Yakiniku Jumbo is best for friends getting together for quality beef, rather than couples having a romantic dinner. Their beef is surely high quality — It’s certainly not cheap but once you understand its quality, you will be convinced. If you intend to make it more cost-efficient, or are on a date, I’d rather recommend going to Beef Kitchen. I think Beef Kitchen gets a better score based on their incredible cost performance, but if you are talking about the quality of beef itself, it’s Yakiniku Jumbo going further a bit. Lastly, their curry and omlet & rice are outstanding as well. You’ve got to try them out too.
Fran B.
Place rating: 5 Arcadia, CA
Yakiniku was definitely a MUST on my list of foods to hit in Japan. I looked online for some places to go to and this one was in an area that was kinda close to where we stayed. Plus it looks sooo boooooomb. So we did NOT have a reservation ready(party of 2)… but from the way things look when we got there, I would suggest making one. Coming from out of the country though, with things constantly getting moved around in my itinerary, making a reservation was just a bit difficult. But we got lucky I think. When we got there, I went up to the host and said we have 2 people, and he asked if we have a rez, and I said no. Then he went to look at his lil book real quick and looked a little concerned… but then he said, «we have a table for about an hour. Is that ok?» I was like HELLYEA!~ Haha an hour… for us 2 piggies it would be no problem. So we got seated right away(and there were a lot of people waiting in the waiting room too) and it smelled sOOOOOOOO good in there. MMMM. Our busboy? I’m not sure what he was. Trainee server? He was born in the US so we had a little chat and stuff. haha so that was cool. Actually all the workers were preeetty good at English so if you’re a noob at Japanese you may be ok. As for the meat, I can’t remember exactly what cuts we ordered, BUT there was one that stood out a lot. Look for the meat that says«Jumbo Original» and«sukiyaki style» at the top of the meat selection page. Ok just looked at the English menu and it says Nohara-yaki. ORDERIT! It’s marinated thinly sliced beef — the server will grill it for you, roll it up, then dip it in the raw egg(that you mix yourself) and then you eat it… HOOOOOLY. It’s so juicy and flavorful and omgggggggggg I loved it. Seriously delicious. As for the other cuts, I think everything was bomb. I remember we ordered galbi, tongue, several other ones, and we did not have any bad pieces of beef. Honestly so tasty, every single one. We also ordered one omurice, which was SOGOOD. And it was perfect to share as a rice dish, although my bf got plain white rice for himself as well. As for price and stuff, it cost us about $ 50+ per person/$ 100 total, at least if you count in dollars lol and that shit changes constantly. Actually it was more I think. Bring at least 10K Yen if you’re dining for 2 but that’s probably not gonna get you very full. Maybe bring 15K lol. We were like full but with room for dessert still lol. Service was good, price was very reasonable(especially for the quality of meat. I mean wagyu beef ain’t cheap yo), and food was fantastic. I recommend to all!
Mooks P.
Place rating: 5 Jinočany, Czech Republic
One of the best Yakiniku restaurant, I love every dish, yummm! And very impressive service.
Amanda C.
Place rating: 5 San Francisco, CA
MUST-TRY! Everything we ordered was the best thing I’ve ever had. Japanese bbq anywhere else will never be the same. Their meat were all premium, and they tell you how long you should grill it for so it is medium rare and cooked to perfection before you take a bite. Among 6 people, the bill was around 400, which isn’t bad for premium meat! My favorite was the large thing piece that I took a photo of, but unfortunately don’t remember which part it is. But you can’t go wrong with any of the wagyu or anything else. We had the spicy noodles, and the cold ramen. I liked the spicy noodles a lot more than the cold(a bit bland). I also had the mango juice, which tasted very watered-down, but I guess it’s because the ice cubes were melting next to the grill. I tried my friend’s apple juice, and it was way better! At the end of the meal, you MUST order the ice cream! It is amazing. so amazing my friends ordered another one! The cookie crumbs at the bottom of the ice cream mixed with the delicious milky ice cream made it the best thing to ever go in my stomach! I would go back there just for the ice cream if I could hah. But seriously, everything was so good here that it is worth going to in Japan — they have a few other restaurants too. Be sure to reserve because this place gets booked quick, or do as we did — go at 5pm and got seated right away. Décor was also very nice and has a large sitting around for people who needs to wait. Will be back for sure when in Japan! :)
Tom F.
Place rating: 5 Russian Hill, San Francisco, CA
Fantastic Yakiniku in this part of town. Not the easiest place to find amongst the small streets lined with vending machines, but once you arrive, you’ll be in for a treat. Every cut of meat is phenomenal, well presented and perfectly seasoned. The service is great per usual Japanese standards. Prices are not unreasonable for the quality of the beef that you’re getting either. Highly recommended.