Kuro5 Ikebukuro East: Tableside Wagyu and Menu Audio

Next is Wagyu skirt steak (diaphragm cut). The restaurant offers thick-cut Wagyu skirt steak; this part has fine fibers and evenly distributed fat, and after being grilled over charcoal, it has some spring yet melts in the mouth. Regular skirt steak and trimmings are also available, allowing people to choose thickness and portion size according to their preferences. Unlike typical yakiniku restaurants, the rib finger parts here are deliberately selected from ribeye rather than skirt steak, because in recent years Wagyu skirt steak has been too heavy in fat, while ribeye achieves a better balance between tenderness and richness. After grilling, the fat melts and the meat aroma is elegant, so it does not feel too greasy. Options like premium rib fingers and Otoko premium rib fingers allow people to compare the differences between cuts at once.

Beef loin and premium beef loin are also worth noting. These parts are grilled over charcoal until the surface is slightly charred while the inside remains pink, making them soft and tender when eaten, with the unique sweetness of Wagyu. The restaurant also has scallion-salt flavored beef loin, where the aroma of scallions and the fat of the meat overlap, making it taste lighter. Overall, the Wagyu here is not the type that piles on sauces, but rather lets the charcoal fire and salt, or simple seasoning, bring out the layers of the meat itself. As for appetizers, there are low-temperature cooked roast beef slices, Kuroge Wagyu sushi, and seared raw meat, which warm up the taste buds before the grilling begins.

If your travel companions do not eat beef, this restaurant has clear alternative options, so you won’t be left with only kimchi and white rice. For pork, there is salt-grilled pork cheek (the cheek area), which is rich in fat, crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside after grilling, with a texture somewhat similar to beef tongue but lighter, and it is quite delightful when paired with salt and the aroma of charcoal. There is an even richer selection of seafood: shrimp, foil-grilled scallops, foil-grilled whelk, snow crab, and a mixed seafood platter (shrimp, whelk, scallops, snow crab). These seafood items are grilled over charcoal or in foil, retaining their natural sweetness, making them suitable for those who do not want to touch beef. The garlic butter foil-grill is also a simple yet appetizing side dish.