Japanese BBQ, or yakiniku, means grilling bite-sized cuts of beef, pork and vegetables yourself on a grill set into the table, then dipping them in tare sauce. In London the best place for the full experience is Hachi in Soho, which serves Kobe and A5 wagyu, with Yakiniku Like’s one-person grills nearby for a quick solo lunch.
Below are four places to eat Japanese BBQ in London, the cuts to order, what “A5” on a menu actually means and what a meal costs, with prices taken from the restaurants’ own menus on 31 October 2026.
Yakiniku in London: Places, Cuts and Wagyu Grades
| Best for the full yakiniku experience | Hachi, 56 Brewer Street, Soho |
| Best for a solo meal | Yakiniku Like, Greek Street, Soho, and Stratford City |
| Best for wagyu on a hot stone | Hot Stone, Windmill Street, Fitzrovia |
| Cheapest way in | Hachi’s lunch grill set: three cuts with rice, miso soup, salad and kimchi, £17.40 |
| Top end | Hachi’s Kobe course for two, £289.80 |
| What A5 means | The highest yield grade (A) and the highest meat quality grade (5) in Japan’s official beef grading |
What yakiniku is
Yakiniku translates as “grilled meat”. In Hachi’s own words, diners are brought raw ingredients and cook them on a grill in the middle of the table, then dip them into a choice of tare sauces. Some cuts arrive marinated in tare; others come seasoned only with salt, like Hachi’s negi tan shio, salted beef tongue with spring onion and sesame oil.
It is a sharing meal: you order plates of different cuts, cook a few slices at a time and keep the grill busy through the meal. Our explainer on the different types of Japanese BBQ sets yakiniku beside teppanyaki, robatayaki and kushiyaki skewers.
Japanese BBQ in London: four places to grill
| Restaurant | Address | Format | Price (own menu or site) | Booking |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hachi | 56 Brewer Street, Soho, W1F 9TJ | Table grills, à la carte or courses | Lunch grill set £17.40; courses for two £89.80 to £289.80 | Online reservations |
| Yakiniku Like | 47 Greek Street, Soho, W1D 4EE, and Stratford City | One-person grills, order by app, 50-minute seating | Not published on its site | Walk-in only |
| Kintan | Oxford Circus | Japanese BBQ restaurant | Not readable on its site | Check its site |
| Hot Stone | 3 Windmill Street, Fitzrovia, W1T 2HY | Wagyu and Kobe cooked on a 450°C volcanic stone | Not published as text on its site | Online reservations |
Hachi, Brewer Street: Kobe beef and A5 wagyu on the table grill
Hachi opened on Brewer Street at the end of 2018. According to the restaurant, it was started by founding members of Atari-Ya, the Japanese food distributor that supplies London restaurants, and its wagyu comes through the same supply network in Europe and Japan.
Its dinner menu has five set courses, each for two people:
- Classic, £89.80: bavette, short rib, pork belly, Japanese sausage and vegetables, among other plates
- Premium, £109.80: built around A4 wagyu ribeye, hanging tender and short rib
- Wagyu, £139.80: two kinds of wagyu chosen by the chef, plus premium oyster blade and hanging tender
- Chateaubriand, £229.80: wagyu fillet chateaubriand and three kinds of wagyu
- Kobe, £289.80: Kobe A5 premium short rib, wagyu fillet chateaubriand, two more wagyu cuts and truffle wagyu sushi
À la carte, 80g of A4 wagyu ribeye (four slices) is £41.60 and the A5 version £44.60. At lunch, a set of three grill items with rice, miso soup, a small salad and kimchi costs £17.40, and lunch courses for two start at £79.80. A 12.5% discretionary service charge is added. Hachi opens for lunch daily from noon to 3pm and for dinner from 6pm (5pm on Friday, Saturday and Sunday).
Map of Hachi Japanese BBQ
Yakiniku Like, Greek Street and Stratford: a grill for one
Yakiniku Like is built for eating on your own. Every seat has its own small roaster, you order cuts through the restaurant’s app, and dining time is limited to 50 minutes. It takes no reservations. Its site describes it as a solo yakiniku restaurant hosted by Kintan Japanese BBQ, with branches at 47 Greek Street in Soho and at Stratford City, and lunch specials on weekdays until 4pm.
Kintan, Oxford Circus
Kintan calls itself an authentic Japanese BBQ experience and runs its restaurant at Oxford Circus. It is also the company behind Yakiniku Like in London. Check its site for the current menu and opening hours before you go.
