Friends often ask me for restaurant recommendations in Tokyo and frankly you can’t go wrong, but I would suggest Ushigoro for grilled beef. It would be a shame not to have Japanese beef on a visit to Tokyo but it can also be very expensive. So to me, going to one of the mid-range yakiniku restaurants is good enough.

Ushigoro has three branches – two in Ginza and one in Nishiazabu. Reservations are a must for all three branches. I have been to the original restaurant in Nishiazabu as well as the one in Ginza and I’d say that the one at Nishiazabu is a touch better. However, the two Ginza restaurants, especially the Namiki Street branch (which only recently opened in November 2018), are certainly convenient if you’re staying in the area.

I’d recommend the Ushigoro course meal at JPY 8,800 (as of April 2019) and you can always add extra items from the a la carte menu. They also have a smaller Tabegoro course at JPY 6,800. So essentially, you’d have a good Japanese grilled beef meal at less than USD 100 per person if you go with the course. Ushigoro’s parent also have the Michelin one-starred Jo Nishiazabu, which is not yakiniku but a beef kappo restaurant that offers two omakase menus at JPY 20,000 and JPY 25,000. I’ve not been to Jo Nishiazabu yet.

As with any yakiniku restaurant, the grill sits in the middle of the table and the beef comes to the table for you or the server to cook. I think the folks at Ushigoro were quite happy to do the cooking for us so that they ensured that we got the meat done as they recommend it. But there is the option to cook it yourself.

The nice thing about yakiniku restaurants is that they do open late with Ushigoro serving up to midnight. They’re not open for lunch – strictly dinner food I guess. Their website has been revamped and is pretty english friendly now but you can’t book online and will still have to contact them via the phone.