Yakiniku

Our verdict

Gemmayze has long absorbed Beirut's appetite for imported dining concepts, and Yakiniku plants a Japanese grill format squarely in that tradition: diners cook prime cuts themselves over a table-set grill net, a format that turns the meal into a shared, unhurried event rather than a sequence of plated courses. The setup suits groups particularly well, where the communal rhythm of the grill becomes the structure of the evening. The menu was developed by a Japanese chef, which shapes the supporting cast around the meats: miso soup, kimchi, and edamame anchor the table alongside the grilled proteins, and black sesame ice cream closes the meal on a note that reads as considered rather than incidental. These are not decorative additions — they reflect a kitchen that understands the yakiniku format as a complete Japanese dining tradition, not simply a novelty grill concept transplanted to the Levant. Gouraud Street, where the restaurant sits within the Gemmayze quarter, is among Beirut's more established dining corridors, which means Yakiniku competes in a neighbourhood accustomed to range and quality. The entry point of $25 per person positions it accessibly within that context, though the final spend will depend on how far into the meat selection a table chooses to go. For a city where Japanese cuisine often defaults to sushi, a dedicated yakiniku counter with this level of format integrity occupies a distinct position in the local dining scene.

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