Having been a loyal customer of Kobuta since its soft opening, frequently visiting for both lunch and dinner, I can honestly say they've never disappointed me until my recent visit. For years, their consistency has been nothing short of remarkable, which is why I still rate them 5/5. This single experience served as a reminder that even the best restaurants are run by real people, and occasional hiccups can happen. As usual, I ordered my go-to side of ebi and hire katsu. This time, seeing the karaage and unagi bento available (i had seen from Redmond location last year), we decided to try the karaage. Unfortunately, for the very first time, my hire katsu had an unusually thick and less-than-crispy breading. The karaage portion was generous, served with refreshing cabbage salad and a truly delicious sriracha mayo dipping sauce. However, the meat itself was quite dry; chewing through some pieces, particularly those that weren't dark meat, was a bit challenging. I'll absolutely continue to visit Kobuta for my regular favorites any day, but I'm uncertain if I'll order the karaage again based on this experience. read more

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I've been here twice prior to this review (both during 2022) and both times I unfortunately thought their katsu meat was relatively dry. This time around is a complete 180 from that! I got here with a group of 3 around 12pm on a Sunday and there was a decent line out the door already as expected for this place. It's very compact inside here and there's both bar seating near the kitchen window and a small number of tables that mostly seat 2 people, with some seating 4 or more people. You get a menu to order off of, and they offer tons of katsu dishes, with descriptions of each kind of meat they use. I decided to order the kurobuta katsu since I got the hire katsu and mozzarella katsu before. Now from my first sentence of this review, I didn't expect much difference from my past visits, to be honest. But wow, the kurobuta is flavorful as advertised! Pair that with their katsu sauce and it was just really juicy and had a strong umami feel, probably because of the fat content of the meat. The extra side dishes provided (miso soup, shredded cabbage, pickles, etc.) were great additions to the dish. It's Cap Hill, so parking's bad around the area. But it's worth it if you wanna give this place a try! read more

Kobuta And Ookami - Japanese Near Me - Seattle, Washington

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This place offers authentic Japanese katsu and curry! The premium katsu meat is very tasty, which is a must try!!! read more

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We got lucky to get first wave waiting in line on a Sunday night (arrived 20 minutes before opening). We noticed a girl came early but her party wasn't there yet, so she had to wait entirely for second wave (a whole 30-40 minutes, so don't be that friend). They have specials and their regular menu. Lots of variety on how you can have your katsu prepared. Oroshi katsu at its purest form is juicy and crispy. I preferred this over the tomato and cheese only because tomato in general for me gets over bearing over time (but that's a personal preference). The tomato miso sauce was soooo delicious though. They also have sesame and katsu sauce in big jugs for your salad / extra dipping for katsu. Service was fast and efficient. Street parking was fairly easy for us this time, but I'm not sure how it is on a busier day. Service - 5 / Ambiance - 5 / Food - 5 / Price - 4 read more

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This was the best meal I had in my short visit back to Seattle! We wrote down our names for dinner, and waited about 40 minutes. It's not terribly loud in there, and it's kinda packed so more people can be seated, but I don't mind that. This was my first time having oroshi katsu, and it did not disappoint. I loved how light the dish felt, with the ponzu and grated radish, and the cabbage salad with the sesame dressing was delicious as well. Be prepared for a wait, but there's tons of little shops to explore in the area. Wish they had one here in LA! read more

Kobuta And Ookami - Ebi katsu - Japanese Near Me - Seattle, Washington

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We came in for lunch for 5 people. A bit of a wait, about 45 min, when we were quote 20-30 min. We ordered: katsu hire $22 katsu rosu $20 oroshi rosu $21 rosu side $11 oroshi kurobuta $28 tomato and cheese kurobuta $29 You order before you sit...but still ended up waiting quite a long time for the food to come out. Food was ok. Surprisingly soggy. Not a fan of the radish on the tonkatsu. Nothing really stood out. For a group of 5, they count as a large party, so auto 20%. Street parking only. read more

