Located in a shopping plaza. Got the Tori Katsu chicken cutlet set and a spicy tuna roll. The chicken katsu was done right. Crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside, and not greasy. It came together perfectly with the sides and felt like a complete, comforting meal. Everything on the plate tasted fresh and well prepared. The spicy tuna roll was a nice addition. Clean flavors with just enough spice, and it balanced out the richness of the katsu. The restaurant has a calm, casual feel and it's easy to sit and enjoy your food. Staff was friendly and attentive, and service was smooth. Definitely a spot I'd come back to when I'm in the mood for a solid Japanese meal. read more

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Located in a strip mall across the street from JW Marriott, Katsuyama is a rare Asian/Japanese spot would great food at reasonable prices. They specialize in katsu but also serve it with ramen or curry, and offer other tasty treats like kimchi fried rice (excellent), pajeon (scallion pancake), chicken bulgogi etc. I liked how they omeveb offers a nasu (which is Japanese for eggplant) katsu which was unique and good. Give it a try on your next Palm Springs trip. read more

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Katsu isn't my favorite food so I opted for the spicy tuna roll which was just the right portion for me to feel full. It was a typical roll, and nothing stood out about it. However, I tried the kimchi fried rice and THAT was good. It's a huge portion that could be shared and even comes with chicken, so there's some protein in there, which isn't stated on the menu. I also tried the ton-katsu spicy ramen and the noodles didn't have a bouncy texture despite just coming from the kitchen, which was disappointing since it seemed as if it was just sitting in the broth the whole time before it came out, although the broth itself was good. There weren't many people on a Thursday night so the food didn't take too long to come out and the service was alright. I think the most memorable part was the container that they put the hot water in - a sake bottle! read more

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Yum! Crispy katsu and very friendly service. Can't ask for more in Palm Desert! Definitely recommend. Want to try their ramen next time since the soup that came with set was very very good! read more

Katsuyama - Ton-Katsu Set - Izakaya Near Me - Palm Desert, California

Tonight we were party of six at 6pm on a Tuesday. Five of us ordered the Katsu set. One had the tonkatsu ramen. What impressed me this time was the pork cutlet tenderness with each bite, and the umami which I don't recall last time. I couldn't resist speaking with the owner Jackie about it. He said thank you. My BIL had the spicy ramen. He said on a scale of 1-10 where 10 is the most spicy, this was an 8. That's spicy. Service was quick, efficient, and friendly. Most of us had leftovers. We'll be back next year. read more

Katsuyama - Katsu set - Izakaya Near Me - Palm Desert, California

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All around five stars. So Very happy we stopped in. Flavors exploded from our Ebi-Katsu ramen dish and our Kimchi fried rice. I had spicy - it was awesome! On the edge of too much spice, so if you're wary, get the normal and add the spice in a bit at a time. Service was flawless. Highly recommend! read more

Katsuyama - The most flavorful and wonderful meal - an absolute delight to dine at Katsuyama! Ebi-Katsu Ramen Kimchi Fried Rice - Izakaya Near Me - Palm Desert, California

my go to spot for date night! my hubby and i love getting their shrimp katsu which is big enough for two people really, they are NOT skimping with these sides they also offer a couple sushi rolls, we tend to go for the rainbow duh a variety of different fish ontop of a california roll, the cucumber salad is good and you MUST try their mandu bulgolgi dumplings oh my gosh... heaven on earth especially the sauce that goes along with it... divine read more

Pleasantly surprised by the quality of food and menu. We had the pork bulgogi, chicken pancake, mussels stew, and spicy ramen. Everything was real tasty. The spicy ramen had some good heat to it. The mussels stew was my favorite. Service was good. Definitely coming back. read more

Random craving for katsu in the desert. Happy to have found this place as we were so hungry. The service was good even though it seemed like they were short staffed. The pork tonkatsu set was gigantic lol I would say this is good for sharing! The katsu was good! I added some cheese on the side but the cheese was mid. I think it was canned nacho cheese :/ the macaroni salad was also bland... other than that everything was great! read more

Katsuyama - Pork Ton-Katsu Set - Izakaya Near Me - Palm Desert, California

Whenever we are around the area, never missed to drop by and enjoy their delicious Ton-Katsu. Staff are always friendly, courteous and service is fast. The place is clean and very homey. Highly recommended and will always come back for more. read more

