It’s hard to pick a favorite restaurant in any city. That’s especially true in a city like Tokyo where you could pick any type of food and probably find an astoundingly amazing, if not best of the best, example of it. While there are certainly places I’ve been to many times in my many visits to Japan, Chef Kentaro “Henry” Nakahara’s Sumibi Yakiniku Nakahara is currently at the top of my list in Tokyo and one of the few places I’ve recommended to numerous friends in the recent past.
We visited Sumibi Yakiniku Nakahara first in September of 2023 and then again in the summer of 2024. The focus of this restaurant is meat, which won’t surprise you if you recognize yakiniku. Indeed, if you look at the menu on the website, you’ll several multi-course (tasting menu) options with words like meat, tongue, hormone, and filet cutlet. Fear not omnivores, you’ll also get a smattering of non-meat dishes including an appetizer, vegetables, soup, and a dessert. I can’t recall exactly but, if you do the menu that includes the hormone and fillet cutlet sandwich (which I HIGHLY recommend), you’re probably looking at 11+ small courses. On our first visit we had a nice long chat with Chef Henry, who was quite gracious while dealing with my very poor Japanese, while his English was excellent (no doubt owing to having spent a good amount of time working in the US).
We sat at the counter (I suppose you’d call it a chef’s counter) right in front of where the chefs do their work. Between the places we sat and the chef’s work area, wre what looked like metal boxes which could be removed from the spot in front of each set of two seats to reveal a grill. There were about 10 or so tables around the restaurant as well, each with it’s own grill at the table. Most (all?) Japanese restaurants use charcoal grills for yakiniku and yakitori. The highest end of charcoal used in these restaurants is binchō-tan. Looking into a back room in the restaurant, you can see the charcoal cooking in pots, preparing it to be used in the grills. Binchō-tan is known for being a low smoke charcoal but there also seems to be an effective air filter system in the restaurant so, despite being inches from the grill, there’s no smoke or disruption to the meal like you might see in some lower end restaurants.
What followed was an array of delicious bites. Different cuts of beef including tongue, intestine, raw beef (tartare), the beef cutlet sando, and more. Every dish lovingly explained by the chef. If you look at lists of must haves in Japan, you’ll almost certainly be recommended to have a meal of wagyu beef while you’re there. This meal would not just check that box but surpass expectations. It goes without saying that the servers also come by frequently to check-in and the variety of drinks (sake, beer, liquor, etc.) is quite comprehensive.
At the end of our first meal, Chef Henry handed me a business card. Expecting it to be for Sumibi Yakiniku Nakahara, I was surprised to see it was instead for Henry’s Burger. In addition to the high-end yakiniku restaurant, Chef Henry operates a small local chain of burger places. On my first trip, we went to Sumibi Yakiniku Nakahara towards the end of the trip. On our 2024 trip, I didn’t make a specific plan to get to Henry’s Burger but the opportunity presented itself when Sam had to take care of a few things on her own for a couple hours. I think as of writing there are three Henry’s Burger joints and the one in Harajuku was the most convenient for me to get to from Toranomon Hills.
Henry’s Burger’s menu is pretty simple. They have three different type sof burgers that come in three sizes with the option of fries or onion drinks and a drink if you want a combo. When I was there, the burger options were the Wagyu Burger (wagyu beef), the Waton Burger (pork), or the Harami Burger (skirt steak). The Harami requires advance reservation (I’ve read you can DM through Instagram but the website only lists their phone numbers). When I was there they also offered, not sure if it was a special or not, Henry’s Monster Burger which came it at a whopping 2.2 lbs (1 KG) of Kuroge Wagyu. I am a fan of burgers and I’ve been known to eat a pretty large burger in my younger years but the idea of an 8 inch tall burger scares the hell out of me. So, instead I stuck with the Medium (double) burger with fries. It took a few minutes for them to prepare my meal fresh but out it came after a few minutes. I sat at the bar seating looking out on to Meiji-dori Ave. I don’t consider myself a burger connoisseur though I have had quite a few. I thought the burger at Henry’s was delicious. The flavor of the beef clearly came through and the blend of ingredients, sauce, and bun really hit the spot for a burger craving. I don’t think I’d make a trip around just going to Henry’s Burger, and I might not recommend it as strongly as I would his yakiniku restaurant, but this was a delicious and very affordable burger lunch. Well worth the trip to Harajuku that day.
