Wagyu Beef Thick Steak Sandwich, Cafe＆Bar Benikoumori — Restaurant in Kyoto

Visited in October 2025. Japan 🇯🇵 Kyoto.

Wagyu Beef Thick Steak Sandwich is a small, casual spot with just a couple of tables and a short bar counter. The interior is cozy, decorated with warm wooden accents, colorful graffiti, and playful artwork that give the place a relaxed, modern vibe.

FOOD:

The menu here is compact, focusing on Wagyu beef in several forms — steaks, cutlets, and various sandwich combinations. According to the menu, they use premium A5 Wagyu cuts, which set our expectations high. The steak sandwich looked stunning: thinly sliced beef tucked between two pieces of soft, toasted milk bread with perfectly golden edges.

Visually, it was impressive — but the taste didn’t quite live up to the promise. The steak was lean and somewhat chewy, lacking the signature marbling and melt-in-your-mouth richness that Wagyu is known for. Some pieces even had sinew, making them tough to bite through. As a result, the meat felt mismatched with the pillowy milk bread, which overwhelmed its delicate flavor. The taste leaned on the plain side — not unpleasant, but lacking that buttery sweetness expected from quality Wagyu. On a positive note, the roasted potatoes were excellent — crisp on the outside, fluffy inside, and perfectly seasoned.

SERVICE:

Service was polite but understandably slow, as a single chef handled both cooking and serving. Despite the slight wait, the atmosphere remained relaxed and welcoming.

VERDICT:

To be honest, the Wagyu steak sandwich didn’t quite meet our expectations. While the presentation and setting were lovely, the flavor and texture of the beef fell short of what one would expect from premium A5 Wagyu. If you’re seeking that deep, rich Wagyu experience, this might not be the place for you — but for a quick, casual bite in a cozy setting, it’s still...

This was the best meal we’ve had in Japan. We tried many different things between Tokyo and Kyoto - the wagyu sandwiches and the curry here really stand out.

We (three adults) were there at 12:00 pm yesterday, ordered the two different wagyu sandwiches sets on the menu (different cuts) and the beef curry. The lady let us know that she was cooking by herself and it might take some time, which was not a problem to us because it meant everything was freshly cooked. It didn’t take too long, our food came in beautiful lacquered boxes, the small bowls, chopstick holder, glasses, pretty much everything was original and beautiful.

Now the food: the pickled veggie bites were fresh and crunchy, same for the potatoes - crispy outside soft inside. The sandwiches were amazing, seriously delicious, perfectly cooked, just the right amount of sauce, fluffy bread. Same for the curry. We couldn’t have enough. We finished our two sandwiches sets and curry so fast, then we immediately ordered the same sandwiches again. That’s how good it was. I don’t have more pictures because we were busy enjoying the meal.

I cannot recommend this place enough. If you like thick cuts of meat and are looking for something delicious, filling and comforting, then this is it. We are leaving Japan today, otherwise we would be back for...

Good quality food and OK ambiance. The meat was very tasty and well cooked. Ingredients are all very good quality, and portion sizes are perfect. The lady behind the bar was friendly and helpful. However, on our second visit, the chef (and owner of the place) was not helpful and unfriendly. We ordered a lot of food and drinks (we spent quite a bit of money as the place is not cheap!) and then we ordered an additional dish to take away for one of our young children, who stayed home as she was too tired to dine out. The chef refused to prepare any more food for us, even after the lady behind the bar tried to explain our situation. Then, my husband, who had not started eating his dish, had to ask for it to get packed to take away and had nothing to eat!!!!! The chef said that we had passed the time of the "last food order", and it was not even 9:00 pm. Then, other customers came in, and we could clearly hear the chef in the kitchen, cooking more food for the recently arrived customers!!!! WTH!!! This is the second and last time we set foot in this place! This is definitely not a good representation of Japanese...