I Had One of the Best Burgers Ever at Haneda Airport

On my way back to Montreal from Hanoi recently, I had a quick layover at Haneda airport, in Tokyo.

Now, typically, I’m not hungry when I’m at the airport, having eaten before my flight(s), as well as on any flight(s) I may have just gotten off. But this time for some reason I was really hungry.

After arriving at the airport, I headed straight to my gate, as I usually do. I had almost 3 hours on this layover, but still wanted to get to my gate first, so I could make sure I was where I needed to be, and then after I’d relax until my flight.

On my way to the gate though, I smelled some incredibly steak-y food filling the air. I looked around, and saw a restaurant that I thought the smells were coming from, but oddly, no beef was on their menu.

I decided to circle around a bit as the smell was just too good to ignore, and after going back and forth throughout the 3rd floor of terminal 3 a few times, I eventually realized there was a somewhat hidden section around the corner from the restaurant I had seen.

The restaurant was Meat Stars 29, and I new that was where the smell was coming from the moment I saw it.

Meat Stars 29 Info

• Location: Terminal 3, 3rd floor, Departure area 108, Haneda Airport, Tokyo
• Hours: 07:00 - 21:00
• Haneda airport Meat Stars 29 link: tokyo-haneda.com

A Hidden Gem

Meat Stars 29 is a bit hidden. It’s behind some other shops and restaurants, facing the windows that lookout onto the runway, and you can’t see it from the main walkway. You have to walk around some other restaurants and cafes to see it.

The Menu

The menu is pretty simple, and is in both Japanese and English. They have a few different burgers, as well as some other items like steak, chicken, and even a souffle pancake. But I was there for the burgers!

For the burgers, you’ve got the choice of either Kobe beef, or Angus.

Now Kobe beef would of course be the obvious choice here, but I’ve read that having it in a burger is a bit of a waste, as you can’t really taste what makes Kobe beef so incredibly tender - the marbled fat, when it’s been ground into a burger. So I decided to go with the Angus beef instead, which is still a great choice of beef.

Regardless of which beef you choose though, it ain’t cheap.

I choose the avocado burger, paired with some bottled water, and that alone was 2,060 JPY, which is just shy of $20 CAD. I then went back and decided to add a glass of white wine, which was another 680 JPY, or $8 CAD.

So in total I spent almost $30 CAD on this meal, which is a lot for a burger, some water, and a glass of wine. But I mean, it’s an airport, so I wasn’t expecting it to be cheap.

The Burger

Like most people, I’ve had plenty of burgers throughout my life. Mostly locally where I live, in Montreal, but also in a few other cities in other parts of the world.

Notably, the other best burger I ever had was in London in 2015, at Burger and Lobster on Bread Street. I still remember that burger to this day, and it was the first thing I thought of when I took my first bite of the burger here at Meat Stars 29.

The burgers I’ve had in Montreal and elsewhere have varied in taste and quality. Some quite delicious, others, well … dry, bland, and an overall disappointment.

But the burger here at Meat Stars 29, like the one I had at Burger and Lobster on Bread Street, was on a whole other level. Super juicy, super tender, super flavourful, and just overall amazing, with an incredible char-grilled steak-y flavour. 😍

I can’t even properly describe in words how delicious it was. Mouth watering really. 🤤

Unfortunately I only managed to take one picture of the burger. I was so eager to taste it, that I forgot to take more before I devoured the whole thing! It was seriously that good.

The Yelp reviews though are a bit mixed, with some people saying it’s not worth the price, and others saying it’s the best burger they’ve ever had.

I’m obviously in the latter camp, and I suspect the former camp have no idea what a good burger is. On the other hand, perhaps the bad reviews were from people who went when a different chef was working, or maybe they just had a bad day. Who knows. But the one I had was amazing.

Final Thoughts

If you find yourself at Haneda airport in Tokyo, and you’re hungry, I highly recommend checking out Meat Stars 29. It’s a bit hidden, but it’s worth the effort to find it.

I included a link to the location on Google Maps above, as well as a map with the location marked on it, so hopefully you’ll be able to find it easily if you decide to go. It’s in Terminal 3, on the 3rd floor, in the departure area, near gate 108.

Their avocado Angus beef burger was one of the best burgers I’ve ever had, and I’m so glad I managed to find it before I had to leave for my flight.

Hopefully the next time I’m in Japan, it will be for an actual stay, and I’ll be able to explore the country and finally try some of their famous Kobe beef. 🇯🇵