Yakiniku Tokuyama: Old-School Beef, Mutton and Offal Grill

Yakiniku Tokuyama (やきにく徳山) is regarded by reviewers as one of the oldest yakiniku houses in Iida, a town with an unusually dense yakiniku scene. It still grills on battered gas roasters with no extraction hood, so the room fills with smoke. Alongside beef, it serves Iida's local speciality, fresh mutton, and offal that is boiled before it reaches the table, including kuromotsu, a dark-coloured beef tripe. It was selected for Tabelog's yakiniku EAST "Tabelog 100" in 2025.

Most reviews single out the beef rosu (loin) as the standout, and several compare it to high-end yakiniku. Sagari (skirt), thick-cut tongue, springy liver, nankotsu (cartilage) and gyumotsu (beef offal) come up again and again, and many find the mutton free of any gamey smell. You choose between a sweet and a spicy soy-based dipping sauce. Raw vegetables for the grill are free, and the staff, often described as kind, sometimes show newcomers how to grill.

Not everyone is won over. Several reviewers simply dislike mutton, and a minority find the place ordinary, with small plates and roughly cut meat. Individual complaints include a foul-smelling table towel, shared aprons and food debris in a roaster's water tray. Others mention summer heat without working air-conditioning, cramped floor seating and occasionally brusque service.

Reviewers in 2025–2026 paid around ¥1,200–1,430 for beef rosu, ¥950–1,100 for sagari, ¥1,350–1,485 for tongue, ¥850–900 for mutton, ¥600 for liver and ¥300 for rice. Some of these figures exclude tax. Lunch typically costs ¥2,000–2,999. Diners eating dinner with drinks reported spending roughly ¥3,400–5,000 per person. Most reviewers call it exceptional value for Wagyu-grade loin and very fresh offal, though one or two note that the small plates add up.

• Getting there: a 4-minute walk (about 270 m) from Iida Station on the JR Iida Line. The restaurant is a standalone house.
• Booking: you cannot count on walking in. Reservations are by phone (0265-24-4816), and reviewers suggest booking two weeks to a month ahead for evenings and weekends, as walk-ins are routinely turned away. Arriving at the 12:00 opening sometimes gets you a lunch table without a booking. Solo diners have been refused at peak times.
• Payment: cash only. Credit cards, electronic money and QR code payments are not accepted, and reviewers report no receipts are issued.
• Children: children are welcome. There is no age restriction.
• Dress: no formal dress code, but wear casual clothes, as the smoke clings to them. Bags and aprons are provided.
• Smoking: the listing says non-smoking, but some reviewers report smoking being allowed, and the room is very smoky from the grills either way.
• Seating: 40 seats, including floor seating. There are no private rooms, and the restaurant cannot be booked for private use.
• Parking: there is no car park at the restaurant. Ask the staff for free 30-minute tickets for Center Park 21, a paid car park close by.
• Language: the menu is handwritten in Japanese on the wall.
• Hours: some reviewers report Wednesday as dinner only, and closing days are irregular, so confirm by phone before you go.