Restaurant in Kumamoto, Japan
Lunch-only robatayaki. Book ahead or miss out.
Robatayaki Sanroku is a 13-seat charcoal-grill specialist in rural Yamaga, Kumamoto, with Tabelog Silver 2026 recognition (score 4.34) and six consecutive Tabelog Award wins. Lunch only, cash only, and reservation-required on weekdays. Budget JPY 5,000–7,999 per head — roughly one-third of comparable Tabelog-awarded venues in the region. Worth the drive if chicken and meat over fire is your format.
If you've eaten at Robatayaki Sanroku once, the question on a return visit isn't whether to go back — it's whether you can get a seat. This is a 13-seat robatayaki specialist in rural Yamaga, Kumamoto, that has held Tabelog Award recognition every year from 2021 through 2026, graduating from Bronze to Silver this year with a score of 4.34. The draw is focused: chicken and meat over fire, in a tatami room, for around JPY 6,000–7,999 per head at dinner. That price is roughly one-third of what you'd spend at Murakami or Sushi Nakamura for a comparable level of Tabelog recognition. The trade-off is access: you are driving or arranging transport to a rural address, and walk-ins are not the strategy here.
The physical reality of Sanroku shapes the experience before you sit down. Thirteen seats across 13 tables in a tatami room is an unusually spread configuration — this is not a counter where you are pressed together with strangers, but a spacious layout that makes it work for small groups wanting a quieter, occasion-appropriate meal. The tatami setting also means the room has a considered, traditional character that the stripped-back format of many city yakitori counters does not. For a special occasion dinner that doesn't require a formal kaiseki commitment, this is a meaningful point of difference.
The menu focus is chicken and meat dishes. Robatayaki , grilling over charcoal on a hearth , is the technique, and Sanroku's Tabelog listing describes the restaurant as a place that will change your perception of chicken. That framing is consistent with a score of 4.34 and selection for the Tabelog Toriryori (chicken cuisine) Top 100 in 2025. The restaurant stopped serving sashimi in March 2021, so the menu is now entirely built around grilled preparations. There is no drinks data on file, so confirm your beverage options when booking.
One practical point relevant to any celebration booking: this is a cash-only venue. Credit cards, electronic money, and QR code payments are all declined. Factor that into your planning, particularly if you are travelling from outside the region and relying on card access. The restaurant also does not permit SLR cameras , smartphone food photography is allowed, but bring cash, not your mirrorless kit.
Sanroku operates lunch service only: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from 11:30 to 15:00, with Saturday and Sunday from 11:00 to 15:00. Wednesday is closed, as are the second and fourth Thursdays of each month. The kitchen runs until sold out, so earlier is better. The restaurant typically opens around 10:30 AM, and weekday reservations require arrival by 11:30 AM or the booking is automatically cancelled.
Reservations are available on weekdays only , Sundays and public holidays are walk-in only, with no estimated wait time given. To book, call +81-968-32-2245. The shared taxi service from Yamaga Bus Center to the Kahoku area costs JPY 700 and runs Monday to Saturday, but requires a reservation made the day before between 3:00 and 7:00 PM. There are roughly four departures per day. If you are travelling from Kumamoto city, a car or taxi is the practical answer. Parking is available on site.
Booking difficulty is rated Easy by Pearl standards , the main constraint is weekday-only reservations and the strict 11:30 AM arrival window, not competitive demand in the way that Tokyo counters like Harutaka or Gion Sasaki in Kyoto present. Plan your Kumamoto itinerary around a weekday lunch, and the seat is yours to arrange. For broader trip planning, see our full Kumamoto restaurants guide, and if you are building a wider Kyushu itinerary, Goh in Fukuoka is the benchmark for fine dining one prefecture over.
Sanroku does not offer takeout or delivery based on available data. The format , robatayaki over a hearth, a tatami room, 13 seats , is entirely premises-dependent. The food does not travel as a concept: robatayaki is a live-fire, in-room experience, and the award recognition is built around the full on-site meal. If you are looking for a quality meal that works as takeout in the Kumamoto area, this is not the venue to consider. The visit is the point. See our Kumamoto dining guide for options better suited to off-premise eating.
Address: 熊本県山鹿市鹿北町椎持3264, Yamaga, Kumamoto. Phone: +81-968-32-2245. Hours: Mon, Tue, Thu, Fri 11:30–15:00; Sat, Sun 11:00–15:00; closed Wednesday and the 2nd and 4th Thursday each month. Price: JPY 5,000–5,999 at lunch; JPY 6,000–7,999 at dinner (lunch service only in practice). Cash only. No private rooms. 13 seats. Parking on site. Non-smoking. SLR cameras not permitted.
For more on what to do around a visit, browse our Kumamoto hotels guide, bars guide, and experiences guide.
| Venue | Price | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sanroku | Easy | — | |
| Mimuro | Unknown | — | |
| Murakami | JPY 20,000 - JPY 29,999 JPY 20,000 - JPY 29,999 View spending breakdown | Unknown | — |
| STEAK HOUSE Baron | Unknown | — | |
| Sushi Nakamura | JPY 20,000 - JPY 29,999 JPY 10,000 - JPY 14,999 | Unknown | — |
| Sushi Taito | JPY 20,000 - JPY 29,999 JPY 10,000 - JPY 14,999 View spending breakdown | Unknown | — |
A quick look at how Sanroku measures up.
Sanroku is lunch only — there is no dinner service. Hours run 11:30 to 15:00 on weekdays (11:00 to 15:00 on weekends), and the kitchen closes when the food runs out, which can happen before 15:00. Arrive at opening or hold a weekday reservation for the best chance at a full selection.
Sanroku has 13 seats, accepts no credit cards or electronic payments, and is closed every Wednesday plus the second and fourth Thursdays of the month — so plan carefully. Weekday reservations are available but only for the 11:30 AM slot; if you arrive late, the reservation is automatically cancelled. Bring cash, budget JPY 5,000–7,999 per person, and factor in that the restaurant is in rural Yamaga, not central Kumamoto — a car is the practical way to get there.
No dress code is listed in the venue data. Given the tatami room setting in a rural Yamaga location, comfortable, practical clothing is sensible — note that you will be seated on tatami, so footwear you can remove easily is worth considering.
Sanroku has 13 seats total across 13 tables, with no private room or private hire option. That format means groups are limited by what the room can seat, and the reservation system only covers weekday 11:30 AM slots. For a group outing, book well in advance on a weekday, and note that the intimate scale makes large parties impractical.
For a different format in the Kumamoto area, Sushi Nakamura and Sushi Taito offer Japanese dining with their own Tabelog recognition if you want to move away from grilled chicken. Murakami and STEAK HOUSE Baron are options if the focus is meat in a more accessible city setting. Mimoru is worth considering if you want a broader menu in a more central Kumamoto location.
Sanroku is recommended for outings with friends on Tabelog, and the Tabelog Silver 2026 award with a 4.34 score signals the food quality is there. However, there are no private rooms, no dinner service, and no alcohol menu documented — so if your occasion requires an evening setting or dedicated private space, this is the wrong venue. For a daytime celebration focused on the food itself, it works well.
No dietary accommodation information is available in the venue data. The kitchen focuses on chicken dishes and meat dishes, which is a narrow menu format — those with poultry or meat restrictions will find limited options. check the venue's official channels at +81-968-32-2245 before visiting.
Mon, Tue, Thu, Fri 11:30 - 15:00
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