Eating out in Japan can sometimes be costly or a chore, but Yakiniku (AKA) Tasty! Quick! Value! BBQ is both yummy and inexpensive.
Have you ever fancied having a go at barbecuing your own meat and vegetables at your table? Welcome to Yakiniku Like, which literally means ‘grilled meat’ in Japanese.
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Popular with locals and tourists alike, use your table tablet to choose which meat platters you want to grill – all meals are served with sides like rice, wakame seaweed soup, and kimchi.
After a day of traipsing around Tokyo or to kick back in Kyoto, we love grilling our own meat and drinking cold beers at Yakiniku 焼肉ライク – here is our Tasty! Quick! Value! BBQ guide.
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Why visit Yakiniku / Tasty! Quick! Value! BBQ?
Outside of Japan, these grill your own meat restaurants are usually quite expensive but in Japan, Yakiniku Like is very cheap and lives up to its ‘Tasty! Quick! Value!’ name.
It is kind of a fast-food BBQ restaurant where you can customise what you cook – look for the black and white restaurant fronts or search for ‘焼肉ライク’ on Google Maps.
We’ve been to around half a dozen branches of this Japanese BBQ chain and plan to go back time and time again next time we return to Japan.
Premium cuts are also available like ribs and Wagyu Beef (so no pressure grilling that by yourself). Half portions of meat usually start from around the 220 Yen mark (for pork kalbi).
As of November 2025, expect to pay from 890 Yen (including tax) for the weekday Tasty! Quick! Value! lunch meal consisting of a small selection of meat, sides, rice (free refills) and a soft drink.
You get to cook the meat how you like it and choose which meats and marinades, cuts and chops you prefer – plus how big your serving size is. So it suits all appetites.
We also feature Yakiniku Like / Tasty! Quick! Value! BBQ in our 25+ best chain restaurants guide >
The Yakiniku Like Tasty! Quick! Value! experience
From their first store in Shinbashi opened in 2018, there are now around 90 Tasty! Quick! Value! restaurants all over Japan including dozens in Tokyo plus cities like Kobe, Osaka and Kyoto.
Each Yakiniku Like is different in layout, some small and some huge – however, the basic principle is the same.
Every table or booth has a mini BBQ grill which you fire up and cook your own meats. Many Yaniniku Like branches have tablet ordering and a few we’ve been to also have you ordering from the staff.
Also, most restaurants welcome solo diners (ひとり焼肉) which can be quite rare for some BBQ restaurants. They usually have several tables / booths suitable for just one diner – these are popular with Japanese workers and lone travellers.
You might like these Tokyo neighbourhood guides:
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Ginza
Harajuku
Ikebukuro
Nakano
Odaiba
Ryogoku
Shibuya
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Shinjuku
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Happy hour at Tasty! Quick! Value!
A great way to get hands on at dinner, it is even more fun if you turn up during happy hour when beers are stupidly cheap (and high balls are low prices).
Some Tasty! Quick! Value! Yakiniku Like restaurants even have self pour beer and all you can drink offers. So if beer and meat is your dream date night, this is the Japanese chain restaurant for you.
If your table / branch doesn’t have a self pur beertap, just use a tablet to order your cheap beer – you’ll then be notified to pick it up at the serving counter likely a few moments later. The service is so quick and highballs are very cheap here too.
They used to even do a Tasty! Quick! Value! promotion whereby you could self-pour and drink unlimited beer for 550 Yen in certain branches when you bought one meal but sadly, this isn’t so common these days.
You might like our Japanese convenience store (konbini) guides:
What is a konbini in Japan >
7-Eleven guide >
Lawson guide >
FamilyMart guide >
Seicomart >
Daily Yamazaki >
Konbini egg sandwiches >
Lawson karaage chicken >
Craft beer 7-Eleven in Yokohama >
7-Eleven alcohol guide >
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