Small cozy feeling restaurant! When we came around 5:30 we were able to sit right away but i did notice a waitlist forming as we ate our food from the restaurant filling up. I love katsu but never had katsu nabe so was very interested in trying this! My friend and i got two different dishes and shared. The nabe part is flavorful and does go well with the meat! Nothing too special but the mushrooms are good and the egg cooks in the hot broth. Lots of sweet nabe inside too. I like that the katsu is thick but both the iberico and kurabuta were kinda dry. overall i guess it's slightly above average but not worth going back to since it's pretty expensive too. read more

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My friend and I wanted to try this place a a few years ago, but at the time there was a one hour wait. Finally, we arrived on a Sunday around noon, and the wait was about 30 minutes. They will put your phone number into the system, and you will get a text when the table is ready. I ordered the Kurobuta Oroshi Katsu. The Katsu was crispy on the outside and tender on the side. Personally, I'm not a big fan of the grated radish as it's so bland, so the next time I will probably order a different Katsu. You can add the sauce that they provide for more flavors though. Service was prompt. We were seated at the bar, which was still enough space for the food. read more

Kobuta And Ookami - Japanese Near Me - Seattle, Washington

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It's almost always busy here but the turnover is pretty quick as service is fast. This is one of my favorite Katsu places in Seattle and I love the set it comes with as it makes for a hearty meal. read more

Kobuta And Ookami - Japanese Near Me - Seattle, Washington

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This is the only place I will go out to eat katsu at. The style is traditional Japanese. I tend to go for to rosu pork with a side of mozzerella. I really like the traditional rosu pork plate with ponzu sauce and the mozzerella with mustard and ground sesame. The Redmond location usually has no wait, whereas the Seattle location can be hit or miss on wait times; calling before they can give you a pretty good estimate for wait times! read more

Kobuta And Ookami - Mozzarella - Japanese Near Me - Seattle, Washington

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Always a solid choice! I've been coming here at the end of every school quarter with my partner to treat ourselves for getting through school haha. The portions are generous, and the quality of the food is high for a fair price. They offer multiple tiers of katsu at different price points, but honestly, I couldn't tell much of a difference between the most affordable and the most expensive. It does get busy, so without a reservation be prepared to wait during peak meal times. read more

Kobuta And Ookami - Japanese Near Me - Seattle, Washington

Weekly lunchtime katsu in a quieter part of Capitol Hill. Was a little bit of a wait, but was sat down in about 10 minutes. Ordered the Kurobuta Miso Katsu. Was well prepared and was pretty tasty. However, I did have a piece of the Iberico Katsu - which was waaaay better. A bit more juicy and tender. Would definitely recommend that. All in all, was a pretty good lunch time meal. read more

Kobuta And Ookami - Japanese Near Me - Seattle, Washington

I love this place! The service was very nice and it felt very cozy inside especially with the rainy Seattle weather. I got the katsu nabe and it was so flavorful. The crispy katsu was breaded and fried very well and went so well with the flavorful broth and veggies. I really enjoyed the presentation of the dishes and it really does make the experience so much better. Wishing the best to the restaurant! read more

Kobuta And Ookami - Open flame - Japanese Near Me - Seattle, Washington

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We had about a 50-minute wait, so we walked 20 minutes to the nearest bar and by the time we came back, the table was ready. Friday night vibes. The place has a great ambiance, packed with Japanese locals, which felt like a good sign. The house sake was excellent and set my expectations pretty high. Presentation on the dishes was solid--I ordered the Ibérico pork, my girl got the chicken curry. Rice and salad? Excellent. Sauces? Pretty good. But the pork & chicken itself? Under-seasoned. Even the crust didn't really have that salty, flavorful kick you'd expect--i had to lean too much on the sweet/acidic/tangy A1-style tonkatsu sauce, which didn't quite bring the oomph. The curry had the opposite problem--light on sodium, came off a little flat. Funny enough, the miso swung the other way and was way too salty. At $30 a plate, I expected more balance. Maybe I didn't order the right katsu. Would I go back? Maybe--for the sake and dessert. Their matcha "tiramisu" cake concept was excellent. read more

