Meat Time — Restaurant in Milpitas

There are scarce options for authentic Japanese yakiniku in the Bay Area, so I'm glad to finally experience at Meat Time. The quality of the meats and draft beer took me to back to when I ate the tastiest wagyu in Ginza, Tokyo. For yakiniku, it's more about tasting the quality of the meats, rather than getting full. It's all about getting a drink and enjoying the time.. it's called Meat Time after all! I do recommend Sapporo and Suntory beers on draf. They were perfectly poured. Otherwise, I would get a bottle of sake to share and enjoy the experience slowly. I did not leave full and that was perfectly ok because the wagyu tasted so good. Personally, I recommend doing a la carte over set meals or AYCE as they don't include premium wagyu cuts. I also highly recommend trying at least one of their premium wagyu cuts. They have a good assortment of cuts that I will definitely try next time. The price is pretty fair if you compare it to other locations. The portions are not large, but I would say they give a fair amount for the price. It is wagyu sourced directly from Japan after all. We ordered the following a la carte and it was around $180 : Shiodare Cucumber 1 striploin Rosu w/ Wasabi and Yuzu Kosho Skirt Harami (one of my favorite cuts and so good here) Tecchan (large intestine) Shiodare Kalbi 2 Sapporo Draft 2 Suntory Drafts Everything was delicious and hit the spot. I would order everything again, though I eventually want to try the entire menu. We wanted to try the miso chips but they were out that night. Shoutouts to Junyo who served us and gave excellent recommendations and to the manager who stopped by to check on us and say hi. Junyo and the other server that night both gave attentive service and were very friendly. I enjoyed the set up of the restaurant. The tables are spaced out, so you can enjoy the experience with your party. The floor was pretty slippery around the restaurant and bathroom, so it was kind of funny trying to keep balance. I will definitely be back for a yakiniku and wagyu fix...

The food was good overall. We love gyutan and both of the gyutan cuts they provided here did not disappointed us at all. Cold tofu, noodle, scallop, oxtail soup were all good as well, and the kimchi was phenomenal. However, we also ordered the Shigoku wagyu galbi on the special menu, and that one was disappointing. It was promoted as the best wagyu cut, so we ordered immediately despite the hefty price tag. In reality, it was full of fat. I know that wagyu is supposed to have great marbling, meaning lots of fat, but this cut is just ALL FAT, way different from all the wagyu cuts I've had in the past. It tastes just straight up like a piece of lard, so we essentially paid $50 for a whole piece of fat/ lard... The servers we had were really nice, but when we ordered a Clam Ramen and the kitchen was out of it, she never let us know until after we waited 20 minutes and had to ask her ourselves... (when we asked about the ramen, she immediately answered that the kitchen was out of it, meaning she already knew about it beforehand but just didn't let us know until we asked her about it, which could have been even longer if we try to wait a little bit more). When reserving the tables on Yelp, we also saw that there was a free dessert coupon if we check in on Yelp. We did so and showed the waitress, but then later on we were informed that the promotion for the coupon already expired, they just forgot to take it down... Considering that we spent a $200+ bill and they couldn't even give us an $7 dessert or at least a discount on the dessert, that was the cherry on top for our decision of never coming...

I like what they've done with the place! My boyfriend and I came late night and ordered the yakishabu rib eye, calpico chu-hi pitcher, wagyu garlic fried rice, wagyu croquettes, kabli katsu, and karaage. My favorite was the karaage and the drink was not too sweet, which I enjoyed. The rib eye was very good too and they helped us cook it at the table while giving us a rundown of the type of meat it is. It's refreshing going to a place where they are actually knowledgable about the food, rather than just trying to make money! The meat went well with the fried rice, but I wouldn't recommend the fried rice as a stand alone dish since the flavor is light and balances the fatty meat. The kalbi and croquettes were also good, but portions were smaller than expected. I can't complain with them being $6-7 on happy hour, though!

That being said, I've been to this spot for a while and seen the owners change hands. The place was definitely not fully remodeled after it was sold and the age shows. The parking situation isn't great either, but with it only being open late night, it's not a big deal. There is a big empty grass lot next to Saint John you can park at if needed, too. Portions aren't huge, but given the price, I can't complain.

All in all, it's a great place worth going to! I will definitely be coming back. Just don't go in expecting huge portions or a newly renovated restaurant. The food and service more than...