For a brilliant DIY dining experience, Daruma has it all: fresh ingredients, cozy ambiance and friendly, knowledgeable staff. The décor is not particularly impressive, but the tables are neatly arranged and a delicious aroma of grilled meat greets you upon arrival. The menu includes a selection of grillable items from seafood to chicken gizzards, but it’s beef that reigns supreme here: There are various cuts from ribs to sirloin. Daruma keeps it simple—no heavy sauce or overpowering seasonings to ruin the beef’s natural flavors. They just slightly sprinkle black pepper and salt over their solid cuts of meat. After that, it’s time to demonstrate your cooking skills and grill your own dish. The beef is oh-so tender, it almost melts in the mouth. Even the shank, which usually is the toughest part, turns out to be surprisingly tender. Fancy some fat in your meat? You can’t go wrong with Karubi G (short ribs), unless you burn them on the grill. There is also a small range of butter-grilled dishes, sashimi, soups and nifty salads. Chuka wakame (cold seaweed salad), for example, is an unexpectedly large portion for the price. The garlic rice is also big enough to split with a friend, but you wouldn’t want to because it is so fragrant and yummy. As for the service, we have nothing but kind words. To make sure the customers are happy and the food is perfect, the kind Japanese manager travels from table to table to recommend dishes and help grill meats. It’s like having your mother around. Extra points also go to the waitresses for refilling our glasses and changing the grill before it turned black. After the meat feast, there is a complimentary green tea ice cream topped with red bean paste, which is so good the restaurant could charge for it, to cleanse the palate. If we had one criticism, it would only be the background music—a cheesy compilation of Boyzone’s hits. But who cares what Ronan Keating is singing when a plate of tender, tasty beef sits in front of you waiting to be grilled.
