Aria Bar & Grill

kebab

To get your meat fix Middle Eastern-style, Aria serves classics like Turkish doner kebab, homemade hummus, olive salad, soup, pistachios and pickles, available takeaway or eat-in. And what’s a kebab without lashings of sauce? Aria offers two homemade varieties, tomato—in mild, spicy and extra spicy incarnations—and yoghurt and cucumber. Foreign clientele are usually happy by the lack of mayonnaise.

In terms of drinks there’s anything you could want, including soft drinks, wines, beers, cocktails, whiskies, and brandies to round it all off—whether you’ve been loading up on food, having a snack, or just enjoying some drinks in the intimate environment, with a Persian carpet on the wall and a great selection of tunes pumping out.

The Turkish doner kebab comes as a pita sandwich (¥500), tortilla wrap (¥600), rice bowl (¥600) or plate with veggies (¥500). The meat is delicately seasoned and carefully grilled to perfection. A layer of fat is applied to the edges to avoid it drying out. Using too much or too little fat greatly changes the flavor, but Aria is confident it has the perfect balance.

Non-kebab eaters should order some homemade hummus with pita and olive salad—and if you ask nicely, you might even get a free shot to go with it.

1F No. 3 UF Bldg, 3-11-19 Akasaka, Minato-ku. Tel: 03-6277-7144. Email: info@ariaakasaka.com. Open Mon-Thu 11:30am-2am, Fri 11:30am-4am, Sat 5pm-2am. Nearest stn: Akasaka or Akasaka Mitsuke. www.ariaakasaka.com

Bulldog BBQ Truck

BBQ

Bulldog BBQ is a “lunch and event” truck that hit the Tokyo streets in June of this year. This peripatetic purveyor of meat heaven is the brainchild of Lauren Shannon, owner of Sapphire Restaurant Management Group, whose other projects include Moon and Back Catering and Aoyama favorite Kimono Wine and Grill.

On weekdays scope out the streets for this retro flamed-out truck trundling the rounds in various neighborhoods. You can also get in touch and book them in for private hire and special events.

The menu features slow smoked saucy meats on fresh burger rolls. Choose from a succulent selection of smoked chicken, Carolina pulled pork, and Texas-style beef brisket. All are served with homemade sweet-potato and taro chips.

New on the menu for August are pork ribs in an spicy orange ginger BBQ sauce served with rice and coleslaw. Coming soon are take-home sauces and fresh NY-style pretzels with a mustard BBQ dipping sauce.

The stylish gold-and-red truck is doggone cute—from the hand-painted logo to the vintage bulldog hood ornament. Check out the website for details and like them on Facebook to get daily news and menu updates.

www.bulldogbbq.jp

Kimukatsu/Genkatsu

tonkatsu

We’ve all been there—you’re suffering from a painful tonkatsu craving, but the breaded-cutlet restaurants you know tend to be grease-filled junkyards for lone men and wastrels. So set your sights on Kimukatsu or Genkatsu—two deluxe establishments serving up the pillowy chunks of meat the way it should be done. Unlike your typical high-street lard palaces, these fine restaurants feature a smooth background of jazz and a dining-room atmosphere welcoming to men and women alike.

Cutlets are prepared with selected pork loin meat. Nowhere can this be more fully appreciated than in the signature dish—the “mille-feuille” tonkatsu, with 25 layers of meaty goodness (Kimukatsu Zen; ¥1,950). You’d better forget about that gloopy bottled sauce that lesser establishments encourage you to squirt all over your katsu—a thinly veiled way to conceal shoddy materials. Kimukatsu and Genkatsu provide a specially made ponzu dipping sauce designed to make the flavors sing like a heavenly chorus.

Stop in Thursday lunchtimes for the “Kimukatsu Assari Zen” lunch deal. The refreshing soumen noodles make it perfect for a hot summer’s day. Then, the 29th of every month is “meat day” in Japan (29 = niku = meat), when you can win some great coupons to ensure you return. Though once you’ve tasted the tonkatsu, you’re bound to be coming back anyway.

• Kimukatsu: 4-9-5 Ebisu, Shibuya-ku. Tel: 03-5420-2929. Open Mon-Thu & Sun 11am-11pm (LO 10pm), Fri-Sat & before hols 11am-11:30pm (LO 11pm). Nearest stn: Ebisu.
• Genkatsu: 3F Ginza Act Bldg, 4-6-18 Ginza, Chuo-ku. Open daily 11:30am-11:30pm (LO 10pm). Nearest stn: Ginza.
• http://kimukatsu.com

Meushi

yakiniku

Enjoy the elegant passing of the Japanese seasons via the interior design of Meushi, while loading your palate with the highest-quality yakiniku at the same time. The experience will surely change your perception of grilled Japanese meat. Most people categorize the foodstuff as a cheap dining option—slightly better than street hawkers’ fare. Meushi’s goal is to change that perception.

