La Shomon — Restaurant in Kobe

It would be a complete missed opportunity if we did not try Kobe beef while in Kobe! After scouring the internet for recommendations, we settled on La Shomon on the outskirts of Kobe. Not far from a station, the second-floor restaurant isn't hard too hard to find (although you do need to look up to find the sign).

Half expecting a super posh setting, we were greeted with a cozier environment, reminiscent of a typical Asian BBQ restaurant. Service here was pleasant and helpful, albeit perhaps a bit startled by foreign visitors?

We ordered the famous "Yume no seto" set as well as an a-la-carte piece of Kobe beef that was on special. Each item was presented and described to us thoroughly and we enjoyed every piece. My favourites were the inside skirt and tenderloin pieces as they were the buttery consistency that I was expecting with that grade of wagyu beef. While the other pieces were good, I didn't find them much different than a good piece of Angus steak from back home in Canada. Personally, I felt like the only difference was the size and price. The size of each cut was quite small - about the size and length of two fingers - but for a hefty sum, as compared elsewhere.

If you're looking to try Kobe beef at least once while you're in Kobe, I recommend going here. It was an thoroughly enjoyable experience but going once is probably enough for me. If you're looking for a bang for your buck, this is probably not the...

If you’re looking for a place to try Kobe beef for the first time, this is the place to go! We’ve never tried Kobe beef before and wanted to try it out. We found this place due to the high reviews. They were very friendly towards foreigners. They will ask if you have a reservation, we didn’t have one but luckily it wasn’t busy so they were able to seat us. This is a high quality upscale place compared to other restaurants we have been. They have an English menu. Kobe beef wasn’t on the menu, you have to ask the waitress to see the daily menu, they have limited selections. Kobe beef is also cooked by the staff. What’s cool about the menu is that they show you a diagram of cow and what each section of the cow in which the meat is called.

We got Kobe Sirloin and Kobe tenderloin (only these two types of Kobe cuts were available to us) The taste of these two cuts were OUT OF THIS WORLD. My girl has never had meat that meats in your mouth like that. She’s tried Wagyu before too (she doesn’t like the fat taste in Wagyu) but with Kobe, she didn’t have a problem with the fat taste!

We also tried Wagyu Uchi Harami which tasted almost the same as the Kobe (to me at least). We also tried some Kalbi meats and they were good too. These meats went well with vegetables and kimchi daikon.

Wine bottles are pretty cheap here but you can bring your own bottle for cork fee ¥1100. You can get a glass of red...

30 minutes away from Kobe city via train, a quick walk from the train station and there you are, seating in La Shomon restaurant, about to enjoy one of the best meal you will ever have.

From the staff kindness to the chefs skills, you will be sure to enjoy your experience from start to finish.

We decided to try a bit of everything, wagyu beef and Kobe beef with some white rice. It all started with some raw wagyu beef, a wonderful mise en bouche, a meat so tender it melt on your tongue, tasteful, colorful, perfectly cut. We continued our journey with a wagyu sushi, one piece is enough to prepare yourself with what comes next, à wagyu platter, sirloin, tenderloin, ribeyes, small piece but enough to taste the wagyu beef in all his splendor.

As wonderful as it was, just when we though that we had the best beef of our life, it all tremble when the real MVP arrive, all those wonders fade away in face of three Kobe beef pieces in front of us, a couple of minutes being cooked in our Japanese grill by the chef himself, with a professionalism out of this world, as Leonardo with Mona Lisa, he was an artist and the steak his canvas.

It was astonishing, but once again, nothing could prepare us for the explosion of flavors that met our tongue, the tenderness of the meat.

Everything was pure ectasy, look no more, this is the place where you need to eat at least once in your life. An experience...