Steak House Satou

Name: ステーキハウスサトウ / Steak House Satou
Style: Wagyuu (Japanese beef) steak
Neighborhood: Kichijouji
Website: None but Yahoo gourmet listing is here

Michael Chang, a friend from Polygon, had heard about something called "Matsuzaka Beef" (I think ) that's supposedley a step up from even Kobe beef. He found a listing for a place out in Kichijouji so we trooped out there for lunch this Saturday.

Steak House Satou is just a couple minutes from the north exit (aka "Central Exit") of Kichijouji station, and it's primarily a butcher shop. It looks like the truly popular option for this place is buying take-out from the first floor -- the entire time we were out in Kichijouji there was a long line of people waiting to buy take-out, for upwards of 30 minutes.

The restaurant is an incredibly 狭い (narrow) second floor over the butcher shop. There's no reservations, so the line goes up one of those frighteningly-narrow-and-steep Japanese stairways. I sure hope the handrails are securely bolted to the wall, because they're surely necessary sometimes.

We showed up purposely late for lunch on a Saturday -- the line was about 20 minutes when we arrived at 1:30, but by the time our last party member made it at 2:00, we could ascend the stairs and sit down directly (the take-out line downstairs was still going strong, though).

Ordering consists of picking which level of set menu you want. There are 1250円 and 2500円 lunch sets which provide a really good deal. Matt and Atsu went for that option, which is very good but largely equivalent to eating at a place like Kennedy's steakhouse. Michael and I, figuring we don't get out to Kichijouji too often, splurged on the お勧め (daily recommendation) 5300円 ロース set (ロース is kind of like saying Roast Beef, but I think it actually corresponds to Sirloin?). That was really good wagyuu, juicy and rich and a noticeable step up from Kennedy's (albeit at a price up as well).

There's no reason to stop there, Steak House Satou has several higher-end options as well. The Matsu set was around 8400円 and the highest-end set meal reach 121000円. The difference is just the quality of beef; all of the sets come with the same bottomless rice, salad, and beverage of choice. There are also (as in almost all Japanese steak houses) a big pile of grilled bean sprouts served with your steak, it's somehow tradition here.

I enjoyed Steak House Satou, although I'm not sure I'll ride the Inokashira-sen out to Kichijouji every weekend for it. I am, though, really curious about what's so good about the take-out to keep all those folks in the 30-minute line!