Henry's Burger Harajuku

The burger joint comes from Kentaro Nakahara, the chef behind the acclaimed wagyu restaurant Sumibi Yakiniku Nakahara. When someone who has geeked out this deeply on wagyu decides to make hamburgers, you start to wonder whether that expertise can carry over to something as everyday as a burger. We visited the place in Harajuku to find out. Henry's Burger is Kentaro Nakahara's hamburger concept, with several locations in Tokyo, including one in Jingumae in Harajuku. The name comes from the time Nakahara lived in California and went by Henry himself, and the ambition is to unite American burger culture with Japanese wagyu. It's a pure burger joint rather than a restaurant in the classic sense, and the focus is entirely on the meat and the burger, not on the setting. And the burgers are fantastic. The beef has that distinct, deep wagyu flavor you hope for, but what really impresses is the balance. Wagyu can easily become heavy and overwhelming, but here the burgers are not just rich but also really well balanced. They're juicy, flavorful and exactly as focused as a good burger should be. No unnecessary frills, just high quality and great flavors. The surroundings are nothing to write home about, and they don't really need to be. The space is small with only a few seats on the ground floor, but there's also a simple upstairs where you can sit down. It's stripped-down and unfussy, a place you go to for the burger rather than the room, and that suits the concept well. Henry's Burger isn't a grand restaurant experience, but that's not the point either. Here you get wagyu in burger form from a chef who really knows his meat, and the visit in Harajuku was enough to convince us: this is clearly one of Tokyo's best burgers and worth a detour. My tip is to go for the food and not expect more from the space than a simple seat. If the ground floor is full, check upstairs. And if you end up in another part of town, there are more Henry's Burger locations around Tokyo.