Love K-BBQ? It’s time for J-BBQ. Yakiniku, meaning ‘grilled meat’, is at the heart of Japanese BBQ experience. And good for you, there's plenty of spots to try Japanese barbeque in Melbourne.
How is it different to Korean BBQ? Tomohiro Suzuki, co-founder of Shyun Sumibiyaki in Carnegie, said this communal dining style is deeply rooted in Japanese culture.
“In comparison to Korean BBQ, which often features marinated meats and an extensive range of side dishes, Japanese yakiniku takes a simpler, more minimalistic approach,” he says.
“The focus is primarily on the natural flavours and textures of the meat, allowing each cut to shine without the heavy influence of rich marinades or sauces. Authentic yakiniku is less about marbling and more about achieving balance and variety in each bite.”
Yakiniku is a casual, everyday style of dining, especially popular in Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya. While it’s often a social affair of good food, beer and conversation, Suzuki says it’s common to see solo diners in Japan enjoying a quiet meal at the grill, and Melburnians should feel welcome to do the same.
For more Japanese related, must-eat restaurants, check out our top recs for Melbourne's best ramen, omakase, sushi, Japanese restaurants and sushi trains.
Keen to make a hot date with the grill? Here are our picks for yakiniku in Melbourne, from casual suburban spots to late-night CBD meat-cutes and upscale premium Wagyu restaurants (when you want to go a bit extra).
Shyun Sumibiyaki
129 Koornang Road, Carnegie
Image: Shyun Sumibiyaki | Supplied
Shyun Sumibiyaki is the newest addition to Carnegie’s beloved Shyun venues, inspired by the yakiniku and robata of Suzuki’s home city of Nagoya.
“We bring the nostalgic ‘shitamachi’ feel of Japan, inspired by the neighbourhood eateries where locals gather around charcoal grills for honest, no-frills dining,” Suzuki says.
“We’ve worked to recreate that same charm—a tucked-away gem where the grill is always hot and the experience feels honest, warm, and unmistakably Japanese.”
Feast on delicately marbled A5 Wagyu cuts and slices of tongue, heart and other parts served simply to highlight flavourful fats and umami. The popular banquet set features otsumami (‘tapas’), sides and a selection of meats with house sauces.
Between DIY bites, order a robata set of skewers, brothy motsu nabe stew or smoky unagi (eel) chazuke. Pair with frosty beers, highballs and sake. It’s a cheerful space, with small tables in buzzing proximity—but if you want privacy for a special occasion, book the upstairs room for an oasis of traditional Japanese aesthetic with modern grill amenities.
Shinbashi Yakiniku
294 Lygon Street, Carlton
This Brisbane import doesn’t just do DIY grilling, but all-you-can-eat BBQ as well. From Monday to Wednesday dinners and Saturday & Sunday lunches, test your appetite at Shinbashi Yakiniku with 90 minutes of unlimited Australian Wagyu, meats, seafood, vegetables and sides. This comfortably stylish spot welcomes bargain-hungry students and Wagyu connoisseurs alike. Ala carte options open up the premium Wagyu range, including Wagyu M9+, as well as sets with salads, rice and sides. Grill on Western-style tables and seating or join a kneeling tatami-style table and explore the impressive sake selection while your meat sizzles over hot coals.
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Horu Horu
579-581 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne CBD
Melbourne’s first ‘horumon-style’ grill and izakaya. A unique kind of yakiniku, Horu Horu serves both familiar cuts of meat and their specialty offal cuts. Alongside Wagyu flank, marinated octopus and chicken thigh, there’s harami (skirt steak), beef cheek, ox tongue, karubi (juicy marbled brisket), chicken hearts, and pork intestines for loading up the big raised table grill. You’ll also find all the usual izakaya suspects: gyoza, yaki onigiri, chicken karaage, cold soba, fried rice and naemul spinach as well as a smash-it-yourself potato salad. The beer and sake are cool and the grill is hot - get adventurous.
Katori
850 Whitehorse Road, Box Hill
Box Hill’s bursting food scene is home to premium yakiniku. Katori is a slick dining room of dark wood and stone with leather banquettes and soft sakura blossoms. Their beef ranges from top quality Australian Wagyu to imported A5 grade from Japan. A full set menu starts at $298 for two, beginning with starters and sashimi through to a Wagyu platter and dessert. The extensive a la carte features creative fusions like edamame with truffle sauce and crispy oyster kataif, foie gras bibimbap and pipis in sake. On sake, do check out their extensive selection and ask for their preferred pairing.
Niku Ou by Wagyu Ya
108 Bourke Street, Melbourne CBD
This star of the CBD does it all. Feast on Yakiniku by slices or tasting sets with soup and pickled sides, including a platter of the chef’s daily recommended cuts across the range, setting you back $319 for 2 to 4 people. Beyond the grill at Niku Ou, there’s shabu shabu hotpot, unctuous oxtail ramen, and omakase-style sushi and sashimi, including foie gras nigiri. Chances are you’ve seen their showstopping luxury item, as well: the Wagyu katsu sando. Choose omi A5 sirloin for $158 or Kobe A5 tenderloin for $258. All supported by a selection of sake, beers, house cocktails and primo vino.
