Yakiniku Shabushabu Ishidaya Kitanozaka

I asked my hotel for a recommendation for a Kobe beef restaurant other than teppanyaki style and was pointed to this particular branch of Ishida which serves shabu shabu, sukiyaki or yakiniku Kobe beef. I selected yakiniku style as I liked the concept of having some of the oil from the well marbled... Kobe beef drip away so it would not taste too oily and chose the Ishida course menu for 7,000 yen. I found with teppanyaki style, the Kobe beef sits in the oil at it grills and it tastes very oily to me. I have enjoyed shabu shabu style before as some of the oil seeps out to the water instead so the beef retains its tenderness but with reduced oiliness. Ishida offered 4 different yakiniku course menus priced from 4,200 to 9,800 yen differing mainly in the quality of the cuts of Kobe beef served. There were a number of interesting starters, a salad, then very tasty salted beef tongue to be grilled, and then followed the main event of thin slices of Kobe beef and thicker pieces of two different cuts of Kobe beef to be grilled. The beef was well marbled and when grilled, was very melt in your mouth tender. To prevent the beef from sticking to the grill, a piece of fat is provided which is used to coat the grill before you grill the Kobe beef. After the beef, there was a choice of hot or cold noodle or rice and I selected hot noodle. The course menu ended with a dessert of pineapple slices and pineapple jelly. The food was delicious, service was good and price was reasonable. I thoroughly enjoyed my yakiniku experience with premium Kobe beef.

Visited June 2019

“Ishidaya” owns a number of restaurants that strictly serve Kobe beef, but in various preparations. The Shabushabu & Sukiyaki branch is clean and classy, with dining tables sectioned into private rooms. Each room has its own closet for guests to hang their coats and store their bags. Servers are ...polite and accommodating. Most importantly, the high-quality Kobe beef shabushabu is absolutely delectable!

Visited November 2018