GINZA STEAK Ginza Chuo — Restaurant in Tokyo

After an unforgettable experience last year, I booked a weekend lunch session this year to introduce my partner to the gastronomical delight I had experienced.

However, upon arrival, I discovered that only one of the teppanyaki stations was open, leading to a more intimate dining experience with only a few other couples.

Opting for the lowest-priced course at $74 SGD, my focus was on the free-flow steak rather than additional courses. However, I soon learned that different course tiers offered varying qualities of meat and service. Here's a breakdown of my experience:

Chicken Caesar Salad - A refreshing 10/10, fresh, light, and well-balanced in flavors. Clam Soup - A disappointing 4/10, served cold with a bland taste. Hamburg with mustard seed - A middling 5/10, juicy yet slightly dry, lacking the desired medium-rare texture. "Free Flow" Teppanyaki A5 Kuroge Wagyu Beef - A modest 6.5/10, despite being A5 Wagyu, the meat was dry, and portion sizes were smaller compared to other guests. The chef took his time, he gave more attention to the other guest's meat and overcooking ours. And after cooking all 4 cuts (Thick frank, bottom round, aitchbone - the best, top sirloin), we're left with "last order". This time we're unable to pick the cut we want. The other 3 guest who came in before us was able to go for 3-4 more rounds of their choice. We're starting to realised that the cheapest course was actually unwanted scrap. Plain rice with Miso Soup - portion was too small to pair with the beef. Dessert - A delightful 10/10, featuring vanilla ice cream and hot tea/coffee, although some guests received a cake slice alongside their ice cream.

Service standards had noticeably declined since my last visit, with staff seemingly prioritizing guests based on their chosen course. The chef lacked engagement and failed to provide insights into the dishes, while it was challenging to get the attention of wait staff despite the small number of diners.

For future visitors, I recommend opting for a slightly higher-priced course (+$44 A5 Kuroge Wagyu beef marbled meat and red meat steak course) to ensure a more satisfying culinary experience and better treatment from the...

Went to another ‘Ginza Steak’ but in Chuo City, Ginza Japan. This is located on the B1 floor so look out for the elevator. It seems we cannot walk in but only make reservations online. Out of all their other locations, we were able to secure a seating for three for Sunday lunch, the next day and this location seemed to be cheaper in price for their different AYCE courses than the other one we went to last year. There are only two sets of tables shaped in a U for 11 seats for dining in this restaurant; this is why they are always booked. There is a seating charge to secure your seat as well.

We choice the course, A5 Wagyu Shimohuri which is marbled and lean meat. It was under 10k¥ but we also chose to have AYCD as well. We drank like 4-5 glasses each. The marbled beef was the best as it was a little fattier and soft. They always good this medium to medium rare as that is the best way. No sauce needed but they do offer garlic chips, course black pepper and sauce. They also offer arugula and daikon radish garnish to eat with your steak. I love it with it. We also received the appetizer of the day which was chicken slices with lettuce; this was good and simple. We also had lots of different lean Wagyu beef. Flavorful and some tender. We received miso soup but that was a little salty to me. The dessert was vanilla ice cream with fruits

We love this place but there was four different groups on our table. We had to wait our turn to cook our meat so our limited 90 minutes for lunch to have AYCE, we only got to have one extra meat each then our time was already up. That was the only disappointment to me. Not like our big group last year, the chef was able to concentrate only on us. My recommendation would be to reserve a table when you come into the country as it books fast for this chain. I think this restaurant is best for a big group (11 on a table) so you have the table to yourselves so the chef can cook just for your group. Dinner time limit is two hours.

The staff were friendly, accommodating and helpful. The drinks and food were excellent. Next time, I would like to try their AYCD A5 Kuroge Wagyu Beef steak & Abalone AYCE course. The price is the same for...

Not going to lie, I did come here because StrictlyDumpling made a video and the idea of AYCE A5 wagyu beef sounded amazing.

To get here take the metro line to GINZA and get out exit A5 (haha get it?). You'll walk out of the exit and the restaurant will be on your right after a short walk. Take the elevator up and you'll be greeted by the host.

The place of course smelled amazing. They have two large Teppenyaki stations that can seat up to 14. It is set course menu and price. I found the price to be pricy and not worth it in the end but I'll explain more later.

The beef is the fifth course so they do give you a variety of appetizers before you dig in. I enjoyed them but like everyone else there, I really only cared about the beef. When it was time, I could barely contain myself 🤤

I've had A4 Kobe beef and wanted to know how A5 wagyu would compare. In my opinion, it doesn't come close. I found Kobe beef to be melt in your mouth with a richness and fattiness you can only get in a such superior grade of beef, yet somehow you can keep eating more. Even through all the fat, you can still taste the meat. I can't imagine having A5 Kobe, that would probably just be butter with beef essence. A5 Wagyu however, did have the same richness and fattiness but the beef texture and quality was not the same. The fattiness of the beef ended up overpowering everything and you couldn't taste the meat. It also deterred me from eating more because I couldn't handle the fattiness and felt tired of the taste, almost nauseating. But it was still a solid piece of meat and I did enjoy eating it. The other bigger issue I had was that the Teppenyaki grill is a large semi circle and there was one chef cooking in the center. Though I was impressed he can cook for all 12 people in our party, the beef cooking quality was subpar. One side of the table had undercooked beef while the other side had overcooked beef. This happened for most of the night but the chef did try to adjust for the undercooked side.

It was definitely a good experience and something I had to try at least once to satiate my curiosity. But next time, I'll go...