焼肉馬力屋 — Restaurant in Kusatsu

Imagine this: six foreign people are enjoying the end of their days off in Kusatsu. After relaxing in an onsen, buying lovely handmade shoes and other gifts, and unfortunately being accosted emotionally by an angry cafe man, we are looking for a delicious yakiniku place. I call with my proficient but not fluent Japanese and the person is very welcoming. We get there after they say they can accommodate us and they greet us warmly. They are ALWAYS prepared to take our order, even jump in before we can call them. They bring us blankets to make sure we weren’t cold even though the restaurant is nice and warm. They strike up friendly conversation with us about how we learned Japanese, how our Japanese is incredible and how we know words that aren’t even used much in Japan. Complimentary tea, delicious food, a friendly attitude from ALL serving staff, and incredibly affordable for drinks, soups, yakiniku, salads, kimchi, etc. Perhaps the staff here have been sent by God himself as angels to fix the trauma caused by the demon sent to bludgeon us verbally in the cafe...

11/10 Wow this place was spectacular. From the moment you walk in the service is on point. It is professional and warm. We are 2 nights there and sat in the traditional seated floor space the first night which was romantic and private. We had lots of fun trying the staff recommendation and the meat and Sake was some of the best we have ever had. The second night we sat in a booth at the back and got to know some of the locals. The staff remembered us and we were privileged to be treated like old friends and shown some new Sake that they had just gotten in. It was delicious! Overall a fabulous place that no other has lived up to in all our travels. They also took great care with some of our dietary requirements/allergies. It is a bit out of town (about 15min walk from centre) but we were staying only 2mins away at the fabulous Soumein Private Onsen - which I also highly recommend. Thanks for being one of the highlights of our trip. We hope to come...

INCREDIBLE. hands down the best meal I've had in Japan. Hell, ever had. I'm serious. Not a bot. We've come back since the first time was so good. And so was the second. If you're visiting Kusatsu, you must visit this place. Staff is great and attentive. Everytime we started having trouble they rushed over and helped us out. And the meat? Worth taking a day-trip to Kusatsu. 10/10 will recommend.

Edit: it's been almost a month since I've come to Japan, I've had my fair share of premium restaurants, and I can still say this was the best experience I've had. The food, the staff, the alcohol, everything was perfect. If you're in the area, it's a must. And no I'm not getting...