Kobe Beef KISSHOKICHI Sannomiya Chuo Store — Restaurant in Kobe

We read online that reservations were required, so we stopped by at 4:30 pm to make a reservation for 5 pm, which was not a problem. When we arrived at 5 pm, the place was empty. We left around 6:30 pm and the place was still empty.

We ordered three types of beef, and it was great. You can’t go wrong with Kobe beef, it literally melts in your mouth. We expected stellar service and cooking, but we’re sorely disappointed. My partner was tempted to ask if this was the chef’s first time cooking. They kept dropping food all over the table, accidentally cooked the cabbage first, undercooked the sweet potato and carrots, and couldn’t portion the food out properly. If you watch the video posted, it appears they didn’t even bother sharpening their knives to cut the meat properly. He was a friendly enough fellow, and I feel terrible saying this, but for the price of the meal, I am insulted to be served by a newbie.

Some of the reviews mentioned a server, but our water glasses and sake glasses sat empty for a while before the water was refilled. We were not offered or asked if we’d like to order more sake.

For an ¥82,929 meal, we were sorely disappointed by the cooking and service. I have never been bored by Teppanyaki, even when language was a barrier, but I was...

My issue in order of priority: 1) Cost performance, kobe beef here is 2x~3x the price vs local joints and it's not any better, 2) Everything besides the kobe beef was mediocore at best, 3) Staff was unenthusiastic and you can feel the forced friendliness, 4) 5% seating charge for an already overpriced meal (we also didn't see that written anywhere) and finally 5) Unable to use AMEX unlike advertised, good thing I had cash.

Wagyu itself is already a high quality product, you know going in, it cannot be less than exceptional, that is not the issue. The expectation is for everything else to also be on par, especially if you're going to end up paying ¥40,000yen for 2. As mentioned above, appetizers were all mediocore and they had the audacity to serve some basic custard (the same you would find in street snacks) in a tiny french ramekin bowl for dessert at this price point. The only thing that was good was the variety of accompaniment for the beef but we are talking wasabi, pickled garlic, miso etc. it doesn't make up for everything else. The atomsphere however is positive, feels relatively higher end and has more of a private dining type of feel with low seating numbers.

Plenty of other restaurant options, clearly marking up to target tourists. Not...

This is a two-part review about the Kisshokichi Amona restaurants. Kissokichi is on the second floor, the first floor belongs to Amona.

Kissokichi is a proper teppanyaki Kobe beef restaurant, where you sit in front of the iron plate and you observe your personal chef prepare the dish. It is a high level restaurant where you can get the full experience of Kobe beef. They have A5 certified Kobe beef and a selection of 6 different quality types of Kobe meat. It is expensive, but it is totally worth it!

The meat was tender and tasty, we had it cooked medium rare and it was cooked to perfection. It is accompanied by a salad, roasted vegetables and fried rice, plain rice or yukisoba. I suggest taking fried rice or yukisoba which is prepared on the iron plate where the meat was prepared, absorbing all the amazing fat that has been extracted from the meat. We had it with sake and it made total sense. I highly recommend it for a Kobe beef...