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Visited on a weekday for lunch, no wait but still a bunch of people inside. Service was nice and helpful. Food came out pretty quickly. Hire oroshi katsu: comes as a set with cabbage, miso soup, pickled veg, and rice. Also comes with ponzu sauce and grated radish. The ponzu was refreshing and light and super tasty with the pork! Big portion and very filling. Tender pork even though it's the leaner of the offerings. Highly recommend! Jidori chicken katsu: such a good chicken katsu! Super juicy chicken and crispy outside. Although the side that's sitting on the rack was not very crispy. Grinding my own sesame seeds and adding katsu sauce to that was tasty and also came as a set with hot mustard too! Hot mustard was a good kick and don't forget to squeeze some lemon on your katsu if you're into that! read more

Kobuta And Ookami - Hire oroshi katsu (includes ponzu sauce and grated radish) - Japanese Near Me - Seattle, Washington

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Came here on a Friday evening, was intimated by the long line at first but it passed super quick! We were seated at the bar in under 20 min. It's a little tight inside but the ambiance is really homey. I ordered the hire (lean meat) katsu and was very satisfied! Crunchy exterior was nicely done and not too thick, and the inside was very tender. Cabbage salad was a nice refresher and I like that I can customize my sauce with ground sesame seeds and wasabi on the side. They serve very large portions I couldn't quite finish my entire plate and left very full! The waitress recommended the kobuta (fatty) katsu, will have to try that next time! read more

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I was excited to finally try out this spot! I love katsu but honestly found this place to be just okay. I picked the kurobuta pork for katsu and found it dry, I wish it was fattier and juicier. I've also had katsu sauce that was stronger in flavor, this one tasted watered down. Luckily I've had katsu meals similar to this before and knew to grind up my sesame but imagine if I hadn't, I would stare at my meal with confusion. The servers didn't take the time to talk through the process with us. I totally forgot to try the dishes the rest of my party got lol but my friend that got the soup said she really enjoyed it and was perfect for the cold weather. Overall I just thought this place was okay. Their other things on their menu looked interesting though! read more

Kobuta And Ookami - Pork katsu - Japanese Near Me - Seattle, Washington

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Kubota and Ookami is an absolute gem of a katsu shop. Everything is so good, but my go-to order is the Jidori Chicken Katsu Curry meal paired with an iced genmaicha tea. Crispy, flavorful, comforting, and perfectly balanced every time. They do get busy, and for good reason, so arrive early or plan your visit during a quieter window. Totally worth it and easily a repeat spot. read more

Trying out the Capitol Hill location this time and I ordered the right dish I wanted this time. Yay! So like the Redmond location, this was very busy and there was a wait here as well. This location is smaller, so it had less tables for customers. Despite that, the quality of food was very good. I was very happy with my Kurobuta Katsudon. We got to order ahead of time before our table was ready, so the food came out a little after we sat down. That's some quality time management! The katsu was very crispy on the outside and juicy and meaty on the inside. went very well with the egg and onions and the rice. I washed it all down with a pint of Sapporo beer. One of the best comfort foods I could ever have. Give it a shot. You'll be quite pleased! read more

Kobuta And Ookami - Kurobuta Katsudon - Japanese Near Me - Seattle, Washington

I was super excited to come here after having amazing tonkatsu in Japan a couple months ago. That being said, I knew not to expect Japan-level amazingness and quality. Even after tempering my expectations, I was pretty disappointed. The good: Service was friendly and they took our orders quickly. Food came out in less than 5 min after we ordered. The not-so-good: my friend and I both got the kurobuta katsu. The pork was dry and it wasn't hot, which made me suspect our food was pre-prepared and reheated. If that wasn't the case, it sure tasted like it was because it was lukewarm at best. This is supposed to be fried pork tenderloin, so why wasn't it piping hot? Glad I tried this place but won't be recommending to others. read more

This has become our regular go to spot and the wide variety of katsu they serve is awesome! You know this place is good when a line queues up every time we've been there anywhere from 30 to 15min before opening at 5pm for dinner. The good news is they have waiting list where you can put your name down and they'll text you 10min in advance. Now back to the food and our go to items are the Oroshi Hire Pork Tenderloin Katsu, Hire Pork Tenderloin Katsu and the Oroshi Jidori Chicken Katsu. Each come on a nice platter with rice, a huge pile of thinly shaven cabbage, tsukemono (pickled veggies) and miso soup. The batter is deep fried to perfection and has a nice crunch but yet the meat remains nice and juicy. The servers are great and the ambiance is lively with j-pop/k-pop music quietly pumping in the background. read more

