Wagyu Japanese BBQ

[Thomas Vu]

Menu
https://www.facebook.com/WAGYUOKC/

My food
https://photos.app.goo.gl/VndqAySKvQ5hKd4D3

Stopped by tonight and ordered the Seikou prix fixe menu. It's a Japanese restaurant that happens to serve a few Korean things too

The spicy tuna volcano was the only thing I didn't really like cause I don't like fried rolls. They have the best miso soup that I've had in Oklahoma. The house chili wings went really well with chili oil. The Wafu salad was a nice change of pace from salads that are served in normal Japanese restaurants where you expect the ginger based dressing. I went with the garlic noodle. Slightly regret it cause the noodles get stuck on the ceramic bowl and is really hot.

My favorite meat was the miso wagyu skirt steak, which could easily be associated with their version of bulgogi. The miso wagyu toro could be the equivalent of the Korean bbq bacon-esque dish.

I had a bit of difficulty witht he salt & pepper wagyu sirloin flap cause wagyu is supposed to melt in your mouth, and i didn't want to make it well done. I was served scallops instead of the cod. Veggies were good, and I wish I had that with the meat instead of last.

I thought it was a good first swing at this kind of thing for OKC (unless you count birra birra). The lack of an all you can eat option kills it if you've been to kbbq before. Bring enough people though and it could average out to the same price. I need to change my expectation of soft openings. My waiter didn't know very much about the menu.

[corwin1968]

Shared this with my wife. I noticed the sign went up a few weeks ago and we've been curious, being fans of Korean BBQ.

[u50254082]

I've got a feeling this place is not going to be managed much different than that failure of a KBBQ in Norman... if you get what I'm saying.

[MartzMimic]

I’m guessing this is American Waygu...

[soonermike81]

I've got a feeling this place is not going to be managed much different than that failure of a KBBQ in Norman... if you get what I'm saying.

So they're the same owners? If so, why can't you just say it.

[Thomas Vu]

I’m guessing this is American Waygu...

I think Wagyu is American by definition?

[u50254082]

So they're the same owners? If so, why can't you just say it.

Not quite that. All I can say is look at the Google reviews for the KBBQ place in Norman and see what a common complaint is. I imagine the same issue will occur at this Wagyu place based on some light research I did.

[stile99]

I think Wagyu is American by definition?

Quite the opposite. Wagyu literally means Japanese cow (Wa = Japanese and gyu = cow).

[Roger S]

Quite the opposite. Wagyu literally means Japanese cow (Wa = Japanese and gyu = cow).

What he was meaning is that Wagyu is the American version of Kobe. We do not import beef from Japan. So any restaurant advertising Kobe beef is doing so falsely.... So to answer the original question... Yes, it would be American raised Wagyu.

[Jeepnokc]

What he was meaning is that Wagyu is the American version of Kobe. We do not import beef from Japan. So any restaurant advertising Kobe beef is doing so falsely.... So to answer the original question... Yes, it would be American raised Wagyu.

Agreed for 99.99% of places advertsing kobe. There are a few though (9 in the US) according to this article:

http://www.businessinsider.com/8-res...be-beef-2016-7

https://www.bonappetit.com/entertain...yu-steak-myths

[Roger S]

Agreed for 99.99% of places advertsing kobe. There are a few though (9 in the US) according to this article:

Interesting reads... I noticed the first was from last summer and it's been a few years since I first researched it. So apparently the restrictions on importing Japanese beef have been removed/relaxed.

[soonermike81]

Not quite that. All I can say is look at the Google reviews for the KBBQ place in Norman and see what a common complaint is. I imagine the same issue will occur at this Wagyu place based on some light research I did.

Chinese-owned is what I'm guessing is that common complaint. The biggest complaint, from what I read, is just really poor service. That to me is a much bigger concern then a Korean or Japanese restaurant being owned by Chinese people. But if the poor service is a direct correlation to being Chinese-owned, which I have had issues in the past, then I understand. I'll still give this place a shot, as the food sounds delicious

[sooner88]

The Ranch typically offers up to A12 grade Japanese steak (believe they refer to it as Kobe, but could be Wagyu).

[Roger S]

Ahhh... here is an updated article from Forbes with a link to the original article I had read back around 2010 that talks about Japanese beef imports.

It confirms that the ban on Japanese imports was lifted in 2012 but still only allows limited amounts of Japanese beef to be imported.... It also mentions the 9 restaurants listed in the link that Jeepnokc posted.

[Urbanized]

To clarify: Wagyu simply means “Japanese cow” and refers to more than one breed, though production skews more heavily to a particular variety. Wagyu is of course still raised in Japan, but there are also herds in the U.S., Australia, Canada and the U.K. I think only Canada and Australia export to the U.S. other than the limited Japanese imports mentioned above. Australian Wagyu is pretty common in the U.S.

Kobe refers to a region. If you are eating Kobe beef, by default you are eating Wagyu, though the genetics and production standards are more specific than simply “Wagyu raised in Kobe.” But unless your beef came from Kobe (and meets the aforementioned standards), it cannot legally be termed Kobe beef. Much like sparkling wine from regions other than Champagne might taste just as good (or even better) but they ain’t champagne; they’re sparking wine. There are other regions in Japan that also produce Wagyu, but they also can’t be called Kobe nor - at least in the case of Matsusaka, which is even more desirable - would they WANT to be called that.

For the record, I’ve never had Kobe (or Matsusaka or the other Japanese-produced varieties) but I’ve had plenty of Wagyu and - depending on cut/preparation - it’s indeed worth the premium you’ll pay.

