Yoshinoya gets into fancy fish, but is the cheap beef king reaching too far? [Taste test]

Japan’s biggest beef bowl chain is now serving up simmered kinmedai. When people think of Yoshinoya, they think of beef, and not just any beef, but cheap beef. That’s not to say Yoshinoya’s beef bowls

Japan’s biggest beef bowl chain is now serving up simmered kinmedai.

When people think of Yoshinoya, they think of beef, and not just any beef, but cheap beef. That’s not to say Yoshinoya’s beef bowls are low-quality or bad-tasting, but the chain’s flagship fare is definitely more “good honest grub” than “fine dining.”

So we were surprised, and intrigued, when we found out that** Yoshinoya is now also serving up fancy fish**.

On July 27, Yoshinoya added the Gyu Kinmedai no Nizuke Teishoku, or Beef and Simmered Sea Bream Set Meal, to its menu. Kinmedai specifically is the Japanese name for the fish called splendid alfonsino in English, but no matter which moniker you use, it’s a premium variety of seafood, prized for its natural sweetness and satisfyingly substantial texture.

Finding the kinmedai set meal took a bit of sifting through the menu. The touchscreen terminal used for ordering at the Yoshinoya branch we visited didn’t mention the new item on its top screen, nor did we find it in the “limited-time specials” section. Instead, it was mixed in with the other options in the teishoku (定食) set meals tab. 899 yen (US$5.50) gets you a simmered kinmedai fillet, white rice, a bowl of miso soup, and a plate of Yoshinoya’s classic simmered beef which ordinarily tops its beef bowls. Alternatively, there’s a 799-yen version of the kinmedai set that skips the beef and gives you a plate of pickles in its place, but we opted for the full 899-yen set.

Size-wise, we were happy with the kinmedai fillet. Given how kinmedai isn’t something that’s even available at budget-friendly fast food restaurants, Yoshinoya only giving you a tiny sliver of the stuff wouldn’t have been a shock, but this was a decently sized slice, and a visually bountiful one too.

Most importantly, though, it was also a delicious slice of kinmedai! Slow-cooked in a traditional soy sauce-based simmer sauce, the fish is imparted with sweet and salty notes, and while it might not quite match what you’d get at a fancy seafood specialty restaurant or a portside eatery where the fish just came off the boat an hour ago, Yoshinoya’s kinmedai still has an excellent flavor. Basically, anyone who likes kinmedai will like this, and the fact that it’s available at such an accessible chain as Yoshinoya is incredible.

Though the fish is served on its own plate, we highly recommend letting some of the sauce drip onto the rice, since it’s so good that you won’t want to let a single drop go to waste.

Something has to be seriously tasty to make the beef in a Yoshinoya set meal feel like a supporting part instead of the main attraction, but that’s definitely what happens here. While this isn’t the very first time for Yoshinoya to serve up fish (they include salmon in some of their breakfast sets, for example), it is their first time to offer such a fancy fish as kinmedai.

So yeah, this is definitely worth digging through the menu to find. Just be aware that even though the Beef and Simmered Sea Bream Set Meal is listed with the regular set meals, it is in fact a limited-time item, though one without an announced specific ending date, so you’ll want to try it while you can.

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