The term ‘Japanese beef’ usually summons up images of meat with plenty of fat marbling, but as recent health trends sway towards lean meat, even wagyu enthusiasts are looking for ways to cut back on the fat. Nikugatou is one yakiniku restaurant that actually specialises in lean wagyu cuts. Their ‘Japanese beef A5 lean meat ‘rock’’ (i.e. a big chunky cut) is sliced in an open kitchen before being grilled for you with a lip-smacking garlic butter soy sauce. The beef is eaten rare as the fat gradually melts and the sauce soaks through.
Other dishes include the ‘Original 1.5-second (sukiyaki-style) grilled single-slice aitchbone’, which involves a thin slice of aitchbone being dipped in tare (sweet soy) sauce and seared on both sides, then dunked into Chamago egg. ‘Nikugatou kalbo’ is a dish that gets its name from the especially tender meat taken from the lower portion of the aitchbone and that tastes a little like the Korean barbecue beef kalbi (or, as it’s spelled here, ‘kalbo’). Lastly, definitely try the 'Truffle-salted skirt steak’, which is beautifully seasoned with fragrant truffle salt. And don’t worry if you have no idea which dipping sauces to use – the chef will suggest the best ways to eat each dish, usually pairing the cut with a suitable condiment.