Yakiniku Hayashi Jujo Head Shop

I wanted to eat yakiniku at a restaurant that still had the atmosphere of a traditional yakiniku restaurant, so one weekend night, I went to Yakiniku Hayashi Jujo Head Shop. However, this is not just any yakiniku restaurant, but a well-known restaurant in Kyoto. Apparently, they used to refuse all media interviews, so they might not be as well-known as some other places, but lately they’ve been getting more exposure in famous media like “Mizuno Makiko’s Magic Restaurant” and “Terakado Jimon’s Interview-Refusing Restaurant.” So, what was the yakiniku experience like at this place…

There are counter seats, so you can enjoy yakiniku by yourself! But… Yakiniku Hayashi Jujo Head Shop is a restaurant like this…

I arrived at Yakiniku Hayashi Jujo Head Shop at around 8:00 p.m. that day, but the restaurant was already full, so I had to wait outside until I could enter. Actually, before visiting the restaurant, I had called to see if I could reserve a seat, but the staff member replied, “Solo diners are seated at the counter, but the counter seats cannot be reserved…” At that point, there were already customers waiting outside, so I had expected some waiting time. However, since the last order was at 9 PM, which was early, I started to feel a little anxious as the waiting time grew longer…

With less than 30 minutes remaining, I started to worry, “What if I can’t get in and have to leave?” Just then, a staff member called out to me, and I was finally able to enter the restaurant. The interior was filled with the smoke and aroma of grilled meat, and my appetite increased exponentially the moment I walked in. There are a total of 46 seats, including six counter seats. A TV in front of the counter seats was showing a professional baseball game, and the atmosphere was exactly what I had hoped for…  

The restaurant’s style is to cook all the meat at once on a hot plate… How was the omakase (red and white) I ordered at Yakiniku Hayashi Jujo Head Shop?

Now, let me introduce the omakase (red and white) I ordered at Yakiniku Hayashi Jujo Head Shop that day. This omakase (red and white) requires an order for two or more people, and the price is 950 yen per person, including tax…

After waiting about 10 minutes after placing the order, the omakase (red and white) was brought to the table. At first glance, it’s clear that there are various items included, but it was disappointing that the staff couldn’t provide a clear answer when asked what was included. It felt like they were avoiding the question. It’s not that the service was bad, but honestly, I wish they had studied a bit more…

Well, let’s switch gears and start grilling the meat. At Yakiniku Hayashi, they recommend grilling the meat all together on the iron plate rather than one piece at a time. This apparently prevents the meat from burning. Following their advice, I laid out all the meat on the iron plate and started grilling, but… if you’re not careful, some of the meat will burn in an instant. Simply put, if there are 10 pieces of meat, you have to be 10 times more careful than when grilling one piece at a time. Personally, I wouldn’t recommend this all-in-one method unless you have the skills of a yakiniku master. By the way, the parts included in this omakase (red and white) set were (probably) loin, flank, short rib, tripe, stomach, and pipe, totaling six types. It’s great to be able to enjoy six different types of meat, but each piece is quite small, so it feels a bit lacking in volume.

Timing the grilling of the barbecue, I ordered an extra large portion of rice (300 yen including tax) and had it on top of the rice. The sauce, based on gochujang with a fruity sweetness added, isn’t as spicy as it looks, making it suitable for small children or those who don’t like spicy food. The lean meat is tender with just the right amount of marbling, and the offal is properly processed with no unpleasant odor. The barbecue itself is “truly worthy of a popular restaurant.” However, the portion size wasn’t enough to finish the large serving of rice, so I’d say this dish is about one beer plus a little extra…

Since the closing time was approaching, I settled the bill with just this omakase (red and white) and white rice. Since I felt a bit unsatisfied, I thought I might want to visit another yakiniku restaurant afterward. I suspect that if I were to have a hearty meal at Yakiniku Hayashi Jujo Head Shop, it might easily exceed 10,000 yen for just me. This restaurant is popular through the media, but it’s best to anticipate that the bill might be higher than expected.  

Other menu items at Yakiniku Hayashi Jujo Head Shop (prices include tax)

• Salted tongue: 1,200 yen
• skirt steak 1,200 yen
• Raw Horse meat 1,100 yen
• Ribs with bone: 1,000 yen
• Cheek meat: 1,000 yen
• Abomasum 950 yen
• Honeycomb tripe 850 yen

Three affiliated stores, including the Shijo Branch. To access the Yakiniku Hayashi Jujo Head Shop, it is a 5-minute walk from Jujo Station on the Kyoto Municipal Subway Karasuma Line.

In addition to the Jujo Head Shop introduced here, Yakiniku Hayashi has three other affiliated stores: the Shijo Branch, the Toji Branch, and the Kujo Karasuma Branch. However, when searching online, the menus of the stores seem to vary slightly, so they may be more like franchise stores than directly operated stores. Among these four stores, the Shijo Branch and Toji Branch have a last order time of 10:00 PM, which is one hour later than the main store. So, next time, I think I’ll try the Shijo Branch, which is also convenient for transportation…

Here are the details of the store…

P.S. If you are looking for delicious yakiniku (BBQ) in Kyoto, please stop by this article below…