Everything about the restaurant drips luxury. From the four-seasons décor of vermillion, gold, and green to the waitresses bedecked in short kimono, everything at Meushi drips class, just like a sizzling chunk of meat drips succulent juices into the burning embers. Concealed lighting gives the place a sensual, relaxed feel, and the senses are massaged by the tasteful combination of modern Japan with the natural cycle and tea-ceremony motifs.

If you are all thumbs—culinarily speaking—the charming and easygoing wait staff will happily cook your meat for you on your table’s personal grill. Both Japanese and Western-style tables are available, so choose what you like and settle in for the ride—made even smoother by English menus.

If you needed any further incentive, simply tell the Meushi staff you read Metropolis for a special discount: a ¥7,000 full-course set for ¥5,000.

3F Hakuba Bldg, 26-11 Udagawacho, Shibuya-ku. Tel: 03-6416-1091. Email: contact@meushi.jp. Open daily 6pm-midnight (LO 11:30pm). www.meushi.jp

Orgoglio Del Casalta

italian

Orgoglio Del Casalta opened this year to bring a small corner of Tuscany to the sophisticated environs of Ebisu and Hiroo. Offering freshly made Italian cuisine in a gorgeously designed space, the environment at Orgoglio Del Casalta is set up to be a natural fit for foreign sentiments and tastes, complemented by the assistance of Italian staff who can also speak English.

The entranceway is notable for its pretty Tuscan-style garden of greenery and creeping ivy, and the European-style bar where customers are encouraged to sip a drink and relax while waiting to be seated or waiting for company. What’s more, the bar is accessible with no charge or time limit. With reasonably priced drinks such as Campari and orange juice to flavor your experience, you might well end up staying there all night.

The original restaurant Casalta opened in Siena, Tuscany, with this sister store opening back in springtime. The chef began his career at Sabitani, an Italian restaurant in Aoyama, before working as an apprentice for several years in Rome, Florence, Tuscany and Liguria—picking up local culinary tricks along the way.

If you needed any further incentive to stroll up the street from Ebisu to this stylish Italian enclave, then bring along your copy of Metropolis for a 10% discount off meals at lunch or dinner.

1F Hiroo Bldg, 3-12-40 Hiroo, Shibuya-ku. Tel 03-6418-5896. Open dinner Tue-Sun 5:30-11pm (LO), lunch Sat-Sun 11:30am-2pm. Nearest stn: Ebisu or Hiroo. www.orgogliodelcasalta.com

Outback Steakhouse Roppongi

steak

Outback is a gateway to adventurous meat-devouring, where you know that each dish served up is created with key principles in mind. First, “serious food.” The chefs at Outback use only the best quality, freshest and safest ingredients, everything is handmade, and they are always striving for unique and bold flavors. Second, “spirited drinks” that bring out those flavors; and third, “concentrated service” that puts customers first and gives them a warm, relaxed experience. And finally “no rules, just right”—that’s to say, whatever you feel like from your Outback experience is okay by them. As long as it involves delicious food, that is.

Outback only uses superior quality beef produced in Australia or the US, seasoned with its original beef seasoning. Though the steaks are served with sauce on the side, it is recommended that you savor the taste without the sauce at first, to fully enjoy the rich meat.
A special recommendation for those keen on trying out Outback is the NY Strip 300g from the regular menu. With a perfect lean-to-fat ratio, this is the kind of meat normally served up on a platter in the penthouse restaurant of a luxury hotel. Except for the price. The strip steak with two side dishes and the soup of the day or house salad/caesar salad will only set you back ¥3,240. Got to be worth a try.

2F Rocmon Bldg, 6-1-3 Roppongi, Minato-ku. Tel: 03-5413-4870. Email: jn12@outbacksteakhouse.co.jp. Open Mon-Fri 11:30am-3pm (LO 2:30pm) & 5pm-midnight (LO 11pm). Sat-Sun 11:30am-midnight (LO 11pm). Nearest Stn: Roppongi. www.outbacksteakhouse.co.jp/en

Sasashige

teppanyaki

Spacious and stylish, Nishi-Azabu’s Sasashige draws a fun crowd into its modern interior for some of the best bang-for-your-buck teppanyaki in town. The irresistible smell of juicy, fragrant meat sizzling on a hot plate makes Sasashige’s kuroge beef the hottest thing on the menu (available in sirloin ¥2,200/50g and Chateaubriand ¥3,000/50g). For those who prefer to pluck their sustenance out of the oceans, some fresh aquatic foodstuffs are up for your enjoyment as well. Our first recommendation would be the seared live abalone in its fresh liver sauce, but there’s also a fantastic selection of fresh scallops, flounder and lobster for any occasion. The course menus can’t be beat either, with three omakase courses (¥5,000-8,000)—where you leave your choices up to the seasoned wisdom of the cook—and the special ¥12,000 Sasashige course.

