A note on the words: otoshi is the small appetizer you are served and charged for as you sit down, effectively a cover charge. Tsukune are grilled meatballs. A hamburg is the Japanese dish rather than a burger — a seasoned patty of ground meat, eaten with a knife and fork and no bun. Wagyu covers Japan’s own beef breeds: Japanese Black is the heavily marbled one, Japanese Shorthorn (tankaku) the lean one. On the menu, menchi-katsu is a breaded deep-fried patty of ground meat, karasumi is cured mullet roe, ajillo is the Spanish dish of things simmered in garlic and olive oil, and jingisukan is lamb grilled at the table. Prices are as of this writing (August 2026).
Table of Contents hide
Nakameguro Grill on Tabelog (English) — opening hours, payment details and the Japanese address are kept up to date there, not here.
Drinkers, thank you for waiting. It is time for Hangover Meshi.
This time I was invited along to a place called Nakameguro Grill, a fair way inland from Nakameguro station. Rare-breed wagyu and carefully chosen wine are the selling points, apparently? It seems to be a bistro.
“We have a lot of guests today so it is going to take a while, is that all right?” they asked — and well, you are hardly going to answer that you will go home instead. I sat down thinking it would be fine as long as we could take our time, but however long I sat there the heat would not let up. Something is wrong here. And then it dawned on me.
There is no air conditioning!
There does seem to be some sort of simple cooling unit blowing cold air about, but depending on where you sit it reaches you or it does not. And if you are shown to a seat it does not reach, you are hot.
Honestly, if they were going to ask anything it should have been “we have no air conditioning, is that all right?”
Still, if you think of it as an outdoor beer garden… you can just about manage.
For now, I want something cold to drink, immediately.
Where the beer was concerned, the saving grace was that it came relatively quickly.
Exactly what the name says. I thought this one might arrive quickly, and sure enough it did.
Tomatoes marinated in a dressing of olive oil and vinegar, I think? At a hot table a tomato is welcome; it cools you down. They are fruit tomatoes, but not especially sweet, so a little sugar or honey in the marinade to top up the sweetness might be an idea.
Things that only need plating up are safe. They arrive reasonably fast.
They are 750 yen each. Order two and it comes to 1,500 yen.
Meatballs with the flavor of lamb and a faint thread of cilantro worked through them. These are quite good!
Well, the meat is what they are known for, so I asked for 200g of the charcoal-grilled Murakami beef, which runs 3,500 yen per 100g. Yes, it certainly looks good. Rather than a sauce, the style here is to eat it with salt. Try it and it is tender and full of juices. Delicious!
Very good indeed, but there is a fair amount of fat, and by the second half you may tire of it a little. Between two people, 50 to 100g would have been enough. It is quite a volume, so be warned.
It was written up as the most popular dish here, so I ordered it.
A hamburg served in a skillet, with a sauce and a lemon alongside. The scent of the herb butter sitting on top is good on its own, but the sauce and the lemon do fine work in cutting through the fat! This is delicious. This one I ate right through without tiring of it. I think I can see why it is the headline dish.
Hot! Time to retreat!
So — in summer, above all, it is hot in here.
Go in the quiet season in winter and I think you could eat at a leisurely pace.
May you meet something delicious today too!
Nakameguro Grill: the menu
Charcoal and wood-fire grill
The house specialty is hung-aged Japanese Shorthorn from Tamura Farm in Iwate. Lean beef given more than thirty days hanging, with wet aging on top of that.
Prices vary by cut. Ask the staff which cuts came in today.
Order from the charcoal and wood-fire grill and you get to choose a side: carrot and walnut rapee / burdock and lotus root in mustard marinade / marinated lentils and bacon / ratatouille / fried zucchini.
Meat mains
The dish the restaurant lists as its number one.
Finished so that it carries the scent of straw.
Cold dishes and salads
Plain 900 yen / topped with prosciutto, pecorino and fresh fruit 1,600 yen.
A grown-up red potato salad, and a carbonara-style smoked potato salad.
Hot dishes
The cheapest way to get your hands on the house Shorthorn beef.
L size 1,500 yen.
Gorgonzola, Grana Padano, smoked cheese and mozzarella.
Finished with thirteen spices.
450 yen for each extra roll.
Rice and noodles to finish
The rice is cooked in a Dutch oven from the moment you order it. The pasta is fresh.
The Dutch-oven rice is only started once your order is in, so leave yourself time.
Dessert
From the menu in the restaurant at the time of the August 2026 visit. Prices include tax and the lineup changes with the season. A table charge of 550 yen applies separately. Check the official site or the restaurant itself for the current version.
I ate here and paid for it myself. Nothing on this site is a comped meal.
One more for the road?
