Ririen

Up the stairs of the Aida Building, along the street below Kagurazaka, Ririen is a yakiniku restaurant where you can settle in for grilled meat at lunch or in the evening. Lunch brings a choice of set meals, including skirt steak, mixed-meat and short-rib options, each accompanied by grilled prawns. Kimchi, namul, salad, roasted seaweed, rice and soup round out the spread. Cooking the meat at the table and taking your time over each dish makes for a satisfyingly leisurely meal.

Pot-marinated meat and carefully selected cuts

One of the standouts on the à la carte menu and at dinner is the Recommended Pot-Marinated Series, with meat and vegetables packed into a pot to marinate. Options include short rib, skirt steak and chuck roll. Grilled over the mesh, the well-seasoned meat is juicy and full of flavour. There is plenty to choose from according to your mood, too, including upper-grade short rib and select sirloin in either a savoury sauce or salt seasoning, as well as grilled bone-in beef tail.

Noodles and soup to round out the meal

There is more to the menu than grilled meat. Refreshing cold noodles made with buckwheat noodles, sizzling stone-pot bibimbap and gomtang gukbap, with its deeply simmered beef-bone broth, are among the choices for a change of pace or to finish the meal. The relaxed space works well for a group sharing meat and drinks such as beer, as well as for solo diners who want to focus on the food at their own pace.