Ribera Steakhouse

Ribera Steakhouse
Restaurant information
Food type Steak house
City Gotanda
Country Japan
Other locations Meguro

Ribera Steakhouse (ステーキハウス リベラ Stēkihausu Ribera) is a Japanese professional wrestling, boxing and mixed martial arts-themed steak house restaurant with two locations. The original location is in Gotanda, and there is a second, larger location in Meguro. Professional wrestlers frequent the restaurant when touring in Tokyo, a rite of passage in the wrestling community.[1][2] In addition, some wrestlers receive a satin Ribera Steakhouse Jacket from the owners.

History

Wrestler Kaitlin Diemond wearing a black satin Ribera Steakhouse jacket

Chris Jericho credits wrestler Stan Hansen with "discovering" the restaurant in the 1970s.[3] Hansen, however, credits Bruiser Brody with being the first American wrestler to discover the restaurant.[1] In the late 1970s and early 1980s, American professional wrestlers began to frequent the restaurant when they were wrestling in Tokyo.[2] Over time, the owner began to cover the walls with hundreds of pictures of the wrestlers who ate at his restaurant.[2][4] The owner rotates the pictures to correlate with the wrestlers currently touring the country.[3] The restaurant is also decorated with other sorts of memorabilia such as title belts and trophies.[5]

The owners of Ribera Steakhouse give out the Ribera Steakhouse Jacket to selected patrons.[2] The jacket is satin and has a bull logo on the breast.[2] Road Warrior Animal popularized wearing the jacket with Zubaz pants.[2][6] Later, it became a rite of passage for American wrestlers to go to the steakhouse and receive their own jacket.[1][2] Ricky Fuji has said that in English Ribera means, "I'm a wrestler, and I've been to Japan."[3]

The restaurant features New York-style steaks in three sizes—1/2 pound, 1 pound, and 1 1/2 pounds—and sides such as corn, rice, salad, and soup.[5] There is also a Ribera Akebono eating challenge.[5] The challenger must eat 1.35 kilograms of steak and several side dishes in under 30 minutes to win 10,000 yen (approximately US$98 as of November 2015).[5]

A second and bigger location was built in Meguro, and it is run by the original location's owner's son.[2]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Sonny, Julian (2014-07-04). "The Legend Of Ribera: Visiting This Steakhouse In Japan Is A Rite Of Passage For Pro Wrestlers". Elite Daily. Retrieved 2015-04-18.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Linder, Zach (2013-08-07). "Wrestling's favorite restaurant: The oral history of Ribera Steakhouse". WWE. Retrieved 2015-04-18.
  3. 1 2 3 Jericho, Chris (2007). A Lion's Tale: Around the World in Spandex. Grand Central Publishing.
  4. ↑ Roberts, Jeremy (2009). Rey Mysterio: Behind the Mask. Simon and Schuster. p. 104.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Liew, Frank (2011-06-27). "Tokyo: Wrestle-mania". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 2015-04-19.
  6. ↑ Melok, Bobby (2011-12-06). "Superstars recall Ribera Steakhouse, bring back Zubaz". WWE. Retrieved 2015-04-18.

Coordinates: 35°37′48″N 139°43′43″E / 35.63000°N 139.72861°E / 35.63000; 139.72861

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