Tokyo | Kobe beef Kaiseki 511: the greatest protein joy

This guy does not require much introduction.

The state of art of the beef in the world, the most tender, the fattiest, the one with the best marbling and the most expensive of them all: yes ladies and gentlemen, we are talking about the Kobe beef.

The crime scene for our dinner, the restaurant 511 Kobe Beef Kaiseki is acknowledged by most as the best Kobe beef restaurant in Tokyo.

The obsession for the best beef quality of the head chef, who selects personally among thousands of Tajima cattles, is embedded in the name of the restaurant: 5 as the highest beef grade and 11 as the score on the BMS (Beef Marbling Score) for Kobe beef.

Apart from offering a large selection of steaks, the restaurant offers two tasting menu: a western one, mostly focused around a 150g flame-baked Kobe steak, and a Japanese one, where Kobe beef is present in each and every single dish of a traditional kaiseki dinner. As western menu in Japan does not really sound right, we opted for the Kaiseki one!

Kobe beef is omnipresent without being overwhelming.

Round, flank, rib, sirloin are accurately selected to pair the Japanese elegance of the menu, the seasonality of its ingredients and the beauty of its autumnal decorations: so raw lower round pairs with soy sauce and shiso flower, flank with lotus or sweet potatoes, plate with oyster and miso mayo, rib with rice... a crescendo of flavours and consistencies that anticipate the most awaited guest of the night... the sirloin steak.

A joy, an orgasm of taste, an aphrodisiac impalpable texture.

Food for the gums, the guts and the soul.

As cooking is the ingredients’ greatest form of respect (and almost a religious act), these 100g of heaven were sealed in a kiln with the heat of the hell (1000 degrees C) and the crackling sound of the best Japanese charcoal (binchotan).

Ps. A huge thanks goes to the staff: attentive, professional and caring!