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Very cute, clean and well decorated Japanese Katsu & Izakaya Restaurant. Viviana our server is so cute and very helpful. Love the ambiance. Sapporo Draft is refreshing and cold- yummy. I don't know if we would go back??? Garlic Edamame, didn't have any garlic or garlic flavor-No Sea Salt either??? CA Roll-the crab was like whipped with like cream cheese???? Pork which needs a lot of seasoning as does Chicken but the Ton-Katsu Set had no flavor??? read more

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Pretty good overall. Ambiance is nice and comfortable. We ordered an ebi katsu and a pork katsu. The pork was nice and juicy but not tenderized enough. Ebi was fried nicely but a lot of batter. I like how the set comes with a macaroni salad, soup, and rice. The customer service needs a bit of work. We came in around 8pm on a Tuesday and there wasn't a single table other than us. We were close to being neglected. Had to waive the server down a couple of times to get some things and she would look super annoyed. read more

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We stopped by around 5:30 on a Sunday and were seated right away. By 6:30, the place was full. We ordered the spicy edamame, crunch roll and ebi Katsu set. All were delicious! The katsu comes with rice, salad and soup. There are three dipping sauces -- mayo, curry and katsu sauce -- so you don't need to order the extra curry unless you really want a lot. We had water to drink, and they were good about refilling. There was Diet Coke but it was in a can, so I decided to stick to water. The dining area is clean and they had Christmas music playing. read more

Sucks, my wife and my daughter and I are visiting the area from San Francisco and was looking forward to eating here but we arrived at 818pm and they let us know that they were closed even though the closing time is 9pm. I asked about the time on Yelp and she just said sorry we closed early tonight. Very disappointed. So just arrive a couple hours early. I wonder what the owner would think about employees closing their restaurant earlier than posted time. read more

Katsuyama - Izakaya Near Me - Palm Desert, California

We started with garlic edamame- it's a shareable size & great garlic flavor. I ordered the Tori-Katsu set which is the chicken breast cutlet. The presentation of the set is aesthetically pleasing and tastes just as good. There's three different dipping sauces that come with it. The set is a filling meal size. Service is quick and friendly. Parking- big parking lot shared with other businesses read more

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Solid katsu restaurant in the desert that has katsu plates, katsu salads, and katsu ramen options. Basically, most everything has katsu. On the pricier side, but everything was good quality. The pork katsu was a bit overcooked, but the crispy panko crust was done well. We also ordered a crunchy roll and it's pricey at $18, but a good sized portion and made with real crab. Service was attentive and friendly. read more

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I would give zero stars if that was an option! *Terrible Customer Service I was so excited to try Katsuyama as one of my Birthday eats and rave about it. The menu options looked inviting and they have some decent reviews. Coming from Orange County, I take pride in doing my yelp research on the next best food journey to brag about. I opted for Katsuyama for my birthday dinner versus our yearly fancy steak dinners since I was craving chicken katsu and my family and I love Ramen! Katsuyama offers both! Unfortunately I can't say my overall experience was anything positive even though 99.9% of my reviews are mostly positive, The 1% of my negative reviews, well ..something must have been done so terrible I must speak my experience on this platform especially if it can affect any other customers and my fellow Yelp Elites! When we walked in, we were seated promptly and ordered right away. It started out promising. Antonio then took our orders and moments later, My husband then asks Antonio, that it was my (wife's ) bday and if they do anything for birthdays....Antonio answers with a hard "No" then walks away. Moments later we see him deliver a cheesecake slice to another table with a candle on it for someone's birthday. We were in so much shock as the customer service was very questionable and concerning as we were told the restaurant doesn't do anything for Birthdays then moments later, we visually see a service that was kindly requested and told otherwise. My husband then questions the server just to get a better understanding and maybe the communication between them was a mistake but once Antonio was questioned he quickly said rudely... "Well if you want a cheesecake dessert, I can just get you one" A complimentary birthday dessert was not the point. The point of this review is Antonios customer service was terrible and lacking of professionalism and integrity. Then the owner who was so kind comes out and my husband and him speak outside. Antonio the server told the owner a whole fabricated false story that was so different from the actual truth. Overall the ambiance started out quaint to what would have been a low key birthday dinner but instead ended up to be one of the worst experiences of my life! Customer service of a business reflects on the overall quality and integrity of any business. Antonio was very unprofessional and dishonest, his lack of care for customers is very concerning and we will definitely not return to any establishment that displays lack of respect and compassion for customers and especially if the integrity is questionable. read more

