About two minutes away from JR Sendai Station via the subway Nanboku Line, alight at Hirose-dōri Station and get out at Exit 4 to arrive at Vlandome Ichibancho, where Yakiniku Gyūjin Ichibancho is located.

As you pass through the noren curtains at the entrance, climb the steps to the restaurant’s chicly decorated entrance, where a display of “Sendai Tansu,” a type of traditional handicraft from Sendai, is on display.

Every seat at Gyūjin Ichibanchō is in a private room (koshitsu), offering complete privacy for intimate dinners, family gatherings, or group banquets. The restaurant has 11 private rooms and 48 seats total: 8 Japanese-style horigotatsu rooms (with recessed floor wells for leg comfort) and 3 Western table rooms. Larger groups can combine rooms to accommodate banquets of up to 36 guests. (Note: A 3% private room charge applies.) During our visit, our room used wood from an old residence.

One part of the floor is in the “hori-gotatsu” style of seating, which has a rectangular floor dug out under the table, allowing you to sit on the floor without kneeling in seiza. Regular table seats are also available, and those who prefer them can check with the staff when making their reservations on the day.

The shop’s specialty is its 35-day-old aged Sendai Beef and other types of high-quality beef, which are aged using tightly controlled temperature, humidity, and air circulation conditions. As the Sendai Beef is purchased by the shop whole, rare parts and cuts are available as well.

In Sendai, beef tongue is grilled over a charcoal flame, and there is even a famous street called “Gyūtan-yaki.” We started by ordering the “Jukusei Atsugiri-tan,” which costs 2,984 yen (tax included). The thickly cut beef tongue is marinated in rock salt for four days and is one of the restaurant’s recommendations.

After the charcoal flames have subsided a little, place the 1.5-centimeter-thick beef tongue on the grill. Once both sides are nicely browned, use scissors to cut it into bite-sized pieces.

The thickly cut beef tongue has the charcoal’s fragrance, with a crisp exterior and juicy interior. The meat has a nice saltiness, and while it’s good on its own, adding a little lemon and rock salt boosts the umami. The slightly salty beef tongue pairs perfectly with alcohol.

For a more Japanese-style menu, try the “Jukusei Akami Wasabi Yaki” (1,840 yen) and the “Tokusen Sagari” (3,500 yen).

When it arrives, the generous helpings of wasabi sandwiched between the beef slices really make an impression and make you wonder, “If it’s too spicy, I might not be able to finish it.”

But grilling the wasabi reduces its spiciness a little, and you can taste a little sweetness too, so don’t worry. The “Aged Beef Red Meat” uses Sendai Beef with thick fat, and it pairs well with the wasabi. The light spiciness leaves a refreshing aftertaste.

As a memento of our visit to Sendai, we ordered one more beef-tongue menu item. The “Gyūtan Moriawase” is a set that allows you to try and compare three types of meat: “Atsugiri-tan,” “Shio-tan,” and “Kyoku-tan Steak.”

The “Kyoku-tan Steak” is made using the “Shin-tan,” a cut of the tongue that has only a few centimeters available on each portion. The thinly sliced “Shio-tan” can be grilled on one side, and as soon as the meat juices begin to appear on top, it’s the best time to take it off the grill and enjoy. As the taste is light, you can enjoy as many slices as you want!

After we finished our meal, the staff member, Kamata-san, took us around the shop. “Our goal is to create a space that is as warm as the welcome you get from visiting a traditional Japanese house, where you can enjoy grilled meat. Our crockery is carefully selected as well, and we use Imashiroyaki ceramic pieces from Osaka. In November 2020, we had a renewal opening of ‘Gyūjin Sendai Izumi,’ which is 25 minutes away from Sendai station, so if you get a chance, do pay a visit,” he says.

The course menu is available in English, Chinese, and Korean.

Within walking distance of the west exit of JR Sendai Station, along the arcade street Hapina Nakakecho, is Nikujūhachi Sendai Ekimae 2-go-ten.

It’s an all-you-can-eat restaurant offering a 100-minute all-you-can-eat course (last order taken at 80 minutes) where you can order Sendai Beef and sushi. It’s the talk of the town for its high-quality ingredients at reasonable prices.

The shop interior is designed with a black theme, with exquisite paintings on display for a gorgeous ambiance. The seats and space are arranged in a relaxed way. The window-side tables are recommended, as they let you gaze at the shopping street while dining.

This shop’s biggest draw is its all-you-can-eat grilled-meat course, plus sushi, salad, noodles, and dessert. There are three courses available: the “Niku Darake Course” (Standard, 74 items) for 3,410 yen, the “Nikujūhachi Mankitsu Course” (Special, 100 items) for 4,950 yen, and the “Sendai Gyū Darake Course” (Premium, 107 items) for 6,270 yen (all prices tax included).

If you’re looking to enjoy grilled beef without breaking the bank, the “Premium Course,” which offers a wide variety of cuts of Sendai Beef, is recommended.

The first item to arrive at our table is the “Sendai Gyū-no-Moriawase” from the premium course. Though the cuts may vary, it’s an exquisite selection of Sendai beef, including upper loin and short rib. You can enjoy the different flavors of each part.

As the large slices of beef are placed onto the hot grill, the melted fat makes a delicious sizzling sound.

