Food Park（Wagyu Burger and Wagyudon） — Restaurant in Uji

We had lunch at this popular shop in a small shopping strip in Uji after visiting Byodo-in Temple. We ordered the Premium Wagyu Burger + Beer & Half Fries Set (¥ 2,800) and the Premium Wagyu Jewellery Donburi Box Set + extra Egg Yolk (¥ 2,550). Total meal costs were ¥ 5,350 inclusive of consumption tax. The wagyu quality were OK for both the burger and rice set, but nothing special and the portion is not good value for the charged price. I had better quality wagyu burger and donburi at similar or lower prices in Shinjuku, Tokyo and Nara.

The shop space is quite small / limited and that's why you may have to wait for a table. I waited for about 45 minutes but there was bad service incident. I put my name on the paper waiting list for me and wife (2 people) and hope will get called when my turn arrived, but a lady waiter changed my name order with another Japanese couple who were written below my name on the waiting list. That's already bad discrimination practice against international customers, but I got even worse situation when she forgot to call / skip my name for the next available slot and I had to complain directly to the manager about this bad practice and finally got our table after the Japanese couple who unfairly took our slot.

The service on the table was no issue for us and you can pay with V/MC payment cards for the meal, so at least big plus for...

Tucked away in a food hall is a restaurant that offers delicious wagyu beef served in different ways. It uses the Wagyu beef that has been voted the best in Japan for two consecutive years. We ordered the steak bowl (medium rare) and a wagyu burger.

The steak was a perfect medium rare where the chef used a portable burner to cook it and dress it over the rice. It came with miso soup that was perfect for a cold day. Also an egg for dipping your steak into.

The burger was beautifully presented over a bed of fried onions and topped with ketchup, mustard, lettuce, and tomato. Nothing was over compensating and the beef was the star. Flavorful and juicy, I could really tell the quality of the meat. The chef took extra care In prepping this. The fries that were served were also perfectly crispy with a tiny herb twist to it. I couldn’t stop eating it.

The service is what really stood out. The chef spoke with us in both English and Japanese. When there was something he wanted to tell us, he utilized a translation app to make sure we communicated efficiently. He was so kind and the food matched his love for cooking.

Highly recommend if you’re feeling nostalgic for a burger or wanting something a little different. We would...

No exaggeration the wagyu burger is the best burger my wife and I have ever had, and in fact has actually been our tastiest meal in Japan for the two weeks we’ve been here. We had lunch here, went to our attraction, and actually came back to have it a second time before returning to downtown Kyoto. We are sad to go back to the USA knowing we won’t find burgers as delicious as these. Highly highly recommend.

The meat itself was a perfectly cooked patty that was juicy without being greasy or dry. The full burger included the works, but was so well constructed you could easily eat it without any mess or toppings or sauce falling out. The bun was like a gently toasted brioche. Fries were also very delicious with some rosemary (and possibly other herbs?) used in their preparation. The guy in charge clearly takes pride in his work and the staff was all very competent and friendly and welcoming. We had a nice exchange with the man in charge when we came back our second time, and he gave us a nice coin with a local (famous) temple on it as a souvenir and as a thank you...