Kanpai Yakiniku — Restaurant in Victoria Park

Yes! Good Yakiniku in Perth! Finally!

If you're craving that Japanese vibe this is the place to go. I have not found a place this close to matching the atmosphere and food quality as a great Yakiniku chain in Japan. It's pricey, a little hard to find a booking (and missing ホルモン 😭) but oh so worth it. It was one of my favourite things when living there and oh how I've missed it.

After trying a few times to get in without booking (and failing) we decided to book and commit to going for dinner on a Sunday. We were seated in a raised booth and were welcomed by fabulous staff who were clearly super busy but still had the skill to give us time and go through the menu and ordering process.

The menu is extensive, with classic Yakiniku meat selections plus some well known "Aussie favourite japanese" as sides. We ordered the 2 people meat set with tare (dipping sauce), the lotus chips, some king salmon sashimi, rice and miso.

We then perused the drinks. We weren't feeling sake, so were thinking umeshu and soda. Then they appeared before me... Chuhai's. Ive had only one, awful, chuhai since being back in Perth and was so excited to have my go to. I ordered a lemon and grape chuhai and then kept going down the menu to be graced with... Strong Zeros !!!!!!! Ahhh! My all time favourite conbini drink. I ordered one as well to bring on the nostalgia.

The miso was brought out first (which was a shame as it cooled down quite a lot before the other food was ready) but was a good red miso from my unrefined guess! Haha. Then the lotus chips which weren't you're usual stale side! Fresh, warm and crispy. Amazing. Then the salmon. Oh my goddddedd. The sashimi was some of the best quality I have eaten in nearly 5 years. They even had the fatty part of the salmon!!! To die for.

The way they've set up their little coal and hotplate cart is something you cannot find elsewhere. Such an efficient system and the coals were in and the meat ready to go within seconds. We had a selection of 6 different meat cuts and types. Pork belly and chicken thigh. Were both tasty, although the pork belly could have been a touch thicker.

There was also the beef which I have completely forgotten the different cuts. A quick guess is a Wagyu, the rib meat and two others (sorry). All were phenomenal. When I go back I would love to get the tongue which was one of my favourites and am still sad there was no hormone.

The drinks were great. Not the chuhai's I'm used to (they potentially use a cordial? Which makes them sweeter) but still delicious. The strong zeros I wish they served in the can but was still so happy to have that familiar taste.

We even had time to spare to sit and chat together (early dinner slots have a time limit). The music was perfect, the place was so packed with patrons but we were so well placed it didn't feel overly busy. It was just such a good atmosphere. There was also no smoke which I later discovered was the vents around the outside of the grill itself. Amazing. Worked perfectly too.

Overall an amazing experience. Dying to go back. Spent around $80 per person, so not a cheap night out. My only requests are to have hormone and my strong zeros in cans and I'm one happy foreigner. Thank...

The meat was excellent, top quality, but that's not all that matters. When you claim to be a fine dining restaurant, you have the duty to meet various standards, not just in terms of food but also in the overall customer experience. Serving premium Japanese A5 beef comes with the responsibility of providing a service that matches this level.

My experience included a reservation for 8 PM, and a 20-minute wait before being seated. Okay, it's Saturday and busy, so I partially understand this (although the reservation system should ensure the table at the requested time), but at least a "sorry for the wait" from the staff would have been the bare minimum. There was a complete lack of interest from the waiters in checking if everything was okay, if I needed anything, with zero attention towards the customers (after spending $300 on a Luxury Japanese A5 Miyazaki Platter).

The description of the dish was minimal (dip the meat in oil and cook this variety longer since it's a thicker cut), when a place like this should, at the very least, present such high-quality meat with a bit more care. In true fine dining restaurants, presentation is an integral part of the culinary experience.

To top it off, the waiters started clearing my table while I was still eating, throwing ash from the grill onto me. Was it too much to ask to wait until I had finished? I understand that this level of service is no worse than a typical Japanese BBQ in Perth, but if you elevate yourself to luxury dining with high prices, then everything else must be top quality, not average. Otherwise, as a customer, I feel undervalued and treated as if I were eating $300 worth of meat at McDonald's.

If you can't afford to provide a service of the same level, you shouldn't charge so much for the meat. Remove the expensive dishes and remain a standard Japanese BBQ with good but average food, and I wouldn’t have had any complaints.

Edit: Thank you for your kind, well-articulated, and humble response. I also greatly appreciated the explanation of the Japanese tradition regarding luxury Food....

This one caught me by surprise. My friend dis the booking, I didn't pay attention much because it's bbq. Having tried several bbq places, so what is another bbq place, right? I was so very wrong.

The first thing when I entered the venue was the ambient atmosphere, busy but not noisy.

The place was well designed to make you feel you are in Japan.

As first timer we ordered the big platter, which allowed us to taste each different meats. We also ordered side dishes: roe fish, lotus chips and chicken karaage. The fish has eggs inside, they tasted delicious, not salty and not fishy, it will make you want to eat more and more. The lotus chips were tasty too especially with the wasabi dips which gives you a hint of wasabi. The karaage didn't taste special to me because when I had the bite I felt I have tasted similar things before.

The star was of course the wagyu meats, which is so buttery smooth and easy to bite. I really loved the experience having these meats. Even the ribs were soft and flavoursome. We were told to cook well done or it could get chewy. However I tried when it was medium well done and it's soft and smooth to bite.

Have I mentioned something that I noticed different from other bbq restaurants, their smoke exhaust is surrounding the hot plate and I could see it pulled the smoke quickly so the smell is very minimal if any at all. Impressive.

As mentioned by others I too agree with the excellent services. I could see a few with their trainee badge on and theh delivered high customer service. I really like how they respected our dinner time that we weren't being rushed with our time.

Overall this is one place to go to for best experience having yakiniku. The price is worth the experience. I will definitely come back to try...