Aragawa

01What to order

• Tajima sirloin, 400 g / 14 ozUp to £900 for the Okazaki farm cut in Andy Hayler's June 2024 review; Time Out listed a Nishizawa Farm sirloin at £760 in October 2023.
• Tajima rump, 400 g / 14 oz£580 for a 33-month Arii farm rump in 2024, the lowest steak price Hayler recorded.
• Three-course set lunch£260 in 2024, with selected cuts of beef; lunch runs Thursday to Saturday.
• Beef consommé or beef tartareStarters ran from £20 for the consommé to £75 for the tartare, made with seared, chopped rump.
• Whole Scottish lobster£160 in 2024, for the guest who wants something other than beef.

02The beef

Every steak is Tajima beef, the Japanese Black strain raised in Hyōgo and sold as Kobe beef. Andy Hayler wrote in 2024 that the restaurant buys heifers only and named the farm and age of each cut: Okazaki and Ooichi sirloins at 46 and 32 months, an Okazaki rump at 32 months, an Arii fillet at 34 months. Time Out noted that Tajima beef must be certified by Japan's agriculture ministry on marbling, texture and an age of at least 28 months, and Harden's wrote that Tajima raised in Sanda is limited to about 1,000 animals a year. On aging the sources differ: Time Out reported about three weeks in transit from Japan; Hayler wrote that the beef is not aged and keeps for up to 45 days at the restaurant.

03The fire

The kitchen burns binchōtan, the dense white charcoal made from ubame oak and imported from Japan, in a custom-built kiln that reaches 600 °C / 1112 °F. Per Hayler, the kiln has a cooler section where the meat rests. Time Out reported that the kiln takes three steaks at a time. There is no open-flame grilling, the seasoning is crushed Maldon salt and black pepper, and the kitchen offers ten levels of doneness, from very rare to very well done.

04The story

The Aragawa name begins in Kobe, where Jiro Yamada opened the first restaurant in 1956, according to Andy Hayler and Harden's. The Tokyo Aragawa, opened in 1967 by his son Mitsuya Yamada and separate from the Kobe house, is the one that came to London; the London site gives 1967 as its founding year and Oct. 20, 2023 as the Mayfair opening. Kotaro Ogawa, who launched the London branch, told the press the price was not inflated because the restaurant is in London. The Japan Set wrote in 2024 that the name, written 麤皮, comes from Balzac's novel La Peau de chagrin. In the World's 101 Best Steak Restaurants it was No. 28 in 2024 and No. 41 in 2025; it is not on the 2026 list.

05The practical

38 Clarges Street, Mayfair, London W1J 7EN. The restaurant's site gives dinner from 17:30 to 21:30 Monday to Saturday and lunch from 12:00 to 15:00 Thursday to Saturday; Sunday is not listed. Bookings through SevenRooms, by phone at +44 20 3432 1314 or by WhatsApp. Harden's put a standard meal with wine at about £750 a head in 2023, and Hayler counted 162 wines from £65 to £49,000. A private dining room on the ground floor seats up to 14. The site publishes no menu with prices, so it is worth confirming them when you book.

Address

38 Clarges Street, Mayfair, London W1J 7EN

Phone

+44 20 3432 1314

Website

aragawa-uk.com

Directions

Google Maps ↗

06In London’s selections