Akihabara restaurant Dante’s 10-buck steak: delicious, and so divinely cheap it feels like a sin

Splurging on tech toys in Tokyo doesn’t mean you have to skip steak for lunch and dinner.

Earlier this week, we found ourselves licking our lips over the huge selection of delicious flavored milks available inside Tokyo’s Akihabara Station. But should you find yourself craving not moo juice, but moo meat, Japan’s center of otaku culture still has you covered.

Stroll down Chuo-dori, the main street that runs through Akihabara, and you’ll find Dante (the kanji characters, 暖手, literally mean “warm hand”).

Dante is a steakhouse, ready to serve up meaty meals to hungry anime shoppers and local office workers. The star of the menu is the Senen Steak (“Thousand-yen Steak”), but that name is actually a little misleading.

Technically, it should be the “One Thousand Eighty-Yen Steak,” since 1,000 yen is the price before sales tax. But on the other hand, that modest price doesn’t get you only the 150-gram (5.3-ounce) steak, but also a full range of sides.

Like at many casual steak restaurants in Japan, the Senen Steak is served sizzling on a thick metal plate. To make sure no juices splatter on your clothes or shopping purchases, there’s a protective paper barrier around the dish when the wait staff sets it down on the table.

Diners can choose between one of four sauces: pepper, onion, Japanese-style, or, as we opted for, the sweet and spicy house Dante Sauce

Now at just 1,000 yen, you won’t mistake the Senen Steak for a cut of Kobe beef. It is, however, an extremely tasty steak, and far more tender than what we’d ordinarily expect for such an affordable price.

Also on the plate are an assortment of vegetables: corn, onions, broccoli, potatoes, and even a cherry tomato, all of which are pretty standard steak accompaniments in Japan. Throw in a cup of soup, plus your choice of rice or bread, and this becomes an excellent value.

Best of all, the Senen Steak isn’t a lunch special. It’s offered any time Dante is open, so if you want to stop by and have a 1,000-yen steal for lunch, then another for dinner, that’s totally possible, and at a price that’s about half of what many other restaurants in Tokyo would charge for this spread, a pretty tempting meal plan.

Restaurant information
Dante (Akihabara branch) / 暖手（秋葉原本店）
Address: Tokyo-to, Chiyoda-ku, Soto Kanda 6-14-3, Vort Suehirocho II 1st floor
東京都千代田区外神田6-14-3 VORT末広町Ⅱ 1F
Open 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m., 5;30 p.m.-10:30 p.m.

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