When you're craving lamb, come here.

Sapporo’s Delicious Genghis Khan Restaurants

Loin, fillet, skirt, liver, Genghis Khan… At first glance, the menu looks like that of a yakiniku restaurant. But “Itadakimasu” is a Genghis Khan restaurant specializing in Hokkaido-raised lamb. By nighttime, it's bustling with both locals and tourists.

Genghis Khan is practically soul food for Hokkaido natives, but the owner had long questioned why most of the lamb served was imported. Determined to change that, he started his own sheep farm in 2005. The farm, located in Yuni Town, now raises more than 500 sheep with a resident veterinarian on staff. The purebred Suffolk sheep raised there are of such outstanding quality that top French restaurants in Tokyo have sought them out. The Susukino restaurant even has its own meat-processing facility on-site, breaking down aged carcasses almost daily to serve the freshest cuts.

The first thing placed on the well-heated grill is not beef or pork fat, but lamb fat, which is said to have a distinctive sweetness. None of the meat has the so-called “gamey” smell often associated with lamb—instead, it's light yet rich in flavor. About 80% of customers eat it with Alaskan rock salt and cracked pepper. For the “loin” cut, staff recommend seasoning with salt and pepper and rubbing it with lemon. Naturally, the meat is cut only after an order comes in, and the cutting method changes depending on the texture of each part. A staff member who has worked in the meat industry for many years explains, “Lamb is smaller than beef or pork, and the grain of the meat runs in a unique way that makes it tricky to cut.”
This Genghis Khan restaurant began with raising its own sheep—and in every bite, you can taste the owner's extraordinary passion for great food.

This restaurant sits in a corner of Susukino, one of the most competitive Genghis Khan districts in the city. It was renovated from an old pawnshop, and traces of that history remain—an impressive storehouse door inside, and a Taisho-era clerk's happi coat on display. Perhaps because of this, the atmosphere feels warm and welcoming, and many customers end up staying for a long while. The number of women dining alone has also been increasing.

If it's your first visit, we recommend starting with the “assortment platter,” which includes hand-cut fresh lamb, lamb shoulder loin, and mutton shoulder loin—try each one, then order more of whichever you like best. The sirloin is also highly recommended; the restaurant can only get about five servings of it per day from the carcasses they butcher in-house. It's tender with no strong odor, and delicious after just ten seconds of grilling on each side. This cut tends to sell out shortly after opening, but you can reserve it in advance, so if you're interested, be sure to call ahead.

You can enjoy your Genghis Khan with either the house sauce or simply salt and pepper, whichever you prefer. The sauce is lightly sweet and smooth, so it won't sit heavy in your stomach. To finish the meal, try the “agari ramen,” made by adding dashi broth to that same sauce for a dipping-style ramen. It's a popular choice that most customers order, and the special thin noodles go down easily even after a full meal of lamb. Genghis Khan lovers should also try the lamb sausage and bacon—their flavor is a little different from what you're used to, and it's addictive. The dumpling-like “crispy grilled lamb” is even available for purchase on the restaurant's website, so if you're too full to try it in person, you can order it later. Once you've sampled this restaurant's full range of lamb dishes, you're sure to discover even more of what makes lamb's flavor so different—and so enjoyable—compared to beef or pork.

A polar bear painted on the deep-navy noren curtain greets you at this restaurant, which has just eleven counter seats. The name “Shirokuma” (polar bear) was chosen to evoke Hokkaido and to be loved by everyone from children to the elderly. Polar bear figurines and stuffed animals, gifts from customers celebrating the restaurant's anniversaries, quietly watch over the counter.

Even lamb of the same age can taste different depending on where it's raised, so the restaurant serves Australian lamb and mutton, Icelandic lamb, and Hokkaido lamb. The Hokkaido lamb is sourced directly from Charo Sheep Farm in Shiranuka Town, with one to one-and-a-half whole animals purchased each time. The meat is paired with a light, soy-sauce-based sauce whose satisfying flavor hasn't changed since the restaurant opened. Finely ground Mongolian rock salt is also highly recommended.

To avoid wasting the tougher cuts from the shoulder and neck that aren't suited for grilling, the restaurant created its “Hokkaido Lamb Curry,” simmered for about ten hours. It comes in large, medium, and small sizes—a nice touch—and many customers order it to finish their meal. The menu also features an “assorted offal platter” with lamb liver, heart, skirt, and tongue, as well as “Hokkaido lamb sausage,” letting you experience the many different flavors of Hokkaido lamb. Even the vegetables and rice served alongside are sourced from Hokkaido. The menu on the wall and the information about the sheep reveal a deep dedication to ingredients—and that dedication is exactly what makes you crave this Genghis Khan again and again.

This Genghis Khan restaurant sits in a corner of the Tanukikoji 7-chome shopping arcade, just a bit removed from the bustle of central Sapporo. It's connected to the ramen shop Ittetsu next door—no coincidence, as they share the same owner. Like Ittetsu, it's a beloved local institution.

The cozy interior features a U-shaped counter and small charcoal grills. At night, the soft glow of the charcoal fire fills the dimly lit space with a cozy atmosphere. Order the Genghis Khan and you'll get an assortment of shoulder loin, loin, belly, and leg. In the owner's words, it's “like eating steak.” Grill it directly on the pan and savor it as is—steaming it under a pile of vegetables is strictly forbidden here. Eaten with the restaurant's unsweetened sauce, you can really taste the difference between each cut of meat.

We also recommend the “simmered lamb tendon” here—a Western-style dish that reflects the owner's past as a professional cook. It tastes something like beef stew, with tender tendon meat carrying a hint of tomato flavor that pairs wonderfully with the bread served alongside. This unusual menu item for a Genghis Khan restaurant comes from the owner's belief, as a chef, that no part of the meat should go to waste. Drinking beer with your Genghis Khan, then ordering red wine to go with the simmered lamb tendon—that kind of indulgent pairing is only possible at this restaurant, thanks to this particular owner.