Steak Kojiro Sendai — Restaurant in Sendai

Let me set the scene:

It's 2017 and Two absolutely hungry and pathetically tired Americans are rambling the streets of Sendai because we keep telling ourselves we just HAVE to experience authentic Wagyu beef. We approach Steak Kojiro just as a group of businessmen are saying their farewells to the staff. Checking the time we see they are extremely close to closing time and ask, nervously, if it's too late.

We are welcomed with the eager crew beckoning us in with undeniable professionalism and smiles on their faces. We are severely underdressed, more noticeablely after they take our jackets and hang them in a cute coat closet. They serve us drinks at the counter and give us our menu, all while setting our place and putting napkins on our laps.

Settled on a mid-priced beef course we order and from there our experience blew us out of the water. Our first dishes were a lovely consume and fresh salad that I can honestly say were above what anyone would expect from such unassuming items.

The chef then came out and prepared to cook the steak for us. He asked how we wanted it cooked and we said, "however you think it should be." He made quick work of it and watching him in the silence of the otherwise empty restaurant was one of the best experiences I had in Japan. He thanked us after plating and departed.

I want to go into detail about the different accoutrements we had the option of enjoying the steak with but once I had the flavor on my tongue all specificity I could have had went out the window. Truly, I was euphoric. Until that moment I did not know food could cause such a change, it was like the flip if a switch.

We never wanted it to end but it inevitably did. Our steak, not our meal because to our excitement we were served a beautiful raspberry mousse wrapped in a Sakura leaf, paired with a Sakura-Rose tea. Both delicious and both, just like every other plate on this journey, have stuck with me for years.

I don't believe it is customary to tip and I think in some cases it may be insulting, but how could we not show our appreciation? We don't have enough of a grasp on Japanese to explain just how we felt. From sheer dumb luck and a cursory Google search we found this place. We went for authentic steak. We were served what we sought but got so much more.

The staff saw us out well passed closing, still with smiles. I can't believe how lucky we were...

Food was excellent, though I didn't like the layout of the table as you couldn't really socialise with anyone other than the chef.

This review garnered a fair bit more attention that I expected due in part I suspect to being the only native English review. So I should probably put a bit more effort in as the place deserved much more than my short and somewhat jetlagged review.

We called up very much last minute as we were in Sendai for just a couple of days. We'd had some pretty awful steak from a popular chain steak restaurant that had no seasoning at all and appeared to be boiled than grilled. We wanted some proper Sendai beef and this appeared to be the top advertised place we could fine. We were accommodated very easily, though we did turn up quite early. I'm fairly sure this place gets very busy at weekends and late evenings.

Essentially this would qualify in any English fine dining experience as a tasting menu. Many small courses, beautifully presented all assembled in front of you whilst you dine. The theatre is in the cooking and the taste excellent.

The setup is great for couples, you'll be able to sit and chat next to each other whilst your food is prepared. For us, we were a group of three which made it quite awkward to have a conversation. We had two chefs during the meal, one of which I believe was the owner if I recall correctly, both of which chatted to us. All were excellent English speakers so you'll be made quite welcome.

The beef was truly excellent, cooked to perfection and substantially better than other "highly recommended" chain restaurants (no surprise there).

It was definitely one of the more memorable stops on the trip.

The only real negative was finding it. Even with google maps we walked past it confused a few times and eventually someone popped out to greet us. It is the red facade building with...

4.45 - If you are looking for high quality Sendai beef in Sendai, here is a right place for your consideration. Medium rare Sendai beef (A5 BMS 10-11) was beautifully cooked as requested. Similar to other A5 grade wagyu, this is very fatty, tender and aromatic. Apart from their main dish, Japanese egg pancake with Sea Urchin s is also recommended. It was quite satisfying. Hospitality is very classic and attentive. Score is slightly dragged down due to slightly low cost...