Once both sides of the meat have changed color, add condiments. Available at the table are soy sauce and sweet and spicy tare sauce, wasabi, and rock salt.

The shop recommends enjoying the meat in three stages. First, use rock salt to taste the beef’s mild flavor. Next, the wasabi topping matches the sweetness of the fat. Finally, enjoy the meat with a mix of wasabi, tare sauce, and soy sauce, allowing you to enjoy the same cut in different ways.

After tasting the various cuts from the “Sendai Gyū-no-Moriawase,” we ordered the “Atsugiri Gyū-tan” from the premium course’s beef tongue menu. The beef tongue is cut so thickly that you can feel its weight when you pick it up with your chopsticks. Grilling the meat over the fire in a short time takes skill and an eye for timing.

Once you have grilled the beef tongue, which is seasoned with salt and pepper, you can squeeze some lemon over the meat if you’d like. Despite its thickness, the meat is surprisingly soft on the first bite! The combination of the meat juices with the refreshing lemon on your tongue is top-tier.

Besides grilled meat, sea urchin, salmon roe sushi, and salad, you can feel your tummy filling up as you savor each dish.

The last item we ordered was the “Domestic Beef Rib Roast.” It’s a menu item of large slices of marbled Japanese beef rib loin. Grill the surface lightly, and enjoy it with lemon and rock salt.

We heard from Sakamoto-san, a staff member, about the provisions they offer for foreign visitors. “The ordering system uses a simple touch panel, and information on the course menu is available in English, Chinese, and Korean. As it’s in the nearest shopping arcade to JR Sendai station, it’s an easy location to get to while doing some shopping. Please enjoy some delicious Sendai Beef and sushi.” It’s a shop you can visit easily.

If you add an extra 1,848 yen to your course, you can have alcohol as well, while an additional 668 yen can get you free-flow soft drinks (tax included; a single drink purchase is required if not opting for free-flow).

As this is an all-you-can-eat course, if you over-order and end up with leftover food, there are penalties for food wastage, so please take note.

(Visitor Note: Due to indoor smoking regulations, guests under 20 years of age are strictly prohibited from entering.)

A six-minute walk from the west exit of JR Sendai Station is “Minami-Machi Dōri,” and on the left is “Sendai Ginza,” an alley lined with various food shops. In one corner of this street is “Yakiniku Horumon Kagura,” where it is said that you can enjoy high-quality Sendai Beef and fresh, good offal, and we decided to pay a visit.

Yakiniku Horumon Kagura opened in 2013, founded by Saitou-san, who trained himself to run a grilled-meat and horumon (offal) restaurant.

The shop has two floors, with counter seats and tatami-style seats available. This time, we relaxed on the koagari-style tatami seats on the first floor to enjoy our meal.

One of the shop’s specialties is fresh offal, called “horumon” in Japanese. If you’re thinking of trying better-quality offal, the pork offal here is sourced from Miyagi Prefecture’s Tome City, while the beef offal is obtained from two markets in Sendai City.

Although preparation styles differ, offal typically starts to go bad once it comes into contact with water, so the food items are washed and cut only after the order is made. The washing process is done quickly, but it seems to be one of the secrets to its deliciousness.

“We have good shimachō on hand today,” we heard from Saitou-san, and we ordered it in haste. Shimachō comes from the cow’s large intestine and, as its name suggests, is known for the “shima,” meaning stripes, on its surface. After placing the meat on the grill, turn it over once the surface has browned and grill the fatty portion briefly.

Shimachō is prepared in a special tare sauce made with miso, and while you can enjoy it as is, you can complete the flavor by blending powdered togarashi and garlic into the slightly spicy tare sauce to make a condiment for the meat.

The moment it passes your lips, the thick juices spread throughout your palate, while the fragrance of the miso embraces your senses. Many people find offal hard to chew, but this shimachō tears easily with your teeth, making it easy to swallow. The excellent mouthfeel is a testament to the freshness of the ingredients used. You’ll be hard-pressed to find this dish anywhere else.

In addition to fresh offal, the shop also specializes in high-quality Sendai Beef. The Japan Meat Grading Association grades marbled meat on the “Beef Marbling Standard” (BMS) on a scale of 1 to 12, with 12 being the highest quality. The shop offers Sendai Beef only at grades higher than 10. Incidentally, that day, grade 12 meat was available, and our expectations rose unexpectedly.

Thinly sliced, marbled Sendai Beef is delicious when you grill it lightly on both sides, Saitou-san said. Leave the steak slightly rare, then garnish it with sweet-and-spicy tare sauce and enjoy. The balance between the mellow fat and muscle is terrific! The meat melts in your mouth within an instant.

According to Saitou-san, the shop’s main sales point is “to provide meat deserving of a high-class grilled meat restaurant, and through skilled preparation and control of prices, to provide it at a reasonable cost. As it’s just a six-minute walk from Sendai Station, I think its ease of access is another draw too.”

With a large hotel nearby, many foreign visitors are here too. Communicate your orders with the staff and peruse the menu to make wonderful memories of your trip.

So how about it? Regardless of which restaurant you choose, you'll get to taste delicious meat worth more than what you paid for, so do be sure to pay a visit the next time you're in Sendai for a holiday.

Text by: Shoepress