Nakasei Uchimise

Nakasei Uchimise (中勢以 内店)

⭐⭐⭐⭐

🥩 Steak / 📍 Myogadani

Visits: 1

Nakasei is actually a butchers and meat suppliers.  They specialise in aged Kobe beef.  Nakasei Uchimise held one Michelin Star from the 2015 Tokyo Guide until it was dropped in the 2021 Guide.  While there are other restaurants classed as 'Beef Specialities' or 'Sukiyaki', Nakasei Uchimise was the only restaurant in The Guide classified as 'Steakhouse' since Trois Fleches was dropped in the 2018 edition.  Some cuts of steak are really sized to be shared so the restaurant is set up with the smallest tables seating up to four.  So, as is the case with many steakhouses in Tokyo, Nakasei Uchimise previously did not take reservations for lone diners.  However, I happened to notice, in 2021, that at some point they had changed their policy.

Nakasei is another one of those steakhouses with an irreconcilable pricing structure.  The lunch course of 3 appetizers, 150g of steak, rice set and dessert is JPY 7,700 inclusive.  Dinner is priced at JPY 13,200 and comprises 4 appetizers, 150g of steak, 2 sides and dessert.  At dinner, the course includes three different 100g cuts shared between two diners.  At lunch it's two different 150g cuts shared.  The minimum size of a steak is 100g and as I was by myself at lunch I could only have one 150g cut (I presume that would be the same at dinner.)  I was asked if I wanted today's lean or marbled beef which were kamenoko (ball tip) or ichibo (aitchbone) respectively but I asked to see them both in the fantastic showcase in the meat shop before deciding.  All the beef was from Kobe.

It didn't take me very long to confirm the ichibo but I wanted to look anyway.  Now here's the fun: you can also order a-la-carte.  The price per 100g is displayed on the meat in the showcase.  The price excludes a 10% grilling/service fee and tax.  The beef I chose cost JPY 4,100 for 100g.  So 150g including tax and service would be JPY 7,442.  That's just 258 yen less than the inclusive cost of the lunch course.  This makes no sense.  You'd be mad to order this a-la-carte.  The reason you might want to go a-la-carte is if you'd like a more expensive cut of beef.  As they purchase the whole cow, you can eat rarer cuts and at a lower price than elsewhere.  The rib roast and sirloin were priced at JPY 6,050 and JPY 6,300, respectively, per 100g and the minimum size for those cuts is from 300g.  That works out at 21K for steak alone.  The 7K lunch course is not going to stretch to that, even between two.  21K for 300g of beef of this quality is not expensive.  Idea Ginza will charge you about 46K for 300g of Kobe Sirloin.  Not all cuts are available at all times.  In particular, there was no tenderloin available on my visit.  They have a diagram illustrating the cuts on their menu.  This is in Japanese only but I've provided a translation below.  In general, the leaner cuts are at the hind of the animal and the fattier cuts start from the sirloin, moving towards the fore.

How was the steak?  Excellent.  It had been aged for 16 weeks and had a very strong, game-like flavour and needed no extra seasoning.  It required a little pressure with the knife to cut and was a little chewy but there was no sinew.  It was presented on a metal plate with cut marks from every diner who'd previously used that plate.  I'll leave that one hanging.

Apart from the charcuterie, the rest of the course was not particularly good.  Beef rillettes and cream cheese was served in a too-sweet cone.  Chawnamushi with beef consomme was entirely forgettable.  The miso ice-cream and kinako dessert was unpleasant.  I left most of that and went for a proper ice-cream at the excellent (and unfortunately now closed) Ninao a couple of stops away after.  The charcuterie was excellent.  This consisted of (clockwise), jambon, bresaola, terrine, roast beef and 'prosciutto'.  Relatively speaking, there aren't many restaurants in the world that produce their own charcuterie and even fewer in Japan so I really appreciated this.  The rice that accompanied the meat was very high quality.

Service was polite but quite slow.  I arrived at 11:35.  I'd pre-ordered the course and the amuse did not arrive until 11:57.  Charcuterie followed at 12:10.  The steak arrived at 1:30.  Initially there was one other table for two and one for four with all diners ordering the hamburg lunch around the same time.  It was a 45m wait for those tables before they would get their lunch.  A table for two arrived 30/40 mins into service, ordered the course and were served a lot more quickly than I was.

No English was spoken but menus are bilingual, except (natch) the cheap lunch menu.  You can preview the menus on their website.  As Anonymous points out in the comments, at weekday lunch only for JPY 3,960 you can have a 150g no-choice steak with salad, rice, miso soup and coffee and this is not on the menu on their Website.

The dining room is hardwood floors, bare tables, metal chairs, exposed ceiling and clear incandescent lightbulbs.  There was good spacing around each table and I had plenty of space.

I enjoyed my visit to Nakasei Uchimise.  The best way to enjoy it would be with more people so you could choose the larger cuts and a wider variety.  I would go again but order a-la-carte: one starter, two 100g cuts of beef and sides.  That would probably end up being twice the cost of the course but would include more meat, (I'd hope) no duds and would still be cheaper than something comparable in Ginza.

📌 https://tabelog.com/tokyo/A1323/A132302/13152057/ 

❓ My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.1

📱 Booking: 🟩 Same-day or advance bookings taken by phone.  You can also book via Tabelog up to 30 minutes before your chosen time.  Walk-ins should be possible but I wouldn't travel specially without a booking.

📍 Location:

5-10-18 Koishikawa.  6 mins from Myogadani station Exit 1.  Dedicated street-facing entrance.
Map data ©2021 Google

📅 Visit June 2021

Amuse: beef rillette, cream cheese cone
Charcuterie
Chawanmushi, consomme
Steak
Miso ice-cream, kinako

💴 Damage: 7,700
⏱️ Time taken: 1h30m