[Roger S]

I had Wagyu skirt and sirloin in one of Tom Collichio’s restaurants in Vegas. I absolutely hate sirloin steak. Only form I will use it in is ground. This Wagyu sirloin was an exception. It was incredible!

The skirt steak, which is a cut I do enjoy, was like eating butter.

[Urbanized]

That’s the whole thing with Wagyu; the marbling is different than just about anything else. And “butter” is a very common description people have for it.

[Uptowner]

Soo back to the restaurant??

[bretweller]

Not quite that. All I can say is look at the Google reviews for the KBBQ place in Norman and see what a common complaint is. I imagine the same issue will occur at this Wagyu place based on some light research I did.

We were literally open for 1 week when you posted that... (We did a soft opening for almost 2 weeks while we learned the menu and trained the kitchen!)

I actually work there and can guarantee you that we're nothing like Norman. First off Norman uses freaking grill pans (griddles) to cook meat.... We use open flame on imported Japanese gas grills. (4k a pop for those suckas!)

We source our Wagyu beef out of Texas www.abarnmeats.com. Wanna bet I can change your mind about "yakiniku" in Oklahoma City? Come up and ask for me and I'll give you 10% off your meal. Hell, anyone reading this.. But be sure to mention OKCTalk.. Then, help us blast out some social media love and I'll give you another 5$!

Look forward to serving ya'll!!

-Bret

[stile99]

Hey, thanks Bret. That's a good deal. OKCTalk meetup at Wagyu!!!

[Roger S]

I was there a few weeks ago and they were giving a discount for checking in on Facebook.
N

[soonermike81]

So the wife and I tried this place recently and thought I'd give my opinion. First of all, we like the space itself. Nicely decorated, but the booths were just a little tight, imo. And neither of us are huge people. The service was good for the most part. Our main server, I forget his name, was excellent. Very attentive, knowledgeable, and friendly. He also had two helpers, one of which said she was new, that would come by refill water and bring various items to grill up. They were a little much, and seemed to be trying way too hard. I'm generally very talkative, but sometimes, I just want to be left alone to converse with my dinner party. This was primarily the taller gentleman, he was nice though.

Regarding the food, we decided to go with the Saikou course, so we could try several things. Honestly would have preferred to pick our items a la carte, but that would've added up the ticket way too fast. So $75 for this meal seemed like a pretty good deal. I will say that it was a ton of food for the 2 of us, and I'm a pretty big eater. So really, 3 people probably could share that course. We subbed out the house chili wings and got chicken karaage instead since we love karaage. We were happy, had good flavor and the batter was right and better than most places in town. Spicy tuna volcano wasn't good to me; like Thomas said above, we also didn't like the fried rolls. I also agree that the miso soup is one of the better ones I've had ; my wife pointed out that it's probably because they use a dark miso paste rather than the more common light paste. Not sure what she's talking about, but I just nodded my head and slurped my soup. Lol. Salad was good and garlic udon noodles were ok. Our favorite meats were the skirt steak and sirloin flap, both were pretty tender and flavorful. Toro wasn't marinated, so didn't have as much flavor. Cod was pretty good, and shrimp was ok. Pretty difficult to screw up shrimp, I guess. We also got mushrooms and spinach for veggies, which we both really enjoyed. Again, we agree with Thomas that we wish we would've gotten the veggies a little earlier so we could eat with all the meats/seafood. Was never really told what order things were coming in, and at one point, we were concerned that they weren't going to bring out certain items, b/c it had been quite a bit between dishes. I asked the server to see what's going on, and he went to the kitchen to check. We noticed the Asian manager who was running the FOH was right there and overheard our concerns. I would've liked for her to come over and address the issue or go check on it herself, but she just walked off and pretended like she didn't hear. It was a Tuesday evening and was pretty quiet, so I know she wasn't too busy to help. But fortunately, our server came back with the final items and apologized for the delay. So I was told to read previous concerns from Yelp about this place and Shilla in Norman, and service seemed to be an issue. Not terrible, but was a little disappointed with the FOH lady, who looked like she was possibly part of ownership as well. And yes, I think the owners are Chinese. Not that it matters.

Will most likely be back at some point, but who knows when. It's a little far north for us, and for the price point, the food didn't blow us away. It was good but not amazing. If I was a yelp person, I would give it 3.5 out of 5. Again, there seems to be way too many new spots opening up and we have so much in our rotation, that it might be hard for us to try them again. But what they offer is definitely unique to okc though.

[u50254082]

So since it's a Japanese restaurant, does it taste like Japanese food or Japanese food made by Chinese people?

I know this will be a controversial thing to ask but I think it matters. I'm Asian if that helps to calm the potential cries of racism.

If we want good Mexican food we go to the authentic Mexican places.
If we want good Sichuan food we go to the authentic Sichuan places.
If we want good Greek food we go to the authentic Greek places.

So convince me that someone of Chinese heritage who grew up eating Chinese food would be able to make good Japanese food.

[stile99]

Convince me that someone of Chinese heritage who grew up eating Chinese food WOULDN'T be able to make good Japanese food.

I mean, if we're going to go down this road, then of course you're aware that "Mexican food" is nonsense, with at least five regions with distinct food styles. You even made reference to food having regions when you specified Sichuan food as opposed to Mandarin, or Hunan, or Cantonese, or others. Greek food, also mentioned, is also rather diverse.

For what it is worth, I don't disagree with the sentiment behind your question...when I walk into a Romanian restaurant and see Romanians in the dining room as well as the kitchen, I'm pretty confident they know what they're doing there. But the flip side isn't true, if I see Filipinos in the kitchen I don't assume they can't make the food.

[Jeepnokc]

Bella Vista on the south side is one of the better italian places in town imho. It is owned by a greek couple though.