste! At a glance, the restaurant looks like a Japanese-styled inn and the bill is required to be paid in advance which is very unusual at a grilled- meat restaurant.

They have a limited menu in number for lunch, but it will be a waste if you don’t take the all-you-can-eat meat set! Depending on the type of the meat, the menu is different, but the [Tanakaya set] is recommended. You can have A5 first class meat until you are feeling full. On the top of that, it comes with the rice, miso-soup, salad, fruits and the drink-bar.

Among them, the most popular dish is the curry and rice with a lump of meat. In winter, they offer oden (Japanese dish containing a number of ingredients cooked in a special broth) as well. If you are a sake lover, you can have an all-you-can-drink sake as an additional order. In addition to the good quality and the varieties in the menu, the cost performance is the best in Kumamoto. It is worth visiting there.

3. The fresh ingredients being particular about the products from the Kumamoto prefecture [Wagyuyakiniku Yuhou]

1. This is a renowned restaurant where you can eat the lovely grilled-meat, such as Higo-pork and Akadori (tender chicken) with a focus on the black Japanese-beef produced in the Kumamoto prefecture. In addition to that the rice as well as the vegetables are 100% produced in the Kumamoto prefecture. The restaurant has been completely focused on the ingredients produced in the Kumamoto prefecture.

Besides the short rib or the loin single dish menu, there is the course menu for a couple as well as a family. They are confident in the quality of the meats, over grilling is strictly prohibited! Searing is enough to taste the good quality of fat which spreads around the mouth. A sauce has been carefully devised and the dipping miso-sauce and soy-sauce are offered adjusting to the meat. The herbaceous plants, the Japanese soup stock and the fruits are also carefully selected for both dishes.

The home-made kimchi, horse-meat sashimi and stone roasted bibimbap are also popular. Inside the restaurant with the calm atmosphere, there are a raised tatami-floored seating area, table seats and some private rooms. So, a family as well as a group can relax and enjoy their meals. Since its opening, the service of offering a cup of konbu-cha (kelp tea) has been kept. Their warm welcome is appreciated by everyone. It is the restaurant which I want to go to with all my family.

4. The grilled-meat restaurant next to the butcher’s [Wagyuyakiniku LIEBE]

This restaurant opened in 2015 and since then it has been attracting people in the local area.
The butcher’s is next to it and the spacious parking area has been prepared, so it is convenient for an outing. The inside of the restaurant looks elegant with a classy atmosphere. There are tables with the high-backed chairs, the sunken kotatsu (low table over a hole in the floor) seats and the private rooms. When you hear of the carefully selected black Japanese beef, you may be worried about the price, but the lunch is good value.

The set of the 2 kinds of the black Japanese beef with either the chicken or the black Japanese hormone (fried beef offal), the hormone lunch and beef tongue lunch are all ￥1390! When you visit the restaurant for an evening meal, you can have a discount on your booking from the previous day.

For the people who want to eat different parts of beef just a little amount each, [Gokuhitokire] is recommended. You can enjoy the best parts of the beef each day eating one slice until your stomach is content.

On the table, sweetish soy-sauce and spicy hot miso-sauce, salt and herb-spices have been placed for you to choose. When you visit Kumamoto, please don’t miss the opportunity to taste the Kumamoto gourmet!

5. The all-you-can-eat lunch is highly recommended! If you want to eat until you feel full in Kumamoto, go to [Ariran]

This restaurant has its head-restaurant in the Makatsu-city Oita prefecture and the buffet-styled lunch is very popular. During the lunch time from 11:30 to 15:00, you can have an all-you-can-eat lunch for 80 minutes. ￥2880 (tax is excluded) for a male adult, ￥2480 (tax is excluded) for a female as well as people over 65 and they also have a kid’s price. You can enjoy the selected black Japanese beef as much as you want without worrying about the price.

They have the all-you-can-eat evening meal, but they also have a single meat menu, such as grilled shabushabu using the black-beef produced in Kyushu, the short-rib and the loin. The thickly cut outside-skirt steak is also popular. As the head-restaurant is located in the Oita prefecture, they have the home-bred chicken produced in Yufuin and the Kinunton (good quality 1st class pork) produced in Yabakei. You can enjoy the Beppu cold noodles here as well.

They also have the unique beef-tongue yukke (beef sashimi), the salt yukke with sea urchin as a topping, the flowering fern and the heart sashimi, which is a precious raw meat these days.
Their home-made Kimchi (spicy pickles), salad-bar and gukbap (soup rice) as a side menu are sufficient. When you want to eat the grilled-meat until you feel full and enjoy the lively atmosphere, this restaurant is the best choice.

6. You can enjoy the black Japanese beef produced in the Kumamoto prefecture until your stomach is content! When it comes to all-you-can-eat grilled-meat, it should be [Yakiniku Nurubon Garden].

The 1st class all-you-can-eat grilled-meat is served at this restaurant! The experienced cook assesses the black Japanese beef, [Waoh] produced in the Kumamoto prefecture and buys a whole cow. You can taste the [Waoh] on the all-you-can-eat offer!

