The fresh beef is carefully cut one by one after receiving an order, and is as beautiful as sashimi.
Charcoal Grilled Meat Ushizaka is a yakiniku restaurant located about a 10-minute walk from Hiroo Station, along Gaien Nishi Dori Street toward Nishi-Azabu Crossing. Located on the basement floor with only 30 seats, it’s not particularly large, but it’s a frequent favorite among celebrities and regulars.
Charcoal Grilled Meat Ushizaka
This restaurant is renowned for its carefully prepared yakiniku, which uses absolutely no frozen meat. The meat on the menu is never pre-cut; instead, it’s cut individually from the ground up upon receiving an order. They don’t even have a meat freezer, and instead source fresh meat daily, so they’re open every day. It’s truly a restaurant that adapts to the meat they serve.
Owner-Chef
The owner, Manzur Koda, is originally from Bangladesh. He discovered the allure of yakiniku while studying abroad in Japan at the age of 20. Although he had only worked in IT, he was fortunate to learn knife skills from scratch from the head chef at his part-time job, who was fluent in English. Originally studying computer graphics, he developed a strong interest in beautifully presented kaiseki cuisine and Japanese cuisine. He learned that cooking is art, and that the plate is the canvas on which beautifully presented dishes are created. He learned about the world of Japanese cuisine, not only from the quality of ingredients, but also from presentation techniques, tableware, charcoal, and interior design. Leveraging this experience, he opened “Sumibi Yakiniku Ushizaka” in 2017. As a Japanese-style yakiniku restaurant in Nishi-Azabu run by a foreigner, it attracted attention and has been featured on television many times. The owner-chef’s wagyu beef platters are as beautiful as sashimi at a traditional Japanese restaurant.
Wagyu Beef Platter
The restaurant’s menu features wagyu beef, beef, chicken, and seafood, and halal meat is available upon request. As the owner and staff are Muslim, there are no pork dishes on the menu.
“Ushizaka” is a hidden gem in Nishi-Azabu! It’s simple but incredibly delicious, with just the right amount of salt that doesn’t overwhelm anything.
Ushizaka’s delicious Wagyu beef is also served in small portions to suit your budget! The owner and chef created a three-piece platter of sirloin, top-grade short ribs, and skirt steak so that even solo diners could enjoy the delicious yakiniku. It’s grilled over charcoal on a tabletop hibachi (charcoal brazier).
Solo Yakiniku Omakase Three-Piece Platter
Nishi-Azabu, one of Tokyo’s most luxurious and posh neighborhoods, is a popular spot for celebrities to visit secretly. Ushizaka also offers private rooms and personalized service to accommodate its many famous guests. Furthermore, because it’s a restaurant frequented by regulars, the owner is committed to serving the most delicious meat in the best possible condition. The owner believes that charcoal is a perfect match for Wagyu beef, and uses high-quality domestic charcoal in the ceramic hibachi (charcoal brazier). The melt-in-your-mouth Wagyu beef fat and the crisp aftertaste of freshly grated wasabi make for a truly delicious dish.
Marbled Wagyu Beef
The restaurant’s most popular dish is the Japanese-style sirloin topped with salted kelp. The saltiness of the shio-konbu seaweed is just right. The beautifully presented, finely marbled beef is almost like sushi. Each slice is carefully grilled over a hibachi charcoal grill, offering a visual and savory experience.
Japanese-Style Sirloin with Shio-Konbu Seaweed
This liver steak, made with sashimi-grade beef liver, is a perennial favorite, boasting a fresh, sweet flavor.
Liver Steak
The “Ushizaka Special Beef Tendon Curry,” perfect for finishing off a meal, features inner thigh tendon meat for a rich, chewy curry packed with the umami of domestic beef.
Ushizaka Special Beef Tendon Curry
The owner-chef is originally from Bangladesh, a country famous for its curry, rivaling India, and his use of spices is exquisite! One bite instantly transforms the flavor from Japanese-style grilled meat into Bangladeshi cuisine.
In the future, the restaurant aims to provide 100% halal meat and will also focus on exporting Wagyu beef.
Ushizaka currently offers both conventionally slaughtered and halal meat, but the restaurant aims to eventually eliminate the need for separate offerings and offer a 100% halal menu. Located in Nishi-Azabu, the restaurant is frequented by embassy officials, and orders for halal beef increase significantly during the Islamic festival of Eid al-Adha. For a restaurant with only 30 seats, they purchase an entire cow, an astonishing amount, and cut it up according to customer requests. They plan to offer cuts not used in their yakiniku restaurant at affordable prices to other restaurants. They also plan to focus on exporting halal wagyu beef to Uzbekistan.
Domestic Beef
Ushizaka’s fresh, never-frozen domestic beef offers an addictive, refined flavor. If you’re interested in halal beef, please contact Ushizaka.
Supervisor / Recommender
- Halal Supervisor and Foreigner Food Coordinator (Cooking, Consulting, Public Relations)
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Click here for introduction
I currently work as an editor, but my previous job was as a chef, with many years of experience working in hospitals, restaurants, and the food service industry. Looking back, I think my connection to halal may have already been there.
Decades ago, I once worked in a cafeteria at an auction venue. Over 60% of the visitors were foreigners. Many Muslims were present, and the venue had a mosque-like prayer space. I remember being frequently asked questions about whether the meat was halal and what kind of meat it was. At certain times, the cafeteria would become as lively as a festival. The Indian restaurant next door would generously serve free biryani, curry, and sweet drinks to everyone who came. Over 100 people, including people wearing bright red turbans, galabeyas, and traditional attire, gathered in the cafeteria, all sitting around the same table and enjoying a truly enjoyable time. Looking back, it was iftar, the end of fasting, and I understand the significance of sharing, but at the time I was ignorant of halal and Islam, and didn't even consider how to respond. They only ate the curry made by the Indians in the restaurant. As I studied halal, I realized, "I wanted to eat Japanese food, but I couldn't." I regret not doing anything even though there was something I could have done.
If only it didn't contain pork! If only it didn't contain wheat or buckwheat! I could eat it... Food insecurity is different for each person.
That's why I think it's important to learn about the differences in culture, religion, and lifestyle that underlie it, and to create an environment where everyone can enjoy delicious meals in comfort.
The desire for delicious, safe, and secure food is universal. The times are calling for people to live in new ways that transcend borders and religions. I hope that halal can be a gateway to eliminating food insecurity, contributing even in some small way to a society where people can coexist and prosper with more liberal thinking, and to global harmony beyond.
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