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I visited Kobuta and Ookami for a quick weekday lunch after being promised the best tonkatsu in the city. A lot of other reviews mention a wait, but when I arrived a bit after the restaurant opened, there was only one other party sitting inside, and when I exited about an hour later, the place was still very empty. I guess it really only gets busy during weekends and possibly dinner time? Rosu Katsu Curry ($21) - My understanding is that rosu is the typical cut used in tonkatsu; if you go to a restaurant that doesn't differentiate between cuts of pork, it's most likely rosu. This cut, the loin, includes a seam of fat along one side, with a thicker fat endpiece. That describes this katsu perfectly. Most of it is lean pork, tender and juicy, but there's just a thin strip of fat along the edge, with the last piece at the end being purely fat. The fat is cooked very nicely and expertly fried. It's not melt-in-your-mouth level, but it's as tender as it can get with this cut of meat and it almost pops/crackles in the mouth. The exterior of the katsu is heavenly - crisp, yet outstandingly flaky, and simply seasoned with just a hint of salt. It's not seasoned much to let the natural taste of the pork to shine. The curry is unique, with a taste that's quite different from most other Japanese curries. It's sweetened using dark chocolate, which gives a bit of a acidic tang and a more mellow type of sweetness versus the more fruity sweetness that typically dances on the tongue. The thickness of the curry is good and although there are tiny visible grains (possibly roux that wasn't completely mixed in before the flour was cooked?), it feels smooth on the tongue for the most part. The overall taste profile isn't my favorite, however it's certainly unique and definitely worth a try. At first, it seems like there's a lot of curry on the plate, possibly too much for the amount of rice, but it's actually well balanced in the end. For a lot of restaurants in the US, rice is an afterthought, and unfortunately that remains the case with Kobuta and Ookami. The rice served here seems to be a standard medium grain rice, most likely calrose, that's cooked with a bit too much water, resulting in rice that's tender, but far too mushy. For a Japanese restaurant that serves food that is $30+ after tip and tax, I expect much better rice. A well cooked koshihikari or similar short grain at a minimum. Unfortunately, this part of the dish misses the mark. The fukujinzuke is good; nicely tangy and crunchy. A good side to palette cleanse between the more flavorful curry and the more delicate tonkatsu. Overall the dish is a 4/5, with tonkatsu that's outstanding and a unique curry, but mediocre rice that really drags my rating down. Do I recommend Kobuta and Ookami? Yes, of course. I'm already planning to return to try some of their other dishes; the tonkatsu served here is just that good. I just wish they had better rice! Bathrooms - One unisex room read more

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Booked this place for a large group meal and was really pleased with the food here! A large variety of cuts for the tonkatsu and diff options (curry, miso, nabe). Portion sizes were really generous. Booking is available for party sizes over 6. It's a small venue and is very popular so definitely book or go early! Food was good and authentic with the side salad and dressing, though it was not out of the world amazing. Service was also really good and friendly Definitely will be back! read more

Kobuta And Ookami - Pork Tonkatsu curry - Japanese Near Me - Seattle, Washington

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We ordered the cheese katsu and the katsu nabu. The katsu nabu was sweet and savory! The soup tasted really good and went well with the katsu. The katsu was a bit more firm and it would have been better to have gotten softer meat; however they do have options on what type of katsu you order to get it either tender or softer. The cheese katsu was also delicious and went great with the katsu sauce they provide! Definitely recommend! read more

Kobuta And Ookami - nabe katsu mozzarella katsu - Japanese Near Me - Seattle, Washington

food - ok! not too greasy/heavy. didn't love their salad dressing. i got the mixed seafood ($35) and thought that was kinda pricey compared to other katsu restaurants. service - ok! they're quick to take your order assuming they want you out because the restaurant is small w a long wait ambiance - causal! their music was a bit loud read more

Kobuta And Ookami - Japanese Near Me - Seattle, Washington

This is a SOLID katsu place and it gets busy so make sure that you put your name on a waitlist beforehand in order to avoid long wait times. The prices are expensive but the portion sizes are HUGE. I can only eat half of my portion before I'm stuffed. I got the tomato and cheese and it was everything I expected- cheesy, gooey, and perfectly crisp on the outside. The meat itself was kind of tough and dry. Since I was only able to eat half, the leftovers don't hold up too well and got soggy. Would come back again if I was really craving katsu! read more

