Matsuya Gyudon Review (and How the Kiosk Works)

Cream and I fell for gyudon, the Japanese beef bowl, at a mall in Kuala Lumpur of all places. We loved it, and ever since, we'd wanted to taste it where it comes from. So once we got to Tokyo, we were after the real deal.

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In this guide 11 sections

It found us in Nakameguro. Walking from the station, we passed a Matsuya with photos of beef bowls in the window, and they looked good. On the way back, we didn't need much convincing: let's try it.

This is our Matsuya Tokyo review: what we ordered, what it cost, how the kiosk works, and why it became one of our regular lunches.

Watch Us Order Gyudon at Matsuya

If the kiosk is what you came for, Cream walks through it step by step at the end:

Is Matsuya in Tokyo Worth It? My Quick Answer

Yes. Matsuya gets a 10 out of 10 from us. Two bowls of gyudon, miso soup included, cost the two of us about $7 total, the beef was flavorful and fresh, and the English kiosk meant we never had to speak a word of Japanese. Order the green onion and egg bowl.

What Is Matsuya?

Matsuya is one of Japan's big beef bowl chains, a quick, cheap place to eat with the feel of a diner. The business started in Tokyo in June 1966.¹ You'll spot it by its orange sign with the red, yellow, and blue logo.

Gyudon (a Japanese beef bowl) is thinly sliced beef simmered with onions and served over rice. Matsuya calls its version gyumeshi,³ but on the English kiosk it's simply "Beef Bowl". It's one of the dishes we'd put on any list of must-eat foods in Tokyo, because it's so cheap and so easy to find.

The Matsuya Menu: What We Ordered

We got two bowls of gyudon: the standard one, and one topped with green onions and a raw egg. Both came with a bowl of miso soup.

1. The Classic Gyudon // Start Here

We share everything, so we got one of each. Cream started with the plain bowl, to judge the beef on its own. The slices are thin, but they're full of flavor, and the caramelized onions cooked in with them give the beef a sweet, oniony taste. The broth soaks into the rice underneath.

The rice is good enough quality that it scoops up easily with chopsticks. The egg bowl won for both of us, but the basic one is good too. If you want to taste gyudon the way it's meant to be, start here.

2. Gyudon With Green Onion and Egg // The One to Order

This was Cream's bowl, and it's the better of the two. A pile of sliced green onions and a raw egg yolk sit on top of the beef. Break the yolk, mix it in, and it coats everything.

Cream's verdict after the first bite: "It's totally worth adding the green onion and egg." The flavor is richer, the onions add crunch, and it still feels like a light meal. If you only get one bowl, make it this one.

3. Miso Soup // Comes With It

Both of our bowls came with a bowl of miso soup. It's simple, and it works as a palate cleanser between bites of the rich beef.

Don't Skip the Condiments

The table is where a plain bowl turns into your bowl. Ours had pickled red ginger, shichimi (seven spice, a chili blend), yakiniku sauce (a sweet, savory barbecue sauce), and soy sauce. We added the seven spice and the yakiniku sauce.

The pickled ginger adds a sharp extra bite. The best part is how the bowl changes as you eat. The sauces, the egg, and the broth blend together, and by the last few bites "it's almost like a new dish."

The Privacy Dividers

Some tables at our Matsuya had a frosted divider you can move into place, so you can eat without anyone looking at you. Cream showed it off on camera: "So, if I need to separate myself from Bernie, it's easily done."

It's a small thing, but it's very Tokyo. Restaurants here are quiet, and everyone is there to eat and relax.

How to Order at Matsuya: The Kiosk, Step by Step

This is the part that can put you off from the doorway, and it's the easiest part of the meal. We'd already eaten at a few chains in Tokyo, so we knew the drill, and Matsuya's kiosk is pretty standard. Like a lot of chains in Japan, it has you order and pay at a ticket kiosk by the entrance. Here's how it works.

1. Switch the screen to English. The language buttons are on the start screen.
2. Choose eat-in or take-out.
3. Pick your bowl. The menu shows photos and prices, sorted into tabs like beef bowls, set meals, and curry.
4. Pay. Our kiosk took a credit card or Suica, Tokyo's tap-to-pay transit card.
5. Take your ticket and sit down. Your order goes straight to the kitchen.
6. Watch the screen above the counter. Your number shows up on one side while it's being made, then moves to the "ready" side.²
7. Hand over your ticket and collect your tray.
8. Return your tray to the return counter when you're done.

"They seem intimidating at first, but they're easily accessible," Cream said. I'd go further: once you've done it at Matsuya, you can order at almost any chain in Tokyo. There's a bonus, too: Cream likes browsing everything on offer on the screen, and the kiosk gets you past the language barrier without a word.

Why Matsuya Became a Regular Lunch

That first bowl wasn't our last. We went back to Matsuya a few times during our month in Tokyo, usually for lunch, and rotated it in with the other cheap chains. Once you know the orange logo, it's easy to spot, which makes it an easy call when you're hungry and don't want to think.

The one thing to know is that it's a light meal. Cream pointed out on camera that you won't get overly full, so if you're very hungry, pick a bigger size on the kiosk. Beyond that, you can't go wrong here: it's so cheap, and few things we ate in Japan packed more flavor.

Who Matsuya Is For

Matsuya is for anyone. It's where you go to eat something cheap and good, to see how people in Tokyo grab a quick lunch, and to learn how the kiosk chains work without any pressure.

It's also a great solo date night. Pull the divider across, put the green onion and egg on your bowl, and enjoy a quiet dinner by yourself.

Matsuya Prices, Locations, and Getting There

• What we paid: about $7 for two bowls of gyudon with miso soup, in May 2026.
• The price now: from October 13, 2026, Matsuya's beef bowls cost 20 yen more, so a regular bowl went from 460 yen to 480 yen.³ That's about $3 for a regular bowl.
• Matsuya Tokyo locations: Matsuya Foods runs about 1,570 restaurants, almost all of them in Japan (as of March 2026), so there's usually one nearby.¹ The easiest way to find the nearest one is Google Maps, or Matsuya's own store locator.
• Where we ate: a Matsuya in Nakameguro, on the walk between the station and the Meguro River.

Our Verdict on Matsuya

Matsuya was one of the cheapest, tastiest meals we had in Tokyo, and we went back for lunch more than once. Walk in, switch the screen to English, and order the beef bowl with green onion and egg.

Next Steps for Your Tokyo Trip

• Tendon Tenya, tempura without the price
• Sushiro, conveyor-belt sushi done properly
• CoCo Ichibanya, Japanese curry your way
• Where to stay: we walked to this one from Nakameguro station, which is the kind of thing worth checking when you compare areas in Tokyo