Photo: Tom Roseveare

Steakhouse Senri

Small secret wagyu paradise near Koga Station

Photo: Tom Roseveare
Tom Roseveare   - 2 min read

Steakhouse Senri has been quietly serving the finest wagyu cuts of beef on a hidden side street in Ibaraki's Koga for over 40 years. First opening its doors in 1970, Senri serves up a good range of wagyu steak, sukiyaki and shabu shabu.

Senri prides itself on sourcing the very finest ingredients and wagyu beef, and preparing this in front of its loyal customers at its open counter setting, where they can engage in conversation with the chefs and marvel at their showmanship as they expertly prepare beautiful marbled wagyu steak for your plate.

The Menu

Three cuts are available: Rib Roast, Sirloin and Fillet. These can be ordered in different quantities and easily shared between diners in the same group. Rib Roast steaks come in at 250g (¥6,500), 300g (¥7,700) and 350g (¥9,000). Sirloin steaks are 200g (¥6,600), 250g (¥8,200) and 300g (¥9,800). Fillet steaks weigh in at 150g (¥4,800), 200g (¥6,300), 250g (¥7,900) and 300g (¥9,600). An extra special choice cut of fillet steak is also available: 150g (¥5,600), 200g (¥7,400) and 250g (¥9,200).

Undeniably, wagyu does not come cheap, but it's worth paying extra to understand what makes it so well-loved. The marbled slices of Japanese wagyu beef have an intense flavour and texture so soft it almost melts in the mouth. Thenagain, the lunch menu is slightly better value for those looking for the mouth-watering experience without the eye-watering prices. Fillet steak (150g for ¥4,000; 200g for ¥5,500) and Roast Usuyaki (150g for ¥4,000) sets all include salad, rice, Miso soup and coffee in the lunch price.

Set menu options are available to help round out the experience with Matsu, Take and Ume courses all combining different cuts of wagyu alongside salad, rice, Miso soup and coffee. (Matsu/pine, take/bamboo and ume/plum, or Shochikubai, is a traditional ranking system but commonly used to compare relative quantities in this context). A less expensive seafood course is also available, which swaps out the wagyu (madness, if you ask me) for squid, prawns and scallops. Naturally, there are shabu-shabu and sukiyaki options available t​oo.

Getting there

Senri is located not far from Koga station, on the Tōhoku Main Line (including Shōnan-Shinjuku and Utsunomiya Lines). From the west exit, it's about a 10 minute walk north-west of the station.

Tom Roseveare

Tom Roseveare @tom.roseveare

Creative Director at Japan Travel, based in Tokyo. Feel free to reach out about living, working or travelling in Japan – just book a time.