Wagyu to Worldwide Kyoto — Restaurant in Kyoto

This restaurant is a complete scam, and I strongly recommend you avoid it. The "Kobe beef" they serve is not authentic, and their claims about it are misleading. Real Kobe beef always comes with an official certificate of authenticity, and this place doesn’t provide one. Without the certificate, you have no way of verifying the meat's provenance, and you’re likely being served a much cheaper, lower-quality cut of beef.

Edit: I had authentic Kobe beef at a halal restaurant in Tokyo, and they presented the meat in its original packaging stamped with the Nojigiku stamp (a blue flower) and with a certificate. The certificate details everything about the cow: its birthdate, gender, breed, farm, family tree, and even its nose print (like a human fingerprint). Authentic Kobe beef restaurants also display a bronze statue of Tajima Gyū (the breed of cow). This place had none of that.

The steak I had here was one of the worst I’ve ever eaten—lean, tough, and flavorless. Good steak, especially Kobe beef, should be rich with marbling and practically melt in your mouth. This was nothing like that, and it’s clear they’re charging premium prices for subpar, non-Kobe beef.

Please don’t fall for this tourist trap—save your money and avoid this place entirely. There are plenty of better options out there that serve the real deal. Look at the other one-star reviews if you need further confirmation.

Response to Owner's response:

First, it’s important to note that no part of authentic Kobe beef should be described as "lean." Even less marbled cuts, such as the round, should still have some level of marbling, which is what makes Kobe beef unique. The beef I was served was not just lean—it was tough, flavorless, and lacked the signature tenderness and melt-in-your-mouth texture that Kobe beef is known for. If this was truly Kobe beef, it should have been far more tender and flavorful, regardless of the cut.

Additionally, while I understand your focus on serving "lean cuts," why should customers pay the same high price for a lean Kobe round cut as they would for far more premium cuts at other restaurants? Even if the round cut is a “select” piece, it’s still a much cheaper and less desirable cut compared to sirloin, ribeye, or filet mignon. Charging top-tier prices for a lean round cut doesn’t seem like a fair value, especially when you can get those same prices for cuts that are actually marbled and more flavorful at other reputable...

We’d read about this place before we came to Japan and thought we might try it if we had time. After arriving to Kyoto we decided to head out for dinner. We walked around awhile and accidentally found the place. It’s not on a Main Street or alley. It’s on a side street in between an alley and main road. We got excited and once we entered it was a great reason be be excited. The staff is very nice and attentive. Looking at the menu our eyes became larger than our stomachs. The burger options were incredible. I got the cheese burger that included 4 different cheeses and my wife got the mushroom cheese burger. She ordered a side of onion rings and I got the truffle fries. She took a bite and instantly had the face of enjoyment. She loved everything about it. She also noted how soft the bun was. She also noted that it tasted fresh and not processed. My turn…I bit into mine and the delicious sauce hit me first and then the rest of the burger got in line and it was heavenly. The meat is juicy (hence the wrapping paper they give you), the bun soft and all the cheeses were delicious together. I’d say it’s in my top 3 burgers ever and could be interchangeable as the best ever depending on how you ask the question. Note I did choose the better Kobe beef for my burger and my wife had the wagyu for hers. The onion rings were crunchy and so were the fries. Those truffle fries were the real deal and went well with my burger. Yes, I did eat them all. Wasted it all down with a coke and my wife had a whisky highball and a Coke Zero. It was a great experience and if you asked should you eat here…Yes you should. I promise you will enjoy your meal. If you don’t it’s because you’re trying not to enjoy it. If you need a burger fix in Kyoto then go here. You can even make reservations. This place is on the list of “return to”, if/when we...

This place is a scam. They advertise themselves as a proper Kobe restaurant, supervised by a Michelin 3-star trained chef, serving halal Kobe - however I doubt that what they served us was actually Kobe beef. They make you pay in advance. Most of the kobe beef items are only available in set menus and the price isn't cheap. The starters etc were fine (nothing to write home about), but when the steak came out, our mood instantly soured. The meat was tough and had 0 marbling. It tasted like a average/disappointing steak you'd get from a mediocre restaurant anywhere - definitely not tender or melting, and had no special flavour. When we asked the staff why the meat had no marbling and was not tender like wagyu we've had elsewhere, their response was that the meat they source is the "lean cuts" of Kobe, and they cook it medium rare to keep it tender. I'm not sure that's even true (I've not heard of lean cuts of Kobe which has no fat marbling through it), and they did not explain that ANYWHERE on their website or online. Only when we asked about the steak did they point to a page on the menu which stated the above. That's when we felt that this place is a scam taking advantage of excited Muslims eager to try halal Kobe close to its source. Outrageous. We paid around $190 AUD for tough, disappointing tasting steak and some soup, salad and dessert. Oh and the dessert we got was store bought ice cream out of a tub - we couldn't even order the custard pudding because it had alcohol on it. Why make one of your set menu dessert options non-halal when you are obviously catering to muslim customers? I could have gotten a better dessert from a 7-eleven. It was insulting. Please be warned. Do not go...