Katsuyama - Izakaya Near Me - Palm Desert, California

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Cute little Japanese place that had sushi, ramen and also Katsu. The Katsu set comes with quite a bit of food, which several side items. I got the shrimp Katsu and I didn't know what to expect. It was more like tempura in a heavier katsu breading. Service was friendly and efficient. read more

Katsuyama - Shrimp katsu - Izakaya Near Me - Palm Desert, California

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One of their menu read - "We Proudly Serve the Best Katsu in the Desert." We haven't tried all the places that serves katsu in this desert area, but their katsu definitely sits high on our list of katsu places we've tried! We ordered the tonkatsu with curry. We like how plentiful the tonkatsu was. The curry really helped with the flavor especially when paired with white rice. The miso soup had more than just tofu, lots of veggies and chicken. Lots to enjoy from the menu if you're not into fried stuff too, like the chicken bulgogi! Overall, we highly recommend checking this place out and getting the tonkatsu. read more

Katsuyama - Chicken bulgogi (front) and tonkatsu with gravy (back). - Izakaya Near Me - Palm Desert, California

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Neat, clean Japanese restaurant. There is a large selection of "rolls", "Katsu" is featured. Different foods prepared in this traditional Japanese style. We shared an ahi roll that was very good also, a Katsu Plate with Pork cutlet. The pork was juicy. The three sauces each were a nice accompaniment to the pork. The cabbage slaw was also a winner. We ordered a cucumber salad. The cucumbers were fresh and flavorful. It would have been helpful to know that the dressing includes a hot chile oil that was good, but not for me. I didn't ask and assumed it would be a more thinly-sliced cuke, with light rice wine vinegar dressing, that is a gentle sweet/sour. Service was adequate. Ambiance is lacking. It's hard to do much with a PD mall space, but they have made it comfortable and made it their own. read more

Pork Mild Ramen is bomb, Wanted a little more soda options but maybe that's not a bad thing. read more

So... after having Katsu in Kyoto.. you can't honestly give anywhere 5 stars. Place is super clean. Pork Katsu was delish, rainbow roll - wow- yum! Cabbage should be shredded better ... Arigato read more

Serving is good and worth the money every time i go here! Owner's are so nice as well. Will definitely go back again

No wait to be seated and good service and ambience. Appreciated that before a concert. Ordered spicy pork katsu ramen. Nice presentation but lacking in flavor, as if broth was watered down, noodles were overcooked. Would be a mid- 3.5 experience in LA, with a higher price. Others who ordered chicken katsu were less than thrilled, decent katsu flavor but ends of the cut were chewy for some reason, did not expect that from chicken. Fell short of expectations unfortunately. read more

Katsuyama - Ton-Katsu Ramen - Izakaya Near Me - Palm Desert, California

It's totally a bad idea to put tonkastu and noodles together! Japanese Ramen never do that! We ordered four kinds of Ramen and the noodles are mushy.It's a bad choice! read more

Service 100/10 Ambience 10/10 Food: 1000/10 The food is always so delicious. We had the Galbijjim (k-style braised beef short ribs) and it was so tender and flavorful. Crunch roll is always so decadent. Love their Mandu bulgogi dumplings. So juicy. The pork katsu set paired well with the cheese . I loved the Mac salad, rice , and tonjiro soup. A must visit. read more

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The food came out great and good portion. Both pork and chicken katsu are tasty and crunchy. Three kinds of sauce to dip. Not too juicy but not dried either. Service is ok. Servers seemed to be super busy the day we went. They don't have a sign up sheet so people you will need to know who comes first for seating. read more

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AMAZING FOOD! I did not expect to find authentic Japanese food in the desert but wow! I got the don-katsu (pork) set and my boyfriend got the rainbow roll Portion sizes were generous and we were both happy with our choices. The pork was SO crispy and it came with enough sides to keep you full. Next time I will try it with the curry sauce (however I wish this was complimentary) We will be back! read more

Katsuyama - Izakaya Near Me - Palm Desert, California

This restaurant is really clean and I love the style of the decor. Though I've only ever been here for lunch, it does feel like it would make a good date night spot. The staff has been quick and friendly during my visits. The food is really good too. I haven't had a single thing I didn't like. My favorite item is the Tori Katsu set. Hope you enjoy! read more

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From LA, I always come back to this restaurant every time I am back to PS for work. Everything in the menu is really delicious

