Kobe Beef GENKICHI — Restaurant in Kobe

Our best restaurant experience in our visit to Japan! Keiji and his team really excelled in every aspect -- the food (of course), the atmosphere, the professionalism and friendliness of the staff, the mastery of the chef, and finally, Keiji himself. If you're visiting Japan, I recommend you make a special effort to eat at this place -- it will be worth it.

First, the ambience. When you make a reservation, you have to show up at pretty much exactly the time you reserve. No earlier. And when you go in, it makes sense. The place is fairly small, but very cozy and very intimate. (It sits about 10 people total). Decor is tasteful, lighting is perfect, and there's pleasant music at a low volume. You and your party are then seated, all facing the chef's station, from where you will see the chef being an absolute master at his craft. (The chef has been doing this for over 40 years, and his mastery shows!)

The staff is exceptionally professional. Very polite, courteous, and most of them actually speak English. They are pretty much perfect. They are attentive so that you almost always have food and drinks, but they're also not in your face or overwhelming. They are also very nice about taking pictures, and will even take your party's picture with staging! Incredible!

The food is probably the main reason why people go here. Keiji is dedicated and serious about his passion for -- and knowledge of -- high quality beef. And, while I'm not a connoisseur or some professional food critic, this is the best beef I've ever had in my life. But it wasn't even just the main piece of beef -- all of the food was delicious. From the salad, to the (beef) sushi, to the dessert, it was all fantastically delicious. I didn't get to try the sake but from what my friends told me, it was great!

I keep talking about this Keiji person. Well, he's the owner of the restaurant, and he almost singlehandedly made this an experience we'll never forget. You can tell he's very passionate about all aspects of his restaurant, and it shows. He actually spent a great deal of time interacting with us during the dinner. He gave us a background on his restaurant and his philosophy on beef quality. He made a lot of jokes with us (in English! his English is great!) and he's the funniest restaurant owner I've ever met. He made sure to ask our names, even our hobbies; the whole experience was very personalized, and very genuine. At times the conversation with Keiji was informative, at times it was funny, and at times it was touching.

Our group is so impressed with the restaurant that we plan on coming back to it every time we visit Japan. Again, if you're in Japan, make sure to check it out. Even if your stay is only in Tokyo, hop on the Shinkansen and make a day trip out to this restaurant. It's not just the Kobe beef, which is the best. But also, the entire experience -- the ambience, the staff, the amazing and talented chef, and of course, Keiji. We sincerely and wholeheartedly wish Keiji and his team all the success they so clearly deserve. Because this restaurant is...

Really disappointing and we did not feel valued as guests of this establishment.

Firstly, the couple to our left, and the group of 3 to our right seemed to be treated much better during their experience for whatever reason.

I ordered the same cut of meat as the group on my right, but I could see theirs was a much better cut and quality. Also during the service, the chef clearly spent more time explaining things to the group on our right, than he did interacting with me and my girlfriend at all. Imagine seeing him go on about a certain dish for 5 minutes, talking to the group respectfully in English, and then when it comes to serving us the same dish, he simply hands it over “here you go - beef”. It felt rude and disrespectful.

For the main course, the chef cooked our vegetables at the same time as the group on our right. Then the chef cooked the groups steaks, but didn’t cook ours. This meant by the time he had finished their steaks, started cooking ours, and finally served our food, our vegetables were cold and soggy. This is because they were left sitting out in the open for about 15-20 minutes. Meanwhile the group on the right had their steak and vegetables, served warm.

My partner and I ordered the same cut of beef, but different sizes, mine being larger. But when they cooked and served the beef, they completely disregarded this and served us both cuts 50/50. This meant I got less than I intended and my partner got more than she wanted.

My girlfriend ordered garlic rice, which didn’t come out until about 15 minutes after her steak had been served. She would either have to wait for her garlic rice and therefore have her beef get cold, or eat the beef by itself while it was warm and then have the garlic rice separately afterwards. For the price we paid, this is unacceptable and a complete oversight during their service. Especially as everyone else got their rice servings immediately with their steak.

Some of the starter courses weren’t very nice either. For example, the beef sushi, it was essentially a raw piece of thin beef on the sushi. I don’t believe this method of serving the beef really brings out the best flavour of the beef.

During the experience, every meal was served from right to left. But for dessert, the group on our right and the couple on our left were given their desserts first, while we waited about 5 minutes for ours. This is despite all our plates being taken away at the same time. Why was extra care given to the other groups at the table? Is it because they had Japanese speaking members and we did not?

For this dinner, we paid about $275 each. However, the dinner felt rushed, the meal service was disorganised, and overall the quality of the courses were...

I’m going to be real — teppanyaki as a category has honestly become pretty disappointing. It’s a lot closer to fine dining now than a casual premium meal I remembered younger, at least in Japan. And to be honest, it feels like a lot of places are really geared toward foreign tourists looking to check off their Kobe beef bucket list — and charging them for it.

If you’ve already decided you want teppanyaki, here’s what I’d say about Genkichi: it has one of the best vibes around. It’s a tiny, cozy spot, perfect if you’re rolling in with a small group — like you and five friends who are willing to drop about $200 USD each (more with drinks). If that’s the case, you’ll have a great time. The owner and staff are super friendly, and it’s one of those rare places where the energy really depends on you and your crew. If you’re there with a lively group — say, a bachelor party — they’ll make sure you’re well-fed, well-drunk, and having a lot of fun. And honestly, getting to basically take over the place at that price point is pretty rare in Japan.

But — and it’s a big but — most people probably aren’t coming here like that. Most people are visiting as a couple, and when you’re sharing the counter with two or three other couples, it can feel a little awkward. It turns into this low-key game of “who’s spending more” so you don’t look cheap, and with the cheapest cut starting around $150 USD per person for lunch, it adds up fast — $300 before you even blink.

As for the food? It’s fine. The meat is okay — not bad, but nothing that blew me away either. You can tell the chef is a real veteran and does a solid job, but if you’re expecting world-class culinary magic, it’s not that. Honestly, if you’re just chasing a Wagyu fix, there are cheaper (and maybe better) ways to do it. Some of the sides, like the salad and vegetables, felt a bit underwhelming too, especially considering the price.

Service-wise, everyone’s friendly and professional, no complaints there. Overall though, I’m mixed. If you’re already hesitant, I’d say skip it and enjoy the other amazing things Kobe has to offer. Genkichi is fine — I’m glad I tried it, but it’s not something I’d rush to do again. After this, I’m probably good on teppanyaki...