Kyoto Dining Masayoshi

One weekday before 11:00 a.m., I was wandering around Kawaramachi Sanjo to spend some time before a certain restaurant opened, when I was intrigued by a signboard on the side of the road. The sign was…

A sign in front of Kyoto Dining Masayoshi offering a steak lunch for 1,100 yen including tax. I thought to myself, “Come to think of it, I haven’t had steak in a while…” and after a few minutes of hesitation, I decided to switch to this restaurant for lunch. Even after switching to this restaurant, I was still feeling a bit hesitant about it for a while. Well, this is a weekday lunch, so it’s not available anytime…

“Pine Beef”, a brand-name Japanese black beef raised on their own ranch, is available… Kyoto Dining Masayoshi is a restaurant like this…

Perhaps, but the main reason why we can enjoy steaks so cheaply at Kyoto Dining Masayoshi is because they use beef raised on their own ranch. I hear it is a brand name “Pineapple Beef”. Isn’t it amazing to be able to eat a black Wagyu steak for only 1,100 yen? Kyoto is known for its high cost of living, but it’s not so bad after all.

Kyoto Dining Masayoshi is a beautifully renovated 150-year-old machiya (traditional Kyoto townhouse). According to the restaurant’s information on the Tabelog, there are a total of 44 seats in the restaurant. There is a separate room with an L-shaped counter from the one I was shown, and it looked like I could see a performance of grilling steaks in front of me at dinner time. Lunch is reasonably priced, but there are some items on the regular menu that are moderately priced (there is a Kobe beef course), and I guess you can make reservations in advance for business entertainment and other occasions.

Only 1,100 yen for a 150g sirloin of Japanese black beef… How was the weekday steak lunch at Kyoto Dining Masayoshi?

Let me introduce the weekday steak lunch I ordered at Kyoto Dining Masayoshi. After about 15 minutes of waiting after placing my order, the steak lunch was brought in front of me…

I am sorry that the image does not convey the sound, but it was sizzling on the iron plate and the oil on the surface was crackling and splashing. The 150g sirloin steak comes with rice, red miso soup, coleslaw salad, a small bowl of cooked food, and pickles, priced at 1100 yen including tax (when ordering, select either garlic chip or garlic butter). Almost all the customers in the restaurant at that time ordered this steak lunch. As you would expect from a cheap lunch, the degree of grilling cannot be specified, but when it comes out it is rare, and it is adjusted to the degree of grilling to desired taste by placing it on the hot iron plate. So, if you want to eat it rare, I recommend that you quickly transfer the meat on the griddle to a separate plate (a small plate is provided at the table).

Now, first dip the meat in the sauce with egg yolk provided…

Dive on top of white rice! The beef is about 1 cm thick, but the juices are oozing from the rare-colored cross section and shining brightly. Of course, the meat is tender, and the juices that come together with the sweet fat come out in a rush… As one would expect from Kuroge Wagyu beef, there is nothing to complain about the quality of the meat. The sauce, on the other hand, was quite sweet with a hint of egg yolk, making it feel like sukiyaki despite the thickness of the meat. It reminded me of Yazawa-yaki at Yakiniku Yazawa Kyoto, and at the end I wanted to pour the sauce over rice and eat it as a tsukkakegohan (TKG).

In addition, there are a variety of condiments on the table, including steak sauce with spicy onions, red spice, soy sauce, Himalayan pink salt, wasabi, green shiso dressing, black pepper, and salt ponzu, which can be customized to fit your preference. There is also 150 grams of steak meat, so you can experiment with a variety of flavors. I enjoyed changing the flavor of the steak and finished it in no time at all. For this price, I thought I could have another steak lunch for one more person….

Steak lunch is even more affordable on the 15th of every month… Kyoto Dining Masayoshi is a 4-minute walk from the nearest station, Sanjo Station on the Keihan Electric Railway line.

Now, there is another sign in the storefront of Kyoto Dining Masayoshi that catches your attention…

The 1,100 yen steak lunch I ordered this time is only 500 yen including tax on the 15th of every month under the name of “Thanksgiving Day”! This is a price setting without regard to profitability. According to the restaurant’s Instagram, on Thanksgiving Day, customers start lining up an hour before the restaurant opens, and by the time the restaurant opens, there are about 50 people in line. That’s right. Basically, the last order is at 3:00 p.m., but the restaurant closes when they run out of meat, so if you are aiming for lunch on Thanksgiving Day, it is advisable to visit the restaurant early.

Now, here are the details of the restaurant…

It takes 5 minutes on foot from Kyoto Shiyakusho-mae Station on the Kyoto Municipal Subway Tozai Line.