Wagyu & Seafood UshiQ KakiQ — Restaurant in Osaka

Simply put, don’t go to 和牛と海鮮浜焼き うしQかきQ. It’s one of the worst places I’ve visited in Japan, and after over 35 years of dining here, that’s really saying something. This experience was so bad, I felt compelled to write a full review to explain why. The Décor The décor was the one redeeming factor of the night. The place is a nostalgic throwback to the Showa era, as if located under the train tracks with hanging lanterns, giving it a charming, vintage vibe. The tables are simple, trestle-style setups with small seating that resembles crates topped with cushions.

Staff The staff were friendly, though service was a bit slow. The manager did apologize for the delay at the end of the night, so I can’t fault them for that.

The Menu The menu is quite extensive, offering both BBQ and à la carte options. If you order BBQ items, a mini grill is brought to the table so you can cook your meal yourself. This may have been part of our mistake: we didn’t opt for the BBQ options, simply because we were too tired after a long day at USJ and wanted a meal without the extra work. We just needed something tasty and convenient.

Our Order We ordered five items from the à la carte menu, plus a table service dish that we didn’t ask for—something typical in Japan. I also had two beers. They were about 350ml in size, but came with the price tag of a 550ml beer—a clear rip-off, adding to the frustration.

Table Service Dish This dish was a small bowl 1/3 filled with what seemed to be either leeks or garlic stems, I couldn’t tell because it was utterly flavorless. Imagine the blandest vegetables you’ve ever eaten, and that’s about as exciting as this got. Even after I added soy sauce, it barely improved.

Wagyu Beef Cube Garlic Steak What did they do to this poor cow? How can a restaurant that puts “Wagyu” in its name serve Wagyu beef cubes this poorly? Normally, you’d expect sizzling, tender cubes of beef served on a hot plate. Instead, we were served beef that was overcooked, swimming in liquid on a plastic plate. The garlic chips were soggy, and the meat tasted stewed rather than grilled. It was downright unappetizing.

Edamame The edamame was the only item we had that was even remotely acceptable. A little more salt would’ve improved it, but compared to everything else, this was the highlight of the meal.

Deep-Fried Oysters The deep-fried oysters were another disaster. How do you mess up fried oysters, especially when the restaurant has “oysters” in its name? The breadcrumbs were too thin, there was no seasoning, and the oysters themselves lacked any discernible flavor. They were overcooked, oily, and had none of that fresh, briny taste you’d expect from good oysters.

Oysters with Pan-Fried Vegetables This dish was bland, tasteless, and overpriced. The portion was small, and the vegetables were poorly cooked. The best word I can use to describe this dish is "boring."

Tamagoyaki The tamagoyaki wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t anything special either. It was your standard, middle-of-the-road tamagoyaki, saved only by a generous helping of grated daikon and soy sauce, which gave it some much-needed flavor.

Cost and Overall Value The most shocking part of the night was the cost. The whole meal, including the disappointing food and two undersized beers, cost over ¥10,000. For what we got, the cost performance was abysmal and deserves special mention for just how terrible the value was. Paying this much for bland, overcooked food and subpar drinks is outrageous. Hence this full length review.

Conclusion The atmosphere at 和牛と海鮮浜焼き うしQかきQ offers a nostalgic nod to Japan's Showa era, the experience falls apart where it matters most: the food. The night cost over ¥10,000, making this one of the worst cost-performance dining experiences I’ve had in Japan. I cannot recommend this restaurant, especially when there are far better...

We went there first night in Osaka but we were absolutely disappointed by everything in this restaurant. The waitress was always mad and showed us bad attitude. Even though the whole shop was empty, she refused to allow us to sit where we thought would be a bit less cold. However, when another group of people come, she allowed them to sit there, and it was sure that they didn’t make any reservations. She treated people differently and it really made us feel uncomfortable. The food there was not good as well. We ordered some raw oysters and seafood but none of them were fresh. Moreover, we understood that smoking is not allowed in Japan in many places. We were not allowed to smoke but she allowed the other table to. So if you want to have a good dinner and a good mood, this is a shop not...

We didn't understand why this was so highly rated. Food was disappointing and not as cheap as other great experiences in Tokyo or Kyoto. Wagyu from grilling street vendors outside were better and squid sushi was very tough and chewy. Service was exceptionally fast though, maybe too fast and part of the problem with it I suspect. A mandatory appetizer of fried seaweed per-person caught us by surprise and wasn't a good start, especially since it was served cold and not great. On the mobile ordering app this mandatory appetizer only showed on the receipt, not the order page, so by the time we found out about it we had already placed the order and were locked in. The only silver lining were the waitresses who were...