Experience
Robata (charcoal hearth)
Wagyu grilled over charcoal at an open hearth, cooked by the chef and often passed across the counter rather than brought by a server. The fuel and the counter are the format; the beef's origin is a separate question.
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What robata (charcoal hearth) means
Where it comes from
Robatayaki means "fireside cooking," and the restaurant form is usually traced to northern Japan, where a hearth did the cooking in view of the room. The long paddle used to pass food across a wide counter is the detail most often copied abroad, though many U.S. robata counters plate normally.
How it works
A chef works a long charcoal grill behind a counter, cooking to order and passing plates across. Menus tend to be built from many small items ordered a few at a time rather than one large steak, so Wagyu may arrive as a skewer, a few slices, or a small portion.
What to look for
Charcoal is a cooking method and not a provenance claim, so ask which prefecture, grade, or producer the Wagyu comes from rather than reading the fire as an answer. Some counters name their fuel, commonly binchotan; that describes the heat, not the beef.