Located near Tenjin in Fukuoka, Yakiniku Iriwa (焼肉いりわ)
is a traditional Japanese-style beef restaurant that is especially popular among Korean travelers.
The reason is simple.
Since it’s run by a Korean owner, both reservations and orders can be made in Korean.
You can order via a QR code, and the staff are friendly.
Making a reservation wasn’t difficult.
I personally made a reservation by international phone call (001-81-92-791-9300) through KT carrier.
I had memorized a few Japanese phrases in advance,
but the owner greeted me in Korean as soon as they answered.
It seemed they noticed the call was from Korea and immediately switched to Korean.
The reservation was for a Wednesday evening, and even though I booked two weeks in advance, the place was almost fully booked.
In the end, I visited at 4:30 p.m., which was a bit of an awkward time,
but to put it simply — it was worth it.
Storefront and Entrance
The restaurant isn’t large.
It has fewer than 20 seats in total,
and even provides bar seats for solo diners.
The interior is neat and quiet.
The menu appears in Korean when you scan the QR code,
and you can place your order directly from the table.
The dishes we ordered were as follows:
Special assorted beef 300g (recommended seasoning) — 5,900 yen
Special 5-cut platter (300g) — 5,900 yen
Additional ribeye.
The Meat
This platter is the 5,900 yen special set (300g, recommended seasoning).
The staff kindly explain each cut in Korean.
At first, we thought that single platter was all of the two sets we ordered.
Next came the Special 5-cut platter (300g).
When it was served, we thought, “Is there really this much?”
Again, the staff explained each cut in detail.
It literally melts in your mouth.
The meat was truly excellent.
The marbling was evenly distributed,
and the texture, aroma, and juiciness of the fat were perfectly balanced.
The phrase “melts in your mouth”
is no exaggeration here.