Ishibashi
Tokyo
Michelin Sukiyaki
石橋
Famous for the best sukiyaki in the world
Ishibashi is an ancient establishment with emphasis on Japanese tradition, and of course mouth watering high grade wagyu beef. Since 1879 Ishibashi has served Sukiyaki and Shabu Shabu dishes in the same old house. The traditional wooden villa is almost out of place, located in the middle of a busy street in Tokyo surrounded by tall modern buildings. It has been awarded 1 Michelin star, but its biggest accolade must definitely be the general acknowledgement that Ishibashi serves the best Sukiyaki in the world. Known world wide as the best sukiyaki place, even other Michelin starred sukiyaki restaurants such as Hiyama and Yoshihashi fall miles behind of this old establishment.
Juicy grade A5 Shimofuri Wagyu beef
The beef is what makes a great sukiyaki, and Ishibashi has some of the finest beef in the world. Their Shimofuri Wagyu beef comes from black haired cattle in the Miyazaki prefecture and they use sirloin cuts for their shimofuri sukiyaki. It is heavily marbled and is the highest grade of wagyu beef (A5), which means that the cattle has been fed high quality grain and has been raised with extreme care, resulting in the heavy marbling and incredibly smooth texture.
The dining experience at Ishibashi
Washitsu style dining in a private room
Your own personal kimono-wearing chef
Ishibashi is located in a traditional wooden villa, and when you enter through the subtle entrance you find yourself in a small room with a fountain where you are asked to take off your shoes. Everything inside the villa is very old and traditional and the smell of wood is prominent. All rooms are washitsu style, with tatami flooring and sliding doors. You will be taken to your own private room where you will dine on the floor at a short table acccording to Japanese tradition. This is definitely not very comfortable if you are a tall westerner with long legs like us, but it is a great experience and really adds to the feeling that this establishment is very old.
In your own personal dining room the food will be prepared in a pan on a small gas burner. Ishibashi is run by a handful of sweet old Japanese ladies which serve as personal chefs (nakai). Wearing a traditional kimono, our nakai came in and prepared our food in front of us and then left to give us some privacy. When it was time for the next round of food, she appeared again did her magic and disappeared just as quickly. This is a fun experience, and watching the lady skillfully beating raw eggs with chopsticks and cooking the delicious wagyu beef in front of us really boosted our already present hunger.
The sukiyaki
Sukiyaki is a traditional Japanese dish which primarily involves cooking thinly sliced beef in a cast iron pan together with different ingredients. There are many different variations of this dish, and the one at Ishibashi is simply exceptional.
After firing up the gas stove beneath the cast iron pan, your nakai will throw in a cube of pure fat from the wagyu cattle. This delicious fast will render and melt in the pan and then the slices of wagyu beef are added. The fatty wagyu beef basically cooks in its own fat. We did not complain at all! While the beef is sizzling away, several other ingredients are thrown into the mix including vegetables and a sweet and tangy sukiyaki sauce. Your nakai will ask you if you'd like eggs with your beef, and we really recommend this. She will then beat the raw eggs in a small cup with her chopsticks, and hand it over to you. The idea here is that you dip the meat slices in the raw egg before eating them.
The nakai will enter the room and prepare the food in 4 different sessions, leaving the room after each to give you privacy while you enjoy the freshly made dish. The sessions go like this:
Session 1
Session 2
Session 3
Session 4
Shimofuri wagyu and raw egg
Shimofuri wagyu with vegetables, tofu and noodles
Shimofuri wagyu with vegetables and mushrooms
Shimofuri wagyu with vegetables and raw egg
The meat is insanely juicy and tender as you would expect for the highest grade of wagyu beef. If you have never tried real wagyu beef before, the experience can be almost overwhelming and biting into the fried fatty super-tender beef will put a big smile on your face. Dipped in the raw egg, the meat is out of this world delicious. The noodles soakes up the sukiyaki sauce really well and the vegetables absorb the fried beef flavor of the pan as it cooks in the wonderful mixture of juices.
One of the rare places that serve ojiya
Ask your nakai to serve you up some ojiya after the 4'th session. She will then add rice and egg to the pan which will sizzle and cook together with all the remaining sauce and meat juices. Most sukiyaki restaurants do not serve ojiya, so this is definitely an option you don't want to miss (if you are not already full from those four meaty sessions).
Good to know before you go
Ishibashi is a michelin starred restaurant in Tokyo. Booking in advance is required. They do not have online booking nor do they have a website, and they only speak Japanese. We had a local Japanese book our table for us around 2 months in advance. As always, we recommend asking your AirBnb host or hotel concierge to call them if you do not speak Japanese.
The food is high class, and the meat is among the most expensive you will find anywhere in the world. Therefore dining at Ishibashi will definitely cost you. But it is worth it. The setting, the old house, the private traditional washitsu rooms, the private nakai chefs, the shimofuri wagyu and everything else mentioned makes this an experience you will never forget.
We paid around 17.000 yen for each person which included 2 starter dishes, 4 sessions of shimofuri A5 sirloin wagyu sukiyaki (plenty to make a grown hungry man full) and a dessert. Drinks are also included. Cheaper cuts of wagyu beef is also available, but they will also still be pricey.
They only accept cash! No credit cards, not even Japanese cards. So make sure to visit an ATM in advance.
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Ishibashi is located in 3 Chome-6-8 Sotokanda, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan.
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Have fun, and enjoy!
