三宮元町を中心に展開している神戸牛専門店、吉祥グループのステーキハウス。鉄板ではなく石窯で焼くのがウリとのこと。
地元神戸に住んでいても上級国民ではないのでふだんは神戸牛と無縁。ところが(2020年の)3月6日(金)〜15日(日)の期間限定で｢吉祥グループ・半額キャンペーン｣の情報をたまたま知り、これはチャンスと行ってみました。
実のところ八坐和本店に焼肉をと思っていたのですが、半額キャンペーンの対象外だったので同じ八坐和を選んだら焼肉屋じゃなかった次第。吉祥グループの店舗は同じ店名でもステーキ・焼肉・すき焼きじゃぶしゃぶなど店毎にカテゴリーが違うようなのでその点に注意が必要です。
南京町は少し前ならどこの国か分からないくらい各国の言葉が飛び交い観光客でごった返していましたが、この日はコロナの影響か日本人のみで人手もまばら。空席が目立ちました。
それはともかく。
メニューを見ながら部位とグラムをチョイスするのですが、100g当たり21500円の部位がサラッと(300gだと64500円也)載っていたりというプレッシャーなどを跳ね除け、今回はメニューで下から2番目、100g当たり4650円程のA5ランクの赤身を。
それで充分。申し分なし。
焼き上がりがお皿に盛られ出されると、最初にいちばん旨い真ん中を山葵塩で、次からは山葵醬油やオニオンソースでと説明されますが、王道は塩と山葵かと。少々の塩は肉の旨味をストレートに引き出し、本山葵はマイルドな辛さが脂を和らげさっぱりした食べ応えに。冷めても柔らかい肉はスジも皆無で、最後まで感動が続きます。セットのライスを大盛りで頼んだのですが、もう一皿イケたのが心残り。
入口から店内から、これ見よがしに賞状や盾や生産者とか牛の情報が掲示され、更には記念にどうぞなのか、映える写真を当店のためどうぞなのか、食べている途中にテーブルまで盾を持って来るってそこまでするか。あまりにも嫌らしい宣伝は神戸牛のブランド価値を下げるのでは。いちおう写真撮りましたけど。
因みにこの八坐和、店内にロックな雰囲気は全くありません。
(Translated by Google)
This steakhouse is part of the Kissho Group, a Kobe beef specialty store with locations mainly in Sannomiya Motomachi. Their specialty is grilling their beef in a stone oven rather than on a hot plate.
Even though I live in Kobe, I'm not a member of the upper class, so I don't usually have any experience with Kobe beef. However, I happened to find out about the Kissho Group Half-Price Campaign, which was running for a limited time from March 6th (Fri) to 15th (Sun) (2020), so I decided to take my chance and check it out.
I was actually planning to have yakiniku at the Yazawa Main Branch, but it wasn't included in the half-price campaign, so I chose the same Yazawa branch, but it turned out to be a yakiniku restaurant. Even though Kissho Group branches may have the same name, each branch serves different dishes, such as steak, yakiniku, sukiyaki, and jabu-shabu, so it's important to keep this in mind.
Not long ago, Nankinmachi would be swarming with tourists and a flurry of foreign languages, making it difficult to tell which country it was, but on this day, perhaps due to the effects of COVID-19, it was only Japanese and the crowds were sparse. There were a lot of empty seats.
Anyway,
I chose the cut and gram weight while looking at the menu, but I brushed off the pressure of seeing a cut that cost 21,500 yen per 100g (300g would be 64,500 yen) and went for the second-lowest cut on the menu, A5-ranked lean meat, at around 4,650 yen per 100g.
That was enough. Perfect.
When the grilled steak was served on the plate, I was told to first try the best-tasting middle cut with wasabi salt, followed by wasabi soy sauce and onion sauce, but I think salt and wasabi are the classics. The little bit of salt brings out the umami of the meat directly, and the mild spiciness of the real wasabi cuts down the fat, creating a refreshing taste. Even when cooled, the meat was tender with no sinew whatsoever, and the meal was impressive until the very end. I ordered a large portion of rice as part of the set, but regret not having had another plate.
From the entrance to the restaurant, certificates, plaques, and information about the producers and cows are ostentatiously displayed, and they even ask you to take a souvenir or take a photo for the restaurant, as they even bring a plaque to your table while you're still eating. Isn't this kind of obscene advertising going to lower the brand value of Kobe beef? I did take a photo, though.
By the way, there is absolutely no rock atmosphere inside Yazawa.
