Grilled Marbled Meat in Shibuya [Closed]

I’ll have to be honest – my initial intention was not to have my lunch at Shibuya No Koya and was in fact to have some famous Indian curry at Murugi Restaurant, which is situated on the opposite side of Shibuya No Koya. However, since Murugi was closed in conjunction with Golden Week, I had no choice but to look for an alternative to satisfy my hunger pangs.

The name of the restaurant, Shibuya No Koya (渋谷百軒店ノ小屋) roughly translates to mean ‘small hut in Shibuya’ and it was first opened for business around the beginning of 2015. The first thing that drew me to the restaurant was the music they were playing. Humming softly in the background and getting louder as I walked closer, only English songs were being played. They ranged from pop rock to modern pop, such as hits from Maroon 5 and Nikki Minaj. The second thing I noticed was the taxidermy deer head on the side of the entrance and how clean and minimalist the place looked. The outside was aesthetically designed with clean lines, while the interior and furniture were predominantly wooden – a very modern looking place.

The star of this restaurant is the grilled meat. Ranging from different types of game meat (venison, wild boar, bear from Hokkaido), Miyazaki wagyu beef, prime lamb and Japanese beef short ribs or loin, this place is a bit of a carnivore’s dream.

The menu here at Shibuya No Koya is comprehensive, to say the least. So if you feel like going easy on the meat but still want to have a satisfying Korean meal, there are different types of kimchi, Korean pancakes and ramen to choose from, and other interesting things such as boiled pig trotters and cream cheese on spicy cod innards.

For those who are a little tight on their budget (like myself), there are lunch set meals available with prices ranging from 999 yen to 1,780 yen. Available from 11:30am to 3pm, the set meal consists of a charcoal-grilled yakiniku lunch served with kimchi, Japanese rice and seaweed soup. You have the option of adding another 300 yen to change the seaweed soup to spicy Korean beef soup.

I had the Japanese beef cut set and it was absolutely delicious. The meat was beautifully marbled and marinated to perfection – a lovely combination of savory and sweet. The rice was fragrant, soft and sticky – exactly what Japanese rice should be. Just looking at the pictures is making me salivate. Ah, what a fond memory.

It’s only about a 10 minute walk from the Shibuya station so if you ever find yourself there and in need of putting some delicious food in your mouth, go to Shibuya No Koya. Trust me, you won’t regret it.