Peter Luger Steak House Tokyo
⭐⭐⭐
๐ฅฉ Steak / ๐ Ebisu
๐ Visits: 2 (2021-2022)
Tokyo already hosts outposts of some of the well-known US steakhouse franchises including Ruth's Chris, Wolfgang's, Benjamin, Empire and Morton's so it was perhaps the natural choice for the first international branch of Peter Luger.
The menu is pretty much the same as the NY original. There are options other than steak and the hamburger lunch special and while they sound appealing, it's a bit of a risk going to any restaurant, requesting a rarely-ordered item and expecting it to come out as well as the signatures. Of course, most people come for the porterhouse. Sixmars in Harajuku used to sell porterhouse at JPY 1,800 per 100g starting from 450g. The steak there wasn't laced with fat so along with a simple green salad you could have a very nice Atkins-style dinner for one for under 9K. Unfortunately they closed a while back and I haven't found a replacement since. The porterhouse at Luger's is very large and sizzles in fat. While the menu states 'steak for two' I did notice at least one lone diner having a porterhouse all to himself. If you add in sides (also large portions) it's too much for one person, though you can take what you don't eat home.
On my first visit I went for the burger. This came with 'French fries' (medium-sized US portion, large-sized Japan portion) and without lettuce and tomato (charged extra). The meat had excellent flavour, a good crust, a very rough texture and no gristle. Fries are more like chips and fried in beef fat. I would have preferred them crispier or, better yet, just proper French fries, but they were fine enough. I like potato so there wasn't enough for me and I ordered a side of German potatoes. I didn't enjoy these as much as the French fries. The sides are sized for sharing but despite all that I still ate the lot. The bacon topping I ordered with the burger was very salty and burned at one end so I would not order that again. (You can get good thick bacon at lots of places in Japan.) Although a lot of it is grilled away you could really taste the fat in the burger and with fatty sides my knife had a thick layer of fat on it by the time I was done. To drink I had the ume-shiso mojito which was a good, sour accompaniment to cut through all the grease. I did not order dessert but that was only because they have a 'boutique' next door where the cheesecake, pecan pie, chocolate mousse and Key lime pie is available to take out and back then (accounting for service) at a 540 yen discount (minus the pictured cream). If JPY 1,000 was a lot for cake then JPY 1,500, as it is now, is probably too much. The cheesecake is huge, weighing at 276g per slice, and I enjoyed it but you could get 2-3 cakes elsewhere for 1,500 yen.
The bill came to just over JPY 7,000 or JPY 8,000 if you include the takeout dessert. Quite a lot for a burger, though in fairness I had a lot more and there was so much calorie-rich food I didn't need dinner. The bill will be automatically charged to the credit card you book with. That was the only awkward moment in service when you're not quite sure whether or not you can leave. The online receipt was not itemized so if you need an itemized receipt you should ask for one. I didn't complain about the bacon at the time but back-calculating, it seems they didn't charge me for it.
The restaurant is in a cavernous space. Tables are large and there's plenty of room between them. For me, service was excellent. Food arrived just 8 minutes after ordering (suggesting they already have burgers on the go). Staff can speak English and I noticed all the staff spending a lot of time at each table engaging with guests. There was no chance that the same surly service in NY would find its way to Japan, and while service is invariably excellent in Japan it's all too often impersonal. So I really liked the approach here. In a large, busy, restaurant with many staff there's going to be variation so your experience might not be exactly the same. If you're Japanese, you might not be as comfortable interacting with a waiter who's first language isn't Japanese and is talking through a tightly-fitting mask.
Below is a copy from when the restaurant first opened in October 2021 and following that a copy from exactly a year later, the most recent price revision at time of writing.
So instead, on my second visit I went for the steak sandwich, which they've been offering since the end of November 2022. Available at weekday lunches only and limited to 10 per day. I arrived at the restaurant at 11:30, late in December. I assumed the restaurant was full and asked to be seated in the bar, which can't be reserved, but serves the full menu. I was the only diner in the bar on my visit and there was no atmosphere. Drinks for the restaurant are prepared in the restaurant bar so there's really nothing to see.
Food arrived after about 8 mins. There was a good amount of chips. The sandwich itself was full of quality meat with zero gristle or strips of fat. The overall flavour was sweet rather than umami though, but I guess that's what you get with corn-fed meat. Luger's Sauce is also sweet (more corn - syrup). Despite the lack of atmosphere service was very good, as before, and the restaurant manager came over to my table after I'd paid.
Objectively, the burger at Aldebaran is probably better and for a cheap fix of beef I don't think you can beat Bakery & Burger JB's Tokyo or Arabikidaze. If you're after a decent steak sandwich that won't cost you JPY 5,000 I'd recommend STABLER Shimokitazawa Meatsand (review to come). But for authenticity and overall experience I'd recommend a visit to Peter Luger Steak House Tokyo. And definitely book the restaurant.
๐ https://tabelog.com/tokyo/A1303/A130302/13258435/
❓ My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐ 3.99 (food 3.8, experience 4.4)
๐ฑ Booking: ๐ฉ Easy since 2022. For dinner a week in advance for a specific time or same/next day for lunch or if you're flexible. Book via phone or TableCheck. Lunch-only bookings via Tabelog. The full menu is served at the bar, which can't be reserved. Children now only accepted in private rooms (7-8 guests, minimum charge JPY 100k). Cards only.
๐ Location:
4-19-19 Ebisu. The restaurant and boutique have separate street-level entrances. Former premises of MLB Cafe Tokyo. Opposite the North side of Ebisu Garden Place.
Map data ©2021 Google
๐ Visit December 2022
Steak sandwich 4,900
๐ด Damage: 5,390 (4,900 + 10%)
⏱️ Time taken: 35m
๐ Visit: November 2021
Luger Burger 2,800
+bacon 900 (not charged)
German potatoes 1,400
Ume-shiso mojito 1,400
๐ด Damage: 7,040 incl 10% service
⏱️ Time taken: 50m
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