Bikkuritei Honke Head Shop

Most people think of yakiniku (grilled meat) as “cooking meat on a shichirin or roaster and eating it with sauce,” but in some parts of Fukuoka, a slightly different dish is marketed as “yakiniku.” The restaurant that created this dish is called Bikkuritei Honke Head Shop in Minami Fukuoka. Originally, it was just one local restaurant operating in Minami Fukuoka, but after the “yakiniku” served here was introduced on the national TV program “Himitsu no Kenmin Show,” it suddenly became popular, and since then, numerous copycat restaurants have emerged around Fukuoka City, an interesting phenomenon.

I was somewhat interested in this restaurant, Bikkuritei Honke Head Shop, which was the origin of such copycat restaurants, and took a train from Hakata to visit the restaurant when I visited Fukuoka in the summer of 2024. I was curious to know what kind of “yakiniku” this restaurant, which became popular after a TV program, served. I was curious and headed for the restaurant…

In business for more than 60 years with only one menu item, “Yakiniku”… this is what Bikkuritei Honke Head Shop has been all about!

Bikkuritei Honke Head Shop, introduced here, is a long-established restaurant in Minami Fukuoka that has been in business for more than 60 years, since 1963. “Yakiniku” at this restaurant refers to “a dish in which pork and cabbage are stir-fried with a large amount of garlic and served on a hot iron plate,” and the restaurant has continued to operate with only one menu item, “Yakiniku,” since its establishment.

I arrived at the restaurant at around 11:00 a.m. on a Friday, 15 minutes before the opening time. It was 15 minutes before the opening time, but there were no customers ahead of us, probably because it was a weekday. I was able to get the pole position comfortably.

When I entered the restaurant, the atmosphere was that of a town diner that still retains the atmosphere of the Showa period. I personally liked the slightly melancholy atmosphere. There are 53 seats in total, including 5 counter seats. There is also some seating in Japanese-style zashiki, so you can sit around the barbecue and sip beer. Since it is such a restaurant, the customers who came during my stay were all men of reasonable appearance. I am sure there are many people who like this kind of atmosphere, but it may take a little courage to enter the restaurant if you are a woman alone.

The TV program “Himitsu no Kenmin Show” was the catalyst for the restaurant’s sudden breakthrough! What is the yakiniku at Bikkuritei Honke Head Shop like?

Let me introduce the yakiniku for one that I ordered from Bikkuritei Honke Head Shop (priced at 900 yen including tax). When ordering this yakiniku, it is necessary to order rice separately (rice medium, priced at 200 yen (tax included)), but the first bowl of rice comes with miso soup for free…

After about 10 minutes of waiting, the yakiniku arrived in front of me. The contents of the iron plate are quite simple: only pork and cabbage. The customers around me usually order two or three servings, but to my eyes, even one serving seems to be enough.

There is actually a recommended way to eat this yakiniku, but before that, let’s try it as it is… Even as it is, it is salty and garlicy. It goes great as an accompaniment to beer. The pork seems to be made from the diaphragm, which is healthy because it has no fat…but a lot of oil is used to fry it, so I guess the calorie count is even.

So let’s try their recommended way to eat it, shall I? One small wooden stick provided at each table…

Put them under the iron plate like this, so that the iron plate is sloped. This way, the juices from the pork, the extract from the cabbage, and the oil used in the stir-fry will mix…

It collects on the other side of the iron plate. Here…

Add the desired amount of spicy miso provided at the table to make your own original yakiniku sauce. Incidentally, this miso is a secret recipe that even the manager of the restaurant does not know (only the restaurant owner does).

When the meat and cabbage are dipped in this flavor-altering sauce, the taste is spicy and quite stimulating! The spicy miso flavor is an add-on to the default saltiness, so if you have a beer, you will be tempted to guzzle it down even more. However, it did not taste like the pork kimchi I had imagined. It is originally flavored with a lot of garlic, so I guess it would have been…

I tried Bikkuritei Honke Head Shop‘s yakiniku with two different flavors, and I personally preferred the default one. 

That is that you can go back to the original flavor after the flavor change. I think this is very important. Because if you change the flavor of ramen, you can’t go back to the original flavor even if it is a mistake. On the other hand, with this yakiniku, even if the spicy miso does not suit your taste buds, you can just eat the upstream yakiniku as it is… I really felt that this is a well thought-out way of eating yakiniku.

Examples of other menu items at Bikkuritei Honke Head Shop (prices include tax)

• Yakiniku for 1 1/2 (1.5 pieces) 1250 yen
• Yakiniku for 2 (2 pieces, double) 1,700 yen
• Yakiniku for 3 (triple): 2,400 yen
• Rice, small 150 yen
• Medium rice 200yen
• Rice Large 300yen
• Kimchi 350 yen

Note: Yakiniku take-out is also available.

A total of 9 affiliated stores including Akasaka and Kurume branches… Access to Bikkuritei Honke Head Shop is a 2-minute walk from Minami Fukuoka Station on the JR Kagoshima Main Line.

Apart from the main restaurant in Minami fukuoka introduced here, Bikkurite Honke operates a total of nine other restaurants, including the Akasaka and Kurume branches. I am especially happy that they have a restaurant in Akasaka, which is close to Hakata. Next time I have a chance to visit the restaurant, I might try having beer with 3 servings of yakiniku… If you are interested in that kind of drinking as much as I am, I really recommend this restaurant. Now, here are the details of the restaurant…

It takes 11 minutes on foot from Sakura-namiki Station on the Nishitetsu Tenjin Omuta Line.