Fantastic restaurant, amazing service. We were here to celebrate a birthday. We had three children with us who are neurodivergent. A lot was going on but the staff was so patient and accommodating. I do not think they knew the kids were neurodivergent, so it only makes me more impressed. Food is amazing quality. Well prepared, well presented, aesthetically pleasing, and tastes great. The decor is modern and equally aesthetically pleasing. One more to the service. Since we were celebrating a birthday, I believe the owner came out and offered to cut the cake. One of the servers brought out a lighter so we could light the candle. Again, fantastic service. This place deserves the best. read more

This was a surprisingly very tasty Katsu place just down the street from the JW Marriott in the same shopping plaza as Ralph's. The service was very quick, portion sizes were huge, and the taste of the food was very good as well. The only thing I didn't care for was the pasta salad which had little to no flavor. The ambiance was very modern and nothing like a normal izakaya. While I wouldn't say this place was inexpensive, for the amount of food you get in the Katsu Set, I feel like you get a very good value compared to eating at a nearby hotel. read more

Katsuyama - Pork Katsu with a side of curry - Izakaya Near Me - Palm Desert, California

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Super gigantic portions and the food was yummy and fresh. The restaurant was clean, modern, and family friendly. I would come here again :)

This restaurant is located in a strip mall neat the hotel I was staying and had such glowing reviews I wanted to try it out myself. It has a large parking lot so parking is not a problem. The restaurant looks quite new and has a very nice deocr and vibe to it. I expected it to be more formal as it had Izakaya in its name but it is very casual. Service was very professional and prompt however some of the food may not be up to snuff. The sell both izakaya and katsu style dishes which is fine, however, the izakaya dishes seem to tend toward Korean instead of Japanese dishes which made me wonder. I order the Ebi-katsu ramen which was interesting and I was not that hungry. The ebi-katsu was well done but the ramen was quite bad. The ramen tonkatsu (at least I think it was tonkatsu) was horrible with very little flavor to it. The egg was a standard hard boiled egg not like the ones you find at other ramen restaurants. The noodles were overcooked and were very soft. I expected an al dente noodle with a little bite to it. Overall it rubbed me the wrong way. There is also a bento option on the menu which have not tried but do not know how it will turn out. I was quite disappointed. read more

We came here craving fresh Japanese food and we were very happy. The restaurant is very clean, modern casual with electronic dance music playing. The server was very attentive and friendly. The appetizer California roll went well with Sapporo beer and house chardonnay wine. We got various chicken katsu meals (plate, salad, and ramen soup). The chicken katsu was expertly prepared and very savory. Definitely recommend! read more

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Food and service was excellent!. We go here when we're in Palm desert The craft Ramen is amazing read more

This is a new place in Palm desert! There is no other Katsu place as good as this place around Palm desert. I also really enjoy the galbijim. It's a little pricey for the portion but the sauce is sweet and flavorful and the beef is so tender! I was a little disappointed with the steamed egg, it was bland and it's not as fluffy as other spots. Overall would come back to this place! Love the staff and aesthetic here too!!! read more

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Highly recommend their Katsu , after all the restaurant is known for their Katsu . My Tori Katsu salad was the right portion with three choice of salad dressing to choose from . Chicken Tori Katsu were moist and crispy, seasoned just right . read more

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The ramen was decent at best. Noodles are thin and appear to be store bought. The egg in my noodle was hard-boiled with the yolk cooked all the way through (v. jammy), and arrived in my bowl cold when I took my first bite. Was disappointed overall. read more

The food, the food, the food!!! OMG I swear it's better than I remember, every time I go. Their sushi is fresh, constructed with thoughtful proportions of ingredients for a delicious and pretty bite. It's always service with a smile. Dishes arrive in quicker than expected timing for the elaborate plates. You'd be hard pressed to find a hole in the wall with a more contemporary, international vibe in this valley. It is a fairly loud venue even at half capacity, which is part of the fun for many people. I'm sensitive and my honey doesn't hear well there, or we'd be there more often. My girlfriend and I had many choices tonight with restaurant week on full tilt, and again decided upon Katsuyama. I'm still stuck on the Shrimp Katsu, which is cooked to perfection and beautifully seasoned. My friend has a similar relationship with the Pork Katsu Set. The set comes with your choice of protein, three sauces, shredded cabbage with sesami dressing, a glorious cup of soup, and a taste of spiral pasta salad. I feel like I'm missing something! It's so fun to taste around the plate. We're both excited to explore the menu further, which might require two visits in one week. Ha! read more

Katsuyama - Fresh! Pretty! And a great bite! - Izakaya Near Me - Palm Desert, California

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