Matsusakagyu Yakiniku Restaurant - Osaka

On our recent trip to Osaka, we stumbled across this restaurant by accident. At the time, we had no idea it was rated number 2 on the Tripadvisor Best Restaurant in Osaka list.
We had planned to visit Kobe to try out some Kobe beef whilst in Osaka. Because our quest to purchase platters and unique service equipment for our catering business took a few days more than we had anticipated, we didn't make it to Kobe.
So on our last night, we decided to seek out a Yakiniku (BBQ GRILL) restaurant and hoping they will have some nice local wagyu beef for us to try.
Walking through an alley near the Hozenji Temple, we came across a bright white sign with M in large letter. The menu out front showed a drawing of a cow. So we decided to give it a shot.

Under this sign was an extremely narrow path, leading into a wooden door - I wasn't sure if that was the entrance as there are no windows or sign to indicate that is the entrance to the restaurant...... luckily for me, a customer was exiting and I had to reverse backwards to let this guy out (There was no room to turn around........ that was how narrow this entrance way was).

I popped my head through the doorway to find a staff member and enquire about a table for 2....... after loitering outside for a few minutes, she found us a table and ushered us in. It was really dark inside. We were told to head upstairs. This floor was full of booth seatings and the smell of the BBQ grills was making me extremely hungry........ at the landing, we were told to go up one more flight of stairs......... at the top we found a tiny doorway to a single room..... Just our luck, we got the rooftop private dining room for the 2 of us. WOW !! I had a feeling this is going to be a pretty special last night in Japan for us.

The menu consists of a few appetisers, salads and then a whole lot of different cuts of beef to cook on the table grill.

The menu also gives you a guide on where a particular cut is from the animal and its marble score. In Australia, we often buy our beef with a marble score of 6 to 8........ with the highest score of 12 available here, it is a must try.

So I left the ordering to Steph and was just happy to sit back and enjoy. Here is what we had.

Matsusaka Marbled Beef Sushi

Kyukyoku - Prime Ribs with a marble score of 12

Maboroshi - Prime Shoulder with marble score of 10

Misuji - Shoulder with marble score of 6

Ichibo

With the beef, we ordered some side dishes. Bimbimbap (rice in a hot stone pot), House salad and a Caesar salad.

A really good trick we learnt from this dining experience is keeping the thick layer of fat from the steak and using that to prime our grill before cooking our meat. The flavour is amazing. 

The 3 types of flavouring for our beef are - Seasoned salt, sesame soy and plain soy

Although the Kyukyoku is deliciously full of flavour and simply melts in your mouth, my favourite was actually the Maboroshi. There is still loads of flavour, but not as rich. 

If you get a chance to visit Osaka, give this restaurant a try. You won't be disappointed. Make sure you book ahead though...... I think we were just lucky to score such a wonderful table last minute. 

Matsusakagyu Yakiniku M
HOZENJI YOKOCHO

1-1-19 Namba, Chuo-ku,
Osaka-city, 542-0076