Arrived at 7:40ish. Last call for food was at like 8pm? Restaurant closes at 9 pm... Seems okay until I kept noticing the waiters staring at us. Pretty uncomfortable situation. Ramen needed salt. Like a lot. Spicy was not too spicy... Didn't come with many toppings. Pork chop was huge though! Lacking flavor as well though. 6.8/10 Crispy Shrimp Roll. Perfect. 10/10 Wontons (beef) 7/10. Seemed burnt. Lacking flavor. read more

Katsuyama - Crispy Shrimp Roll - Izakaya Near Me - Palm Desert, California

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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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We came in for lunch and ordered two katsu ramens, one mild and one spicy. When the food came out, the server placed the bowls down without saying which one was which. I ended up giving one to my 3- and 5-year-old kids, thinking it was the mild one. After a few bites, they started complaining that their mouths were burning. I tasted it myself and realized they had been given the spicy ramen--the one that was supposed to be for my husband. Then we waited even longer for the other order, only to receive a shrimp and noodle dish that we never ordered. At that point, we were already starving and had waited so long that I just decided to eat it and share it with the kids rather than wait even longer. The food itself was nothing special. The shrimp was fried, but the noodles tasted like regular packaged ramen, and the broth was bland. I couldn't really taste much of anything, and for the price, I expected a lot more. We spent about $90 for two soups, one sushi roll, and a drink. For that price, the food and service should have been much better. Between the order mix-up, not being told which ramen was spicy, the long wait, and the mediocre food, this place definitely did not live up to the hype. read more

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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Located conveniently across the street from JW Marriott Resorts. It was our 1st meal on our family vacation and we were looking forward to trying it since everything on the menu looked delicious. Unfortunately, our meals were not as good as expected. The flavor of the curry is good but the katsu is dry. The Karaage was the biggest disappointment. It didn't even taste nothing like it. Basically just a plain piece of chicken breaded and fried. The meal is supposed to come with miso soup but they brought us a different type of soup instead. No one ate it. They had other items that would have been better to try but who would've thought their specialty is mediocre at best. Our meal was expensive and none of us fully enjoyed it. 3 stars for staff being friendly. read more

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The atmosphere is lively and inviting, complemented by delicious Japanese curry and Chicken Katsu made with tender rib and breast meats. The friendly, relaxed service makes you feel at home. The weekends I have been there, the place buzzes with birthday celebrations or large groups, which speaks volumes about its popularity and vibrant spirit. read more

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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Awesome food and service from the moment we sat till we left. The ramen, mandu and katsu bento is a must have. Also, celebrated my lil one bday. read more

Katsuyama - Izakaya Near Me - Palm Desert, California

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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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I just ordered a Tori katsu curry from this place and what I received about half the amount of rice and curry that's pictured in their menu. They also didn't include the pickled vegetables. The katsu itself tasted okay. read more

Katsuyama - Tori-katsu curry - Izakaya Near Me - Palm Desert, California

Very upscale feel to this strip shopping center - you walk in and you're transported to another world that is calm, beautiful and so very zen. Gorgeous decor with clean design and natural elements, like the rich wood tables. The service is exceptional; our server was very attentive, the chef brought out the food and I believe it was the owner who came to inquire if we'd enjoyed our lunch. It was an ideal setting to get together with a friend to enjoy healthy food that is as tasty as it is beautiful to look at. I was so busy enjoying that I didn't want to break the spell and get my phone out to take a picture. I will be back so I'll try to get a snap then! read more

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

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

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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Bad experience, before walking in, the employee mentioned the store close soon (still one hour before closing time), doing everything in a rush way, do not give you enough time to order, feel extremely stressed while eating, ( he slowed down after seeing several new customers came in after us) ruining my day because of choosing this restaurant. read more

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

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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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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I got there an hour before the place closed according to the website and they turned us down. The place was empty so I get that they didn't want to turn the kitchen over just for two people but why even advertise that it's open to a certain time when you're gonna kick us out. read more

Service was great, yellow tail sashimi alone was worth stopping in here. Add great service and it's worth returning!

I loved everything about this place. The service was really attentive and welcoming. The quality of the food was amazing. The portion and quality of the katsu platter was outstanding and for a pretty decent price too. I didn't have high expectations for the sushi options but was surprised on how good the quality was as well. read more

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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We got the Ebi-Katsu ramen, the shrimp crunchy roll and the chicken Katsu set, the portions are big. We definitely could have shared 2 of these items. Over all great service and tasty food. read more

Katsuyama - Ebi-katsu Ramen - Izakaya Near Me - Palm Desert, California

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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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

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

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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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

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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This wasn't my first time eating here, but it was my first time having their ramen and DAMN! There's one place in the area I used to get my ramen - it was far and away the best in this area. However, I had the Tori-Katsu Ramen (creamy mild) and I have a new favorite! Not sure what or how they do, but it was delicious! It's a small, intimate place with nice ambiance. Great place if you want to sit and enjoy your meal. Service also great! I'd show a pic, but it didn't occur to me until it was all gone. Great stop! 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

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

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

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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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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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