All-you-can-eat Japanese BBQ in Tainan – enjoy thick-cut beef short ribs and unlimited shrimp!

Text & Photos byMimi Han

All-you-can-eat Japanese BBQ in Tainan? Here's another great new option!

Mimi’s family has family gatherings about 2–3 times a month, and all-you-can-eat restaurants are always a hit. They’ve pretty much tried every all-you-can-eat spot in Tainan, but they had never noticed this one—Sengbomachi Japanese BBQ located right next to the Yoyokan swimming pool—until recently when they finally got a chance to dine there.

I think the restaurant excels in dining environment, service, variety and freshness of ingredients. While Sengbomachi doesn’t have as wide a selection of seafood, my sister absolutely loves their shrimp—it’s so good you just want to keep eating more. I heard some guests even polished off over 100 pieces between two people (must’ve gotten their money’s worth!). Lunch is NT$499 on weekdays, and dinner (weekends/holidays) is NT$599 (plus 10% service charge)—the pricing is quite reasonable.

I really feel that people in Tainan love all-you-can-eat restaurants; almost every place is always bustling. This Sengbomachi spot specializes in Japanese-style BBQ, similar in style to Zhulu or Stone Grill, but with a more comfortable environment and seating. The staff are super friendly, very attentive, and quick to change the grill nets (which really impressed me). It’s definitely worth adding to your rotation of group dining spots.

Sengbomachi is located near Wenhian Road, close to Zhonghua North Road and Haitian Road. It’s right next to the Yoyokan swimming pool, situated above the Poya store, with the all-you-can-eat hotpot restaurant Jixian Hotpot just next door—the signage is quite noticeable.

The restaurant offers free parking, which is a big plus since finding parking nearby can be tricky.

Walking up to the second floor, you’ll even find Thor and Iron Man standing guard—these two “door gods” are pretty impressive!

Also, don’t worry if you have mobility issues—there’s an elevator available for use.

The ambiance is lovely with beautiful lighting and a stylish vibe. I’d say the atmosphere holds its own against other well-known spots.

Whether it’s because the space is larger or the ventilation system is better, I found the smell of grilled meat here to be much milder than at other places—you won’t walk out smelling like you just had an all-you-can-eat feast.

Sengbomachi also has large private rooms like this one, though you’ll probably need a group of 12 or more to reserve them. The bamboo partitions can be drawn, and if you book three connected rooms, you could easily host a company year-end party.

Oh, and there’s even a baby room—bonus points!

Though Mimi no longer needs it, she recalled how some restaurants make it hard to find a place to change a diaper, often forcing you to do it in the restroom. Sengbomachi is pretty baby- and mom-friendly.

After seating us, the staff gave a very detailed explanation of all the dining details, including how to use the service bell, the cutoff time for additional orders, and more. My husband thought they might be going on a bit long, but I appreciated their thoroughness.

The menu includes various meats for grilling such as beef, pork, and seafood, as well as salads, premium dishes, sushi and sashimi, hand rolls, fried items, and more—all served in individual portions so you can order as you go. Drinks are self-serve by the cup, hot pot items by the pot, and Häagen-Dazs ice cream is available for self-selection.

Before you order, they serve two basic meat platters to get you started: beef options include snowflake beef slices and thick-cut beef short ribs; pork options include pork loin slices and pork ribs. The staff mentioned this is to let you start grilling right away without waiting for your orders, which I thought was a very thoughtful touch.

… There were so many things I wanted to try, and after ordering, we ended up with a huge table full of food!

Our group was among the earlier diners that day, and the food came out pretty quickly. All those dishes were served in about three rounds.

If you want to order more, there are service bells at each table. We didn’t use them much though, as the servers were constantly coming around, clearing plates quickly and proactively changing the grill plates.

For grilling, thin slices of meat only need to be cooked until they’re slightly pink—just flip and cook for another 3 seconds before eating. The beef is especially tender and delicious with just a sprinkle of rose salt. As for the thick-cut beef, it has a bit more chew to it.

Pair your meat with some lettuce or Korean kimchi—it’s a perfect match!

The spicy chicken thigh slices are super satisfying to eat, with a well-balanced level of spiciness. The lamb ribs had a slightly sweeter marinade, though taste is subjective.

We also liked the Matsusaka pork and garlic-flavored pork ribs—especially the Matsusaka pork, which was delicious even with just a sprinkle of pepper salt.

And when having Japanese BBQ, don’t forget to add some veggies like king oyster mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, and green peppers—they complement the meat nicely. Just don’t put them too close to the grill or they’ll burn quickly!

For seafood, we ordered salt-and-pepper grilled shrimp, squid, and scallops. Though the seafood selection wasn’t extensive, Mimi highly recommends their grilled shrimp—they’re amazing.

The shrimp are white shrimp, and the staff suggested peeling them before grilling—and wow, they were incredibly tasty and addictive. We ended up ordering two more rounds because we couldn’t get enough.

As for the other dishes, my husband enjoyed the sashimi—the cool texture was quite nice, though the wasabi was a bit too firm and hard to mix.

The assorted nigiri sushi had slightly firm vinegared rice, but overall it was still pretty good, and there was even one piece of grilled beef nigiri sushi that I absolutely loved.

Shrimp roe hand rolls and grilled meat hand rolls.

We also ordered some lobster salad, fish ball salad, Thai-style seafood from the premium dishes, and sweet potato ice dessert—all in small portions. Paired with the main Japanese grilled meat, they added more variety to the palate.

If not having rice feels like not having a proper meal, there are also five rice dishes to choose from at Jimbocho. That day we had bamboo tube rice, which was quite unique.

For drinks, besides canned Coca-Cola and Sprite, there were also options like green tea, black tea, roasted tea, fruit tea, vinegar drinks, and winter melon lemonade. The staff even recommended a hidden-menu matcha milk that wasn’t listed—just pick whatever you like.

The self-serve ice cream actually featured Häagen-Dazs. That day there were four flavors: matcha, berry, chocolate, and coffee. Häagen-Dazs being Häagen-Dazs, they were all delicious.

Finally, we added some desserts for after the meal. There was even a choice of sweetened white fungus and lotus seed soup—it was amazing, and so refreshing and tasty. There were also pudding and bite-sized cheese puddings to give this all-you-can-eat grilled meat feast a sweet ending.

Overall, at $599 per person for dinner, Jimbocho Grill is really a cost-effective option that fully satisfies those occasional cravings to indulge in a big meaty feast. A few weeks ago, Mimi also had an all-you-can-eat grilled meat meal in Japan, and she remembered that the variety of ingredients and service there weren’t as good as here, yet it cost $1200 per person. By comparison, this Tainan all-you-can-eat deal is really great value. Just a slight concern is that there didn’t seem to be many staff on the floor—if it’s a major holiday or the place is packed, it remains to be seen whether they can handle it. Sharing this info with everyone~

Jimbocho Grill
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Address: No. 1112, Wenxian Road, North District, Tainan City
Reservation phone: 06-2505110
Business hours: 11:00–23:00
Prices: Weekday lunch NT$499, weekend/holiday dinner NT$599 (plus 10% service charge)

Mimi Han
mimi 韩 行摄の足迹
Mimi Han's Happy Little World