Marble Yakiniku
52-54 Osullivan Road, Glen Waverley
Get to Glen Waverley for the chargrill of your dreams. Within the elegant simplicity of wooden tables and slatted screens, you’ll experience a cornucopia of the finest Wagyu at Marble Yakiniku. Their high-marbling A5 Japanese Wagyu is sourced from renowned regions across Japan: Hida, Miyazaki, Kagoshima and Iwate. Select Japanese cuts from harami to chuck roll, rib finger, or go the Australian Mayura Wagyu cuts like tri-tip, with garnishes of garlic chips, fresh wasabi or egg yolk sweet sauce. Branch out with yaki-shabu (thin beef slices with dipping-yolk) and tableside steak service. Banquet sets start from $99pp - not bad, considering the quality!
Nikuland
258 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne CBD
Nikuland brings a Tokyo sensation to Melbourne. The star? Hikiniku: freshly ground Wagyu hamburg, grilled tataki-style on charcoal or DIY teppan grill. Starting from a cheap and cheerful $15.90, your set comes with Hagama rice, seasonal sides and house-made sauces, like spinach or apple curry and tomato shakshuka. Variations on sets include pickles, miso or truffle cheese rice, with Wagyu slices, steak and a la carte black truffle Wagyu katsu and yakitori. Perch at the central bar sipping an ice-cold draft and watch the action or sizzle at a solitary table. To finish, silky Hokkaido soft serve.
Nobi Yakiniku
9-11 Claremont St, South Yarra
“Chill and grill” at South Yarra’s izakaya-style yakiniku, Nobi Yakiniku. Don’t let the fun setting fool you. Beneath walls emblazoned with red lanterns and a cow meat-map you’ll peruse a very primo menu. A 400g A5 Kagoshima Wagyu plate can set you back $269, or the premium Australian Wagyu for two is a comparatively humble $139 with M7+. There’s also pork and seafood and vegetables to sizzle on your personal sunken charcoal grill - balance is key, after all. Add a few izakaya snacks, pair it with a glass of sake or Japanese beer or opt for a plum shandy.
Sakae En
17 Healeys Lane, Melbourne CBD
Healey’s Lane may be known as the Koreatown of our late night dining, but it’s also home to one of Melbourne’s go-to Japanese BBQ spots: Sakae En. Their yakiniku spans from everyday cuts like the M7 and M9 karubi set at $98pp to luxurious slithers of A5 Wagyu, as well as cuts of duck loin, scallop and lamb shoulder for the grill, with BBQ sets and a dedicated Wagyu-pairing sake section. But Sakae En is comfortably fun, with cartoon murals and Japanese action figures overlooking a lunchtime sushi train and gatherings of grillers and friends huddled around steaming nabe hotpot.
Yaki Nau
370 Queen Street, Melbourne, CBD
Yaki Nau is an izakaya that’ll appeal to casual diners with fried snacks especially selected for pairing with beer and sake (try the chicken skin with pepper and chilli salt). You’ll also find donburi, fusion mains like carbonara somen and kushimono grilled skewers. But Yaki is the big neon name of the game, from full-blood M9 Aussie Wagyu platters to A5 Kagoshima Wagyu (at $49 per 100g, it’s top of the line bovine). A few cuts of seafood, pork and fresh vegetables are also on hand for a little variety, with desserts like sweet potato top and caramel pudding to finish.
Shou Sumiyaki
160 Bourke Street, Melbourne CBD
Proudly using traditional binchotan charcoal for cooking and flavour, Shou Sumiyaki is primo quality with everyman appeal. Starting with the Australian Wagyu set at $49.50pp, it spans all the way to deluxe Wagyu bites, steaks, and a la carte sushi, tempura, yakitori, fried rice and gyu katsu. Have a void only unlimited BBQ can fill? Go all-you-can-eat Sunday-Friday for $89.90pp. Satisfy yourself with deliciously marbled bites, hikiniku hamburger, pork, cuttlefish and chicken with corn and cheese, alongside salads, soup and snacks. Thirsty? Add an extra $15pp for bottomless serves of punches, sake, beer and Japanese spirits.
Ichikuro
55-65 Railway Road, Blackburn
An unassuming suburban spot, this is the best-kept-secret of BBQ. Ichikuro sets you up with a raised claypot binchotan grill, so you can make a sizzling spectacle of your Wagyu cuts, pork cheese sausage, seafood and assorted veg. If you’re a condiment lover, rejoice! Ichikuro is famous for its marinades and sauces. Wagyu cuts come with a choice of house BBQ sauce or salt seasoning, while pork has salt, miso or spicy miso - and if that’s still not enough, pick extra sauces like garlic butter, ponzu with grated radish, teriyaki and beetroot. Don’t skip the ochazuke rice soups - they’re a specialty.
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