匠味 | Takumi
Japan, Gifu city tower 43 2F,2-52, Hashimotocho, Gifu-shi, Gifu, 500-8856
+81 58-267-1129
http://www.gf.zennoh.or.jp/takumi/index.html
1100hrs – 1500hrs & 1700hrs – 2230hrs
Takumi is a Hida-Beef speciality restaurant located next to Gifu Station. I wanted to try Hida beef after reading that it is one of the food items that is unique to this part of Japan.
Takumi offers a English menu which you can requested from the staff. Each customer is also provided with a disposable apron to protect their clothes.
We ordered a standard steak course (4,500¥) and a 3 cut steak course (6,170¥). Each course came with an appetiser, rice, miso soup, dessert & drinks.
Takumi offers a variety of appetiser that you can choose from. We choose the beef carpaccio and the salad. Both dishes came with a generous potion of beef . The beef on the carpaccio is raw and the texture of the meat wasn’t chewy. The tenderness of the meat came as a surprise as it was my first time trying raw beef.
The staff cleared the appetisers and brought out a sizzling stone grill and place it in the middle of the table.
The meat portion wasn’t huge, but it was comparable to the rest of the restaurants that we dinned in Japan. The Hida beef was nice, and I enjoyed the fattest cut of the meat. But the meat didn’t offer the melt in your mouth experience.
One of the major drawbacks of the restaurant was the poor ventilation system. The footprint of the restaurant was quite small. And it didn’t help that the fire heating up the stone plate was also consuming up any of the available oxygen.
During the meal, there were instances where we felt that it was too suffocating. We had to step out of the restaurant to get a breather before we were able to continue with our meal.
If you happen to stop by Gifu with only a short window of time to spare, this restaurant offers a decent Hida Beef meal. The lunch menu offers the same course that we had but at a much lower price point.