Zakuro (Nihonbashi)

Every visitor to Japan should try shabu shabu, and what better way to experience this DIY dinner than with the finest quality wagyu beef. The attention to detail and fine service at Zakuro make it the perfect spot to gather some friends and enjoy a night of high quality dining in a traditional setting. With exquisite wooden-clad private dining rooms available, you can really settle in for the night. But what really sets Zakuro apart from other shabu shabu restaurants is the ornate copper nabe (cooking pots), which have been especially handcrafted for the restaurant and in use for over 60 years. Charcoal is used to heat the dashi (stock), which provides a higher heat than gas. Shabu shabu is typically served with two dipping sauces, sesame and ponzu. These are both made inhouse at Zakuro and are certainly a speciality. Dipped in the spicy sesame sauce, the thin slices of wagyu have a real richness. The ponzu is bursting with freshness and smacks your palate with citrus zest. Both are perfect accompaniments to the delicate paper-thin wagyu, which cooks in a matter of seconds in the nabe and melts in your mouth just as quickly.