Went to Slice of Life because I specifically wanted to support them after that awful influencer incident where they got massively disrespected. I was only in Tokyo for a few days, so I made it a point to stop by. The setup was honestly pretty unique. You order from a truck out front, and the seating looked like it was basically set up in someone’s garage and driveway area. It had a very DIY backyard BBQ kind of vibe to it, which honestly fit the experience pretty well. There weren’t really individual menu options — everything was basically a set meal. I got the Wagyu brisket over rice, which came with beans (honestly more like chili), a few tortilla chips, a small salad, and some pickles. I also added two ribs because I wanted to try more of the BBQ. I did ask if they had sides like slaw or potato salad, but they don’t really do additional sides there — you pretty much just get what comes with the set. First thing I noticed was that the brisket actually had a small smoke ring, which is always a good sign to me. The ribs were also close to falling off the bone, so clearly they’re putting real effort into the cook. I’ll admit I was a little disappointed with the ribs at first, but I think part of that was just that the rub was very different from the American BBQ styles I’m used to. It kind of threw me off more than being actually bad. They did have a pretty decent sauce at the table though — sweet with a little smokiness — and that helped bring things together. The brisket by itself was a little dry flavor-wise, but honestly it worked surprisingly well with the sauce and rice. I never expected BBQ over rice to make sense, but it actually did. On its own it wasn’t amazing, but it also definitely wasn’t “spit it out” bad like that influencer acted. Not even close. The staff and service were excellent too, which is pretty much what you’d expect in Japan. Everyone was friendly, polite, and attentive throughout the visit. At the end of the day, it’s also Japan, and they’re making American BBQ halfway across the world, so I think that deserves some grace too. Overall I’m glad I went, glad I supported them, and I’d give it 4 stars.

I just moved to Japan after 40+ years in the States. I've had Texas, Carolina, Kansas City, and Memphis style BBQ -- I love them all, had them at homes, tailgates, fancy restaurants, barbecue festivals/contests, you name it, I've been. Anyone that complains about the value prop for the money is insane -- I question whether they know meats at all. Part of the reason why there are so many variants of barbecue styles comes down to the sauces/seasonings used -- and quite frankly, a lot of the barbecue in the States, you NEED the seasoning because the meat itself is often just OK. The only barbecue style that doesn't really use sauces is Central Texas (which is this place's style). At Slice of Life, you're getting A5 wagyu for barely above the cost. Not just a "wagyu" label everyone is slapping on to peddle food -- legit *A5* wagyu. Honestly, only an ignorant idiot would complain about the price -- you can barely get that quality meat uncooked for the same price. Let's also not forget how ridiculously expensive BBQ in the States can be for truly mediocre quality meat. You can easily spend $50+/pp especially in US cities. Here, you're getting quality meat, and while the sauces are awesome (love the coffee sauce), that is just a cherry on top. I can eat the meat as is, and be totally satisfied. Fwiw, I had the ribs, brisket, and the sausage -- they were all great, at least as good if not better than most places I've been in TX/TN/MO/the Carolinas (North and South). Yeah, the environment isn't anything fancy, but that's what makes it feel even more legit for me -- like being at a family cookout. I *never* wait on a line to get food in Japan because most places are overrated tourist traps or Instagrammer attractions. For this place, I'll wait an hour. In the rain.

I saw this place on my social media quite a while ago and had wanted to come here for quite some time. I had forgotten about it until I saw some idiot make a terrible video where he complained about it and did something rude. So I was coming to Tokyo and my daughter wanted to visit some shops in the area so I decided to pop along and give it a try. It was really really good. Please not it is not cheap, but you are getting what you pay for - the best street food lunch box I have ever had. I got a 250g kokusan beef rib for about ¥8500, it was cooked just how I would have wanted it. I loved the rice as it wasn’t typical Japanese rice, it seemed to be a longer grain. Also the sides were fantastic- some chilli with tortilla chips and a salad with some pickles 🥒 The seating was crowded but the lovely girl who served us sorted us out. She was really busy and was running around dealing with people the whole time but stayed polite and friendly. The girl with pink hair! She was keeping the place clean and customers served and was cheerful the whole time. I saw the owner walk by and gave him a nod and he smiled back. He seemed busy. I tried all the sauces as I ate my meal, they were all perfect. I was so surprised how the coffee sauce wasn’t actually that bad as I had expected not to like it. The sweet and source sauce was really tasty and went well with the meal but I definitely preferred the BbQ sauce. I wish they were selling bottles of it. The place was pretty crowded but they kept people coming and going and everyone was talking nice and quietly so we could enjoy our meal. I will definitely be back to try the spare ribs!!

+3

We originally came here because of TikTok. An influencer posted a pretty negative review, but we still thought the food looked good, so we decided to check it out ourselves. The price of the brisket honestly surprised us a bit, it was pretty expensive, around €20 or more depending on the portion size. Because of that, we ended up getting the sausage and the spare ribs instead. The sausage was okay, but the spare ribs were absolutely amazing. We genuinely loved them. Overall, we had a really nice experience and would definitely recommend stopping by if you’re in the area.

After seeing post after post on social media regarding this food truck I finally had a chance to check it out. Having had Terry Blacks Texas bbq as a frame of reference this place is just as good, which is surprising coming from a small food truck. Definitely worth checking out if you crave Texas style bbq in Tokyo. Seating is very limited and water is not provided, so keep that in mind when heading here. I went there when it was raining so luckily there was no wait.