焼肉酒場 叶 KANOU — Restaurant in Kobe

Im currently traveling around Japan for the first time. I made sure to stop in Kobe for a day/night to really get the authentic world-renowned Kobe beef.

Coming from Kyoto this morning I knew that tonight's dinner was going to be good. I made sure after 2:00 pm to stop eating so that around 7/7:30 I would be ready to eat.

In Kyoto we went to a yakiniku grill and loved it so it was my goal to find a yakiniku in Kobe with great meats. I did a bit of searching and lucky my hotel was close to 焼肉酒場 叶 KANOU. The reviews were great and I mean like all of them. I knew this was the place to go.

As we walked in we were so kindly greeted. The waiter quickly took note we were foreign and kindly asked if we spoke Japanese or English. We said English and he smiled and kindly showed us how to get the English ordering menu on our phones.

We got a good deal of meats, rice, kimchi, and beer. The ordering process was really nice and easy. Pictures showed what it would look like with captions of the name of the cut of beef. We went for it and got a bunch. We were severed a dish with salt, miso, and shoyu. The sauces were delicious on their own.

The meat came so beautifully displaced with name tags so you knew which was which. We started to grill the meats and the rest was history. My eyes rolled back into my head with every bite. Hands down the most delicious meats I have ever eaten. I've had wagu and Kobe beef before but this really was something special.

I heard this place was new so I wanted to write a detailed review and give them some love. They were really nice and the food was excellent. It's a small restaurant which I also really enjoy because it felt comfortable and homey.

I don't know when I'll be back in Japan (hopefully soon), but I will definitely return. 5/5 stars, thank you that was truly a wonderful meal and experience....

If you're thinking of getting your Kobe beef fix, stop reading and just get your butt to Kanou.

I first visited Kanou for dinner a few days back on my Kobe day trip from Osaka, just because I wasn't satisfied with just having Kobe beef for lunch.

It was a random find on Google maps, and damn was it a good discovery - so good that me and my partner decided to carve time out to come back on our second last day of our Osaka trip.

Each piece was super juicy, tasty on its own and of superb quality! Where I come from, Kobe beef costs 5x more than in Japan and doesn't even taste as fresh. So if it's the same for you, again I'll say... stop here and just go to Kanou now.

Also big thank you to the staff for your hospitality too, it made the entire experience so much more...

Nice experience even as a first timer having Kobe beef. The service was really good. The staff were really nice, friendly and extremely helpful in guiding us through the menu, especially since we don’t speak Japanese. The price for the quality of the meat and dishes are also very good and pretty economical. The ambiance at Kanou is also very warm and inviting, which makes it a great spot. Even though the restaurant was quite small, it was comfortable and felt homey. It was a nice touch to the Kobe trip and a very nice Kobe beef tasting experience....