Last Updated on December 20, 2022
Twenty London Restaurants Show Off Wagyu Beef
Japanese Wagyu beef is a real delicacy that can only be obtained from real Wagyu cattle born and raised in Japan. Cattle are raised to proper standards and fattened for a minimum of 600 days with high quality feed of rice straw and nutritious forages (maize, soybeans, wheat). I had tried Wagyu in the past but didn’t realize that like Iberian Jamon, the end result is actually healthy – rich in monounsaturated fatty acids and essential amino acids that can help lower the risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer, Alzheimer’s and other conditions.
If that’s not a good enough reason to eat Wagyu, maybe its delicious taste will suffice. The unique flavor profile of Wagyu beef comes partly from the marbling of the fat and partly from the careful handling of the cattle. The Japanese are so passionate about quality that they introduced a certification system that allows consumers to track where beef is produced and how it is distributed to ensure peace of mind about the meat to be consumed. Now every Wagyu calf can even be checked via smartphone. Buyers can scan QR codes on packaged beef to track the cow’s date of birth, exact breed, grade, origin and more.
In Japan, Wagyu has different applications depending on the parts used. The slimmer ’round cut’ of Wagyu is commonly used in Japan but is used less frequently in restaurants in the UK today. However, this promotion, which runs through December and January, aims to showcase less used Wagyu cuts and in particular the round cuts which are cheaper and less popular outside of Japan.
Twenty London restaurants are taking part in the exhibition, so you can try it for yourself at some of our favorites. Frog by Adam Handling, Bob Bob Ricard, The Colony Grill Room, and Akoko are just a few of the restaurants on our list that we have tried and heartily recommend. We’ve sampled some of the offerings from other participating restaurants and can’t fault any of them. I added Kitchen Table, Akira, Mano Mayfair, and Gunpowder to my own wish list, but wouldn’t turn up my nose at any of the restaurants on the list (check it out and find out more about the campaign here)
So what are you waiting for? This is your chance to enjoy delicious and healthy meat and start the new year the way you want.
