Beef Nagayoshi

Among its throng of iconic dishes, perhaps wagyu is up there among Japan’s archetypal dining experience. But at Beef Nagayoshi, it’s more than just slapping the label on the storefront. When it opened in 2014, the Arakicho restaurant bucked all the tropes of a wagyu-focused yakiniku joints: no tableside grills, no break-the-bank barbecues and no roving servers standing between you and your date. Instead, Nagayoshi occupies a particular niche in the city’s high-end wagyu scene, where owner-chef Nagayoshi Kiichiro himself grills the meat, and the eating is done at the counter, like what locals would find in an izakaya booth. The restaurant occupies a narrow space, with a giant white lantern with Japanese writing that means “lifelong passion” — an apt credo for someone dedicated to one cuisine. Chef Nagayoshi brings out the classics of yakiniku, where Korean-inspired cuisine is interwoven into an omakase course. Rather than selecting wagyu beef by brand, Nagayoshi relies on his discerning eye and exacting standards. Thus, his cuts hails from all over Japan but are all A5-grade —the highest yield and meat quality grade. The menu divides pure indulgence and comfort with dishes like namul, kimchi and a spicy beef soup called yukgaejang to cut through the protein lineup, although the main event is, as it should be, the yakiniku. Diners take snaps of the “uniku” — a slice of wagyu wrapped around sea urchin — as it arrives fresh from Nagayoshi’s kitchen, alongside charcoal-grilled skirt steak and akami (lean cuts) paired with the venue’s secret sauce. Nagayoshi mostly handles service from the counter; such distance brings diners close to his craft, and even closer to the world of wagyu.