On the premium order menu, [Kumamoto Waoh whole-cow course], there are 9 parts out of 27 cuts, using the experience and the skill. The course includes the [Waoh] to start with, the Kumamoto-rindo pork which is tender and juicy and the home-bred chicken, [Amakusa Daioh]. The vegetables directly from the producer will be offered as the grilled one as well as on the salad-bar. The Kumamoto-brand rice, [Mori-no-kumasan] is also produced in the Kumamoto prefecture. All ingredients are particular with the Kumamoto products.

7. The variety of menu is characteristic! It has 11 branches inside the Kumamoto prefecture. [Yakinikukan Sairo]

This is the familiar restaurant in the local area which has 11 branches inside the Kumamoto prefecture centered Kumamoto-city. It has been run by the meat wholesaler who is a meat professional. They are very confident about the meat which they deal with. The beef from the cows which were reared in the stress-less environment is cut only for an enough amount to use on the day at their own factory and it is offered at each branch. They have been caring about health safety including the organic and less chemically grown vegetables.

Their menu has a variety! The lunch menu has the grilled-meat, bibimbap, qukbap (soup rice), noodles and jjigae (pot meal) set, in a total of more than 50 different kinds. You will feel full with the price of ￥1000 ~ ￥2000. Only the professional grilled-meat restaurant can offer that many menus for lunch. The Viking (buffet-styled meal) limited to the week-days is also popular and more than 50 different dishes are provided on the all-you-can-eat offer.

At the evening time, you can taste the Korean-styled grilled-meat and the marinated grilled-meat with the original herbs wrapped in the Sanchu (Korean lettuce). Please try it once!

8. The exquisite grilled-meat for eating in the calm atmosphere. The debut in Kumamoto [Honkakuyakiniku Chikurin]

The head-restaurant is located in Nagasaki and it made its debut in Kumamoto. The inside of the restaurant with the charming Japanese atmosphere is bright and clean. The black Japanese-beef produced in Kyushu is good value. They offer the pork with the plain fat and the delicious richness produced in Nagasaki and the organic vegetables. They have been choosing the ingredients, being particular about the products from Kyushu.

There is a single dish menu, but the recommended one is the [Kiwami-course] which you can have the all-you-can-eat carefully selected marbled meat for a reasonable price. They are open throughout the year and they provide a bowl of rice topped with beef, the cold noodles, desert and substantial fresh vegetables on the salad-bar. The number of the menu is 76 and you can order all-you-can-drink as an additional. The [Danran-course] has a less number of menus, 45, but you could be completely satisfied.

If you want to eat something from a single menu, the thickly sliced assorted one is recommended. The thickly cut short-rib, the outside-skirt and the tongue are all filling. It goes really well with beer! Please enjoy lovely grilled-meat.

9. The grilled-meat restaurant where you can enjoy the fresh ingredients produced in Kyushu [Yakiniku Magosaburou]

The Magosaburou group buys a whole black Japanese cow. Being assessed by the experienced cook, the beef has high quality, but you can taste it for a reasonable price. That’s the reason why it has a good reputation in the local area. As one whole cow is bought, they can offer any part of the beef.
They are particular about a locally produced and consumed policy and they are collecting the ingredients from Kumamoto, Miyazaki and Kagoshima, all in Kyushu. They wouldn’t use either processed meat or restructured steak or synthetic seasoning and chemical preservative in their secret sauce.

The restaurant’s recommendation is the special menu, the short-rib as well as the outside-skirt of the black Kurohana-beef and the hormone (fried beef offal) where the smell is removed by the pre-treatment. The salad-bar contains more than 20 different kinds of fresh vegetables as well as the grilled vegetables. [Yakiniku Magosaburou] has 2 branches in the Kumamoto-city and 1 in the Uto-city. There are the table seats and the hori-gotatsu seats (low table over the hole in the floor), so a family and a group can enjoy themselves in the cheerful atmosphere. Please visit it and enjoy yourself./p>

10. When it comes to grilled-meat, it’s horse-meat! For tasting the delicious horse-meat, choose this restaurant! [Ramu]

Kumamoto is famous for the horse-meat, isn’t it? So, would you like to challenge grilled horse-meat?
If you do, please visit [Ramu] which was established in 1959. It is the horse-meat sashimi and popular grilled horse-meat restaurant which has been competing to be the top place in Kumamoto which has a lot of horse-meat restaurants.

The part of a horse’s back called [Kurashita] is exquisite! You can also taste mino (rumen) and heart. They are grilled on the iron-pan with the humped up center which looks like the one for Genghis Khan to drip away the excessive fat. Then taste it dipping in the special sauce. It will be very enjoyable to drink sake, nibbling the fresh horse-meat sashimi, won’t it?

This restaurant has been registered as an originator for [Sakura-natto] which is the beef mixture with natto (fermented soy-beans). At the end of your meal, try the [horse-meat sashimi flake rice]. The frozen horse-meat flakes are placed on the hot rice. When you mix them with the rice, topping with soy-sauce, the frozen horse-meat flakes start melting and you can eat them up in the blink of an eye! Please taste them once!

Let’s eat the tasty grilled-meat in Kumamoto!

I’ve introduced 10 carefully selected grilled-meat restaurants in the Kumamoto prefecture.
Have you found your favourite restaurant? One is a reasonable all-you-can-eat, another one is the top class marbled meat. You can have them in various ways, on your own, with your family or in a group with such excitement. The grilled-meat restaurants in Kumamoto provide the delicious cooking as well as the enjoyable atmosphere. Please come to Kumamoto!