Sapporo Garden Grill — Restaurant in Sapporo

The food was nice, the staff accommodating and the setting was unique. I had a number of items from the menu and went as a solo foreigner traveller. You make your first order to the waiter/waitress and following orders on the tablet provided. I had a large glass of classic and a large glass of five star Sapporo. The five star is only available at this establishment from what I understand. It’s a little different from the standard Sapporo you can get out of a can/draft. I’m not much of a beer connoisseur so I can’t give an accurate review. It wasn’t bad or horribly bitter though. On the provided menu leaflet it gives a map diagram of low richness to high richness as and mild bitterness to high bitterness. The five start is fairly rich and low-ish on the bitterness. I also had the Genghis khan (soy sauce on lamb), lamb loin and Hokkaido black wagyu. I also had a half portion of veg, a portion of onions and a portion of mushrooms. The Genghis Khan is a must try, I had to stop myself ordering seconds in favour of trying other menu items. You grill it for 10-20s each side and it comes out juicy with bold flavours. The pan is coated in beef fat per the instructions so the meat you cook isn’t dry or too charred. The beef I had oozed juices on account of being quite fatty. With the special blend of salt and paper they provide it’s really flavoursome. The pepper bites at the fat from the meat with a little heat and the salt adds a slight depth to the savouriness. The lamb loin I had was mainly fat. I probably wouldn’t order this again as I’m quite adverse to dishes that are predominantly fat. The fat is to the extent where it coats your mouth, nullifying any other flavours present in the meat. It’s a good dish if you cook it first and coat your veg but other than that, I would recommend other items from the menu. A lot of the tables have a great view over the museum. I went not too long after they opened. They cater for solo travellers and foreigners well. The tablet has and English option but only they and Japanese. Definitely a must try after doing some beer tasting at the museum if you go in...

Come on guys it's Korean BBQ but with lamb, almost impossible to mess up.

Wednesday at 12pm its a ghost town, probably like 3 other tables so we were seated immediately.

Initial ordering is through the waiter. They speak good English and are very polite. Subsequent orders are done through tablet at the table.

Food is good, although dependent on what cut you get (too fatty = no good, likewise too lean). Ordered the half portion 5 cut grain fed lamb, marinated lamb cuts, marinated black wagyu, lamb chop, vegetables, garlic bread, sweet potato and scallops.

Unmarinated lamb is pretty good with the dipping sauce, marinated is slightly spicy and sweet. Black wagyu very tender although for this quality of beef I would probably opt for non marinated. Some cuts of lamb were too fatty so I just used them as oil for the grill.

Vegetables have way too much bean sprouts and only a little amount of peppers, mushrooms, etc. I was hoping for some green leafy veg.

Garlic bread was amazing, huge portions too. Sweet potato was very good, comes out steamed already, just needs to be charred.

Scallops were alright. Fresh but nothing spectacular.

Best thing about this place and the reason I chose above the other grills is the ventilation system is in the table, so very little smoke permeates throughout the restaurant. Give it a shot if you just got done with the Sapporo...

I was appalled by the customer service from the restaurant manager (pure assumption, as he was the only staff in a white shirt, and was working on the books while everyone else were working on the floor).

I entered the restaurant at 14:20, where a lady informed me of their last order at 14:30. Google didn't state their kitchen would close, but that was fine by me as it only take seconds to order.

The meat arrived at about 14:42, so needless to say I was surprised when the manager told us they were closing and asked us to settle the bill at 15:00. We were only half way through the raw meat, so we sped up the cooking and filled the grill. At 15:13, the Manager came again and blurted "Close! Hurry!" with a serious facial expression and tone, and stood there seemingly waiting for an instant movement from us. I seriously thought he was about to physically kick us out.

Of my decades of global travelling, never have I experienced such rudeness, and never would I imagine it coming from Japan. Any pleasent moment I may have had at the restaurant was wiped out by him.

On the other hand, the female staffs were very attentive and delivered great services, which is very puzzling

p.s. wagyu beef was...