Three Beef Tongue Restaurants to Try in Sendai.
Grilled beef tongue was born in Sendai. The first restaurant specializing in grilled beef tongue opened in 1948. Soon after, the number of restaurants increased inside and outside Sendai. Now grilled beef tongue is well-known as the city’s most famous cuisine. In fact, there are over one hundred beef tongue restaurants in Sendai.
You can order it a la carte, but it is usually eaten as a set meal with boiled barley rice, ox tail soup, and salted Chinese cabbage with cucumber and green chili preserved in miso. Each restaurant has a unique feature, such as using a different part of the beef tongue or type of seasoning. Freshly grilled beef tongue is juicy and full of flavor.
When you come to Sendai, trying grilled beef tongue is a must and the first.
Here is a selection of five must-try beef tongue restaurants in Sendai that are beloved by both locals and tourists alike.
① Gyutan Kaku Vlandome
Kaku Vlandome’s beef tongue is a one-of-a-kind experience even in Sendai thanks to their salt made from a secret recipe, and a special cutting technique that gives their meat a unique texture. More than once the restaurant has been named the number one beef tongue spot by a renowned Japanese review site.
As well as grilled beef tongue, Kaku Vlandome serves raw beef tongue in the form of tataki and sashimi.
Address: B1F 3-8-14 Ichibancho, Aoba Ward, Sendai City
Opening hours: Lunch: 11:30 – 14:30 Dinner: 17:00 – 22:30
Open all year round
② Date no Gyutan Honpo
Date no Gyutan Honpo is a restaurant where you get to enjoy the traditional taste of Sendai’s beef tongue in the present day. It is named after the warlord Date Masamune who was the first regional ruler of the Sendai domain.
Date no Gyutan Honpo values their customers’ spirit of hospitality and their desire to share the experience of their delicious beef tongue with friends and acquaintances.
The restaurant was the first in Sendai to offer their beef tongue as an edible souvenir that people can bring to people back home as a gift from their travels.
Their flagship product, Shintan, is a longstanding classic that took many years to perfect.
Address: B1F Azur Sendai, 1-1-1 Honcho, Aoba Ward, Sendai City
Opening hours: Weekdays – restaurant/shop: 11:00-14:30 (last order 14:00), 16:30-21:30 (last order 20:30)
Weekends and public holidays – restaurant/shop: 11:00-21:30 (last order 20:30)
Open all year round
③ Tanya Zenjiro Sendai Ekimae Honten
Known for serving beef tongue slices that are cut at the perfect thickness and are tender enough to chew through.
The chefs score the surface of each slice, making them feel soft and tender despite their thickness.
Tanya Zenjiro uses bincho-tan – a traditional Japanese charcoal – to cook their tongue, giving the grilled surface a crisp texture while still tender within.
The restaurant also serves noodle dishes such as gyutan (beef tongue) ramen, which you will rarely find elsewhere.
Address: 3F AK Building, 1-8-38 Chuo, Aoba Ward, Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture
Opening hours: 11:00 – 22:30
Open all year round
