The World's Only Michelin-Starred Japanese Steakhouse Is Not In Japan

There are few (if any) higher accolades a restaurant can earn than landing a spot on the Michelin Guide. Only the best of the best are selected through a process that takes multiple visits and evaluations by anonymous culinary experts. The Guide notes that factors like ingredient quality, dedication to technique, and overall culinary experience play a role in their decision-making. They aim to judge the flavor and presentation of food before anything else.

The countries with the most Michelin stars are France, Japan, Italy, Spain, Germany, and the United States (via Statista). While Japan has been awarded several stars for its sushi bars and kaiseki restaurants, only one Japanese steakhouse has made the Michelin Guide — and it isn't even located on the island nation. Pilar Akaneya, a Japanese steakhouse in Spain, is Madrid's first Sumibiyaki barbecue restaurant.

Sumibiyaki is charcoal grilling, where chefs expertly prepare meat and vegetables for guests to cook at their own table. Each table at Pilar Akaneya has a built-in charcoal grill where guests can cook their food on the grill itself or in a bowl of mushroom and vegetable hotpot. The restaurant's full-course menus include appetizers like miso soup and edamame, centerpiece beef entrees, and desserts like lemon mousse and shaved ice. Sake pairings are also available.

Pilar Akaneya selects only the best ingredients when it comes to its barbecue. If you don't know what wagyu beef is, it's known for its "melt in your mouth" smoothness and pristine marbling of fat. Pilar Akaneya is one of the first restaurants outside of Japan to serve Matsusaka beef, which is a luxurious type of wagyu imported from the highly-regarded Ito Ranch in Japan. Matsusaka cattle must be raised in ideal conditions where farmers take extra care to pamper them and provide them with a nutritious diet so that they can produce the fat content necessary for a perfect cut of meat.

Obviously, a premiere meat needs a premiere grill. The grills at Pilar Akaneya use Kishu binchotan charcoal, which is considered the best cooking charcoal, made from Wakayama-Prefecture oak trees. Charcoal made from these trees has a high carbon content that allows them to burn for a long time. Kishu binchotan has a low smoke and ash content, meaning the food is less likely to absorb unwanted smokiness.

Pilar Akaneya's owners, Ignasi Elias and Chiho Murata have tried to emulate an authentic Japanese culinary experience in their restaurants from the start by using exclusive ingredients like Crown Melon, grown outside of Murata's home city of Fukuroi. Everything from the restaurant's architecture, furniture, and dining ware is intentional and uses traditional Japanese artistic techniques. Even with its Spanish chef and location, Pilar Akaneya has put in the work to earn Michelin's respect as a truly Japanese steakhouse.