Hot Stone, Windmill Street: wagyu on a volcanic stone
Hot Stone in Fitzrovia is a slightly different idea. Instead of a grill, its Kobe sirloin and wagyu are cooked on a volcanic stone heated to 450°C, a method called ishiyaki, and the menu also covers sushi. It serves certified Kobe beef, its executive chef Padam Raj Rai has 24 years’ experience of Japanese cooking, and it is about five minutes’ walk from Goodge Street and Tottenham Court Road stations.
Map of Hot Stone
What to order: yakiniku cuts and their Japanese names
Menus list cuts by their Japanese names. These are the ones on Hachi’s menu, with its prices.
| Japanese name | English name on the menu | Where it comes from | Price at Hachi |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tan, jo tan, toku jo tan | Beef tongue, from standard to the best part | Tongue, sliced thin and usually salted | £14.50 (negi tan shio) to £20.40 |
| Kalbi | Short rib | Rib | £14.50 |
| Harami, jo harami | Hanging tender (skirt) | Diaphragm | £19.80 to £22.80 |
| Misuji, jo misuji | Oyster blade | Shoulder | £19.80 to £22.80 |
| Kainomi | Bavette | Flank | £18.90 |
| Kata rosu | Iberico pork neck | Pork neck, six slices | £13.20 |
| Ton toro | Pork jowl | Pork cheek, six slices | £13.20 |
| Buta bara | Pork belly | Pork belly, six slices | £9.80 |
Hachi’s menu lists tongue first, and a sensible order is to grill the salted cuts while the grill is clean, then move on to anything in tare, which drips sauce onto the bars. Staff will tell you which cuts are best on the day.
A5 wagyu explained: what the grade on the menu means
When a London menu says “A5 wagyu”, it is using the beef carcass grading of the Japan Meat Grading Association. Every carcass gets two grades, written together:
- A letter for yield (A, B or C): how much usable meat the carcass gives. A is better than standard, B is standard, C is below standard.
- A number for meat quality (1 to 5): judged on marbling, the colour and shine of the meat, its firmness and texture, and the colour and quality of the fat. Each carcass takes the lowest of the four scores.
Marbling is measured on the Beef Marbling Standard (BMS), from No. 1 to No. 12. The association’s table sets these minimums:
| Quality grade | Marbling (BMS No.) |
|---|---|
| 5 | 8 to 12 |
| 4 | 5 to 7 |
| 3 | 3 to 4 |
| 2 | 2 |
| 1 | 1 |
So A5 means the top yield grade and the top quality grade, which requires marbling of at least BMS No. 8. A4, like Hachi’s cheaper ribeye, still has marbling of BMS No. 5 or more. The grade describes the carcass, not the breed or the region.
Kobe beef is narrower still. Hachi’s menu explains it as beef from the Tajima strain of Japanese Black cattle, reared in Hyōgo Prefecture, and says that only Tajima beef meeting specific quality criteria may be called Kobe Beef, which helps explain why Hachi’s Kobe course costs about twice its Wagyu course.
Japanese BBQ beyond the grill
If you are planning a Japanese night out in London around the grill, our guide to the best sushi in London prices every counter from £2 nigiri to £380 omakase, and our hub of London’s best Japanese food by dish type covers everything else. Travelling to Japan? Our Osaka food guide includes yakiniku and horumon, the offal grill, in the city where they are most loved.
Japanese BBQ in London: questions and answers
For Hachi in Soho, booking ahead is wise, especially for the dinner courses, and it takes reservations online. Hot Stone in Fitzrovia also takes online bookings. Yakiniku Like on Greek Street and at Stratford City is walk-in only, with a 50-minute limit per meal, so it suits a quick solo lunch.
A5 is the top grade in the Japan Meat Grading Association’s system. “A” is the best yield grade, meaning the carcass gives more usable meat than standard, and “5” is the best quality grade, which requires marbling of Beef Marbling Standard No. 8 to 12 plus top marks for colour, texture and fat. The grade is set by the association’s graders in Japan.
At Hachi in Soho, a lunch set of three grill items with rice and miso soup costs £17.40. Dinner courses for two run from £89.80 for the Classic to £289.80 for the Kobe course, before a 12.5% service charge. À la carte, 80g of A5 wagyu ribeye is £44.60.
Yes. Yakiniku Like on Greek Street in Soho and at Stratford City gives every diner a personal grill, takes orders through its app and limits each meal to 50 minutes. It does not take reservations, so you walk in and wait for a seat.
Yes. Hachi serves Kobe A5 premium short rib (£69.80 for 80g) and a Kobe course for two, and Hot Stone in Fitzrovia serves certified Kobe sirloin cooked on a volcanic stone. Kobe Beef comes only from Tajima cattle reared in Hyōgo Prefecture that meet strict quality criteria.
