A note on the words: teppanyaki means cooking on a teppan, a flat iron griddle, with the chef working in front of you and plating straight off the surface. A5 is the top grade in Japan’s beef grading system, and Sendai beef is a regional brand of Japanese Black cattle. Nagaimo is a mild, crisp yam that turns slippery when raw and creamy when grilled. Konnyaku is a firm, near-flavorless jelly made from konjac root; konnyaku with roe has fish eggs set onto it, so it pops when you bite. Foie gras and lobster are exactly what they sound like. And “kō no mono” is simply the pickle course at the end, served with rice and soup.
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Shinjuku Teppanyaki ORCA on Tabelog (English) — opening hours, payment details and the Japanese address are kept up to date there, not here.
Hey, this is Hangover Meshi. So this time an acquaintance invited me out to a teppanyaki place in Shinjuku. Something to do with a work connection, apparently, and they’d been wanting to try it once. I’ve forgotten the details, lol. Anyway, if someone is taking me somewhere that looks delicious, I’m in! So, off to Shinjuku. Although I say Shinjuku, the nearest station is really Shinjuku-sanchome. Near Isetan.
At the top of the stairs there’s a big teppan counter with seats around it.
A5 Sendai Beef Sirloin Orca Course: 14,500 yen
A5 Sendai Beef [Sirloin Steak] Course: 10,900 yen
A5 Sendai Beef Sirloin Casual Course: 9,800 yen
A5 Sendai Beef Sirloin Special Course: 19,600 yen
This time they had booked us the A5 Sendai Beef Sirloin Special Course, of all things, so that’s what we had! Thank you, thank you.
First, a cold beer! It was muggy outside, after all. This first glass brings you back to life!
From the left: cream cheese with prosciutto, sea bream with caviar, and roast beef!
Perfect with a beer. You eat these while you wait for them to start cooking!
The staff were already chatting away with us, which felt like a good sign for the evening.
Okra, nagaimo yam, and konnyaku with roe. Apparently konnyaku with roe is hard to buy, and in Tokyo the only real options for eating it are a specialty shop in Hiroshima or here, lol. It pops between the teeth and it’s really good.
And then they grind pepper over it — with a huge one, lol.
A fun place, this.
Abalone! One each, by the way. Seriously lavish.
It’s cooked in a sauce of the abalone liver and wakame seaweed. Tender and delicious. Abalone really is good once you put it over heat.
Grilled foie gras. Lavish all the way through, this. Soft and delicious.
Lobster! First one since Red Lobster. Looks good!
Once it was cooked, they set it up in this pose so we could take a photo.
Seriously good.
And then the main event, the Sendai beef sirloin steak!
Tender and delicious. Teppanyaki really is about the beef. The fat is so juicy and good.
The garlic rice is spot on too. There are so many courses that even this amount fills you up nicely.
Well, delicious and lavish and thoroughly satisfying! I only found out afterward, when I was handed a business card, that the person who had been cooking for us was the CEO of the Orca Group! Very easygoing, full of stories, great company. There’s an Orca in Roppongi too, which I’d never been to, and apparently the CEO is sometimes there as well, so maybe I’ll show my face at the Roppongi branch next time ^^
Shinjuku Teppanyaki ORCA (Teppanyaki / Shinjuku-sanchome Station, Shinjuku-gyoemmae Station, Shinjuku Station)
Tabelog dinner rating ★★★☆☆ 3.5
I ate here and paid for it myself. Nothing on this site is a comped meal.
One more for the road?