There is a menu of seafood mains, plus a vegetarian menu for those who prefer their meat on someone else’s table. Requests are accepted to suit any budget and taste. Talk to the chef or the wait staff to work out the details. A variety of wines are offered—from California, Chile, South Africa, Australia, Italy, New Zealand, and France—because nothing washes meaty juices down better than a hefty glass of red.

2F, 2-13-15 Nishi-Azabu, Minato-ku. Tel: 03-5774-4439. Open Mon-Sat 5pm-4am (LO), Sun & hols 5-11pm (LO). Nearest stn: Hiroo or Roppongi or Nogizaka. www.sasashige.com

Side Door hisio

grill

If the usual izakaya, yakitori, and yakiniku joints seem passé, maybe you need to go somewhere that requires a reservation—but not a platinum card. Tucked underneath Roppongi’s nocturnal haunt , the Tokyo Sports Café, the recently renovated Side Door offers course meals from ¥5,000 and full entrées like roasted chicken, pan-fried veal with tempura zucchini, large flower- and vegetable-infused salads and more. A healthy New World wine selection focusing on California and Australia help make a robust, Western-styled gourmet meal even more full-bodied.

But for serious eaters and meat maestros, it’s all about the grill. Using only bincho charcoal, Side Door’s kitchen’s specialties include Tasmanian garlic lamb loins (¥2,520), De Bellota Spanish pork (¥3,150), and domestic aged beef (¥5,040 per 225g or ¥6,300 per 300g). A prix fixé menu for ¥4,200 offers a daily changing array of salad, fish and meat courses, and for ¥5,985 you can get the specialty aged beef course.

You’d do well to stick to the simple grilled items—and whatever you do, don’t miss the steak. Side Door’s domestic aged beef costs ¥3,150 per 100g, and the 200g hunk of meat arrives looking more like a butt steak or tenderloin: a thick disk of boneless beef perfectly cooked medium. Unseasoned—except for a dab of salt and pepper—it could be one of the best steaks in Tokyo.

B2F Fusion Bldg., 7-13-8 Roppongi, Minato-ku. Tel: 03-5785-0573. Open Mon-Sat 6pm-1:30am, closed Sun. Bar open until 5am. Nearest stn: Roppongi. www.sidedoor.tv

Tetsubirobi

teppanyaki

A pillar of fire rises from an iron plate, burning coal spits sparks of light, succulent meat bathes in glorious flames on your table… The Promethean gift of fire is bestowed upon each guest at Tetsubirobi.

Iron plates and grills are used to give flavor to the meat, which includes the best A4-ranked kuroge wagyu (Japanese black-haired cattle). Akagi beef is also offered from Toriyama livestock in Gunma Prefecture, among a selection of other rare viands. So confident is Testubirobi of the beef’s source that individual identification numbers are cited with each dish.

Most people have heard of Mie Prefecture’s famous Matsusaka beef, but the area’s pork could even surpass that best of beefs. Thin slices of fat wind through the loin meat, making its lean-to-fat ratio second to none. Chickenwise, try the Arita bird, whose rare-kelp diet results in a natural softness and juiciness in the meat. To pair the food perfectly Tetsubirobi offers over 30 kinds of premium sake and shochu such as Pont Neuf and Dassai.

No need to wait to taste the products of the 30mm-thick plate dominating the open kitchen—the restaurant offers excellent prices on lamb (lean; ¥1,900/100g), ichibo (marbled meat; ¥2,100/100g), and tender loin (¥2,800/100g). Say Metropolis when making a reservation to get an extra 20g on an order of lamb or ichibo.

B1 Tokyu Bldg, Jinbocho, Kanda, Chiyoda-ku. Tel: 03-3556-2629. Email: tetsubirobi@spice-works.co.jp. Open Mon-Thu 11:30am-2pm & 5:30-11:30pm, Fri 11:30am-2pm & 5:30pm-1am, Sat 5:30-11:30pm, closed Sun. Nearest stn: Jimbocho or Kudanshita. http://r.gnavi.co.jp/b273403