Emma 
Eat with Big Boy
Always looking for something a little different we picked Big Boy Restaurant from our host’s suggestions.
Big Boy is an American chain but they actually have more outlets in Japan. It’s like a mix of American diner and the Little Chef. Booths and retro eighties styling all the way here. It matched well with the Cliff Richard background music (yes, really!). I guess that Sir cliff is…big in Japan?
Meal deals include unlimited drinks and trips to the salad bar where you’ll find rice and soups (including the ever-popular sweetcorn chowder).
There are also bento box type meals for kids.
The speciality at Big Boy is the Hamburg, not a hamburger nor a steak but somewhere in-between – it’s a partially cooked slab of meat that’s been formed into a baked potato shape. You receive a stove to further cook it to your desired doneness level like you would at a Korean barbeque.
Mr Foodie and James-San ordered the main attraction: 350g of partially-cooked meat – one on its own for ¥1,590 and one for ¥2,090 which includes unlimited trips to the buffet bar, whilst Mrs Foodie picked a fully-cooked Hamburg with some panko-breaded prawns and buffet bar access for ¥1,290 (¥790 without the buffet)
Both came with gravy/sauce which helped keep the burger moist.
Mr Foodie also picked a side of ham, spinach omelette. Which was very creamy and full of spinach (¥790)
Of course, he had to check in a new beer… alcohol-free Kirin (¥350) and neither the best nor worst of the zero percenters out there.
We were too full for pudding sadly but green tea or chocolate ice-cream were the two main options.
Service, as always in Japan, was swift and courteous. The food arrived quickly and was worth the money for what you got (¥6,110). We got around 165 yen to the pound when we visited so using our powers of calculation this meal cost around £37 for 3 happy bellies, or £12.34 each.
TL: DR
+ Filling good-value food
+ Quick service
+ American style salad bar and re-fillable drinks
+ You can have your photo taken with Big Boy
– Cliff Richard music!
Find the menu and further info on the (Japanese) website here
