NAKATSURU

A 5-star experience in a most unexpected, nondescript, albeit clean building. Took our family of seven (five kids under the age of 14) out to celebrate a birthday. From the parking lot to our table, we could sense that careful attention was paid to every little detail to ensure we were treated as ro...yalty: the cleanliness of the place; the cheerful and genuine greetings by all the staff; being led to our table and insisting that we needn't worry about putting our shoes in the shoebox (They'd do that for us); having all the settings perfectly laid out, even for the toddlers; having handtowels ready for us which were the perfect warmth on a cold winter night; having all the silverware, glasses and cutlery clean; ... I could not find any fault. And I did not even mention the food yet: We had wakame soup and fresh tossed greens to start -- Absolutely delicious! The fire was perfect and the grill was brand-new with high quality lard provided to oil it down. The best cuts of local (Fukuoka) beef and pork were brought out and pre-cut for perfecting grilling by ourselves. The tongs were the perfect design, so naturally grilling was a fun and stress-free experience. Everything cooked perfectly and tasted superb! Beautiful pairs of scissors were provided at each end of our table so that we could cut the bite-size cuts even smaller for the toddlers. I ordered a glass of red wine which perfectly complimented the meal. The rice was of the best grain, and everyone in our party was completely absorbed in the savory experience! My boy, who usually isn't such a big eater, was focused on getting his cuts of beef and pork. He seemed to understand that our meal was extraordinary! Even the complimentary oolong tea in a pitcher of ice tasted perfect! Other examples this icing-on-the-cake experience: We all had the coolest, black "bibs" to prevent any sizzling splatter on our clothing (though we were never in danger of that); The kids found complimentary toothbrush-and-mouthwash sets in the bathroom; When we made payment, we all received tasty, easy-to-open high-quality sweets! Even the toothpicks were coated with mint! I've had both wonderful -- and poor -- dining experiences in over 22+ years in Japan, but this ranks as one of my best when it comes to Japanese-style barbeque! Highly recommended as your next dining experience in Kurume, after trying Kurume ramen!

Visited January 2017