Kobuta And Ookami - Japanese Near Me - Seattle, Washington

I enjoyed the aesthetic plating especially the mozzarella on the tomato & cheese katsu. The hire katsu was more dry than I would've liked. FYI it's a small place and tables were small too so there won't be a quiet atmosphere. read more

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We decided to go here after seeing it on TikTok! Such an amazing restaurant. Parking can be annoying depending on the day but we were able to find parking. Food: 10/10 amazing, we found out new favorite restaurant. I forgot the names of the things we got but I'm sure if I knew the pork was this juicy,'it wouldn't matter which one we got hahahaha. The pork was so crispy and juicy. I love that you can choose the cut of the pork you want as well depending on how lean/fat you like your pork. The rice was nice and fluffy. With an additional $5 you can get miso soup, shredded cabbage and a small side of different pickled veggies. The server was amazing, she made sure to talk with us and let us know all the amazing restaurants around the area. 10/10 I'd go back again. read more

Kobuta And Ookami - Japanese Near Me - Seattle, Washington

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The best pork Katsu ever! Get there early or expect an hour wait. The place has about tables for 40 people and a bar for 6 or 7. We arrived at 6 and waited about 50 minutes. Food comes out fairly quick though. The portions are huge for $the $18 price tag. read more

Kobuta And Ookami - Pork Katsu - Japanese Near Me - Seattle, Washington

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Amazing food! My second time here. Food is a little bit pricey, pending what kind of cut you get so each set is about $35 but you definitely get a whole meal and some leftovers. Loved the breading on everything, felt light and airy. First time getting the nabe hotpot, so cozy on a cold rainy day. The soup was aromatic and filled with veggies/mushrooms with great umami flavor that paired well with the rice. The cabbage and sesame dressing was great as always! Staff was super friendly, not too busy but we went right when they opened! read more

I've been here a few times now and it is a delicious katsu restaurant that does not disappoint. There is a wide variety of dishes and pork types to choose from (there is a very helpful key that explains the difference) and most come with miso soup, cabbage and rice. I would recommend getting one of the katsu dishes with mozerella (it's like a mozerella stick!) or the katsu nabe, which has a rich flavor and is full of veggies. Overall, this is a great place to go with friend or family and anything on the menu will be a good choice! It is a very popular place to eat, so make sure you come early and be ready to wait. My group came around 6pm on a Tuesday evening and had to wait ~30mins which wasn't too bad. The whole group does need to be present in order to be seated. Once we were seated, we received our food very quickly after we had ordered. *parking can be hard to find so make sure to allow time for street parking. read more

Kobuta And Ookami - Hire Tomato & Cheese and Hire Katsu Don - Japanese Near Me - Seattle, Washington

Nicely traditional, extremely busy, and almost perfect. One hour before closing on a weekday we still had to wait almost 30 minutes. It's not the biggest restaurant and it's very popular. Definitely worth a try but it can get kind of expensive at almost 30 bucks per meal. Kurobuta Oroshi Katsu: GET! The pork is soooooo juicy it's some of the best tonkatsu you'll ever have. The sides are very fun to give it some contrast. Play around with the sauces on your pork and salad too Katsu Curry: Skip The pork itself is delicious as above but the curry missed its mark by so much.... I would have loved to give this restaurant 5 stars but this curry was so lack luster I just can't. It was quite plain and flat. We couldn't finish it. Food: 8/10 Service: 6/10 Atmosphere: 8/10 Value: 5/10 read more

Kobuta And Ookami - Japanese Near Me - Seattle, Washington

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I was craving katsu and this really hit the spot. I was surprised to see such a long queue on a Tuesday night, and they quoted us 1.5hr wait for a party of 5. It went by quickly and ended up only waiting for an hour. The waitress also took our food order while we waited for our table to be ready, which was really nice! We got our food not too long after being seated. There's many options on how you would like your katsu, and you can also choose the cut of the pork you want whether it's more lean or if you want something fattier. The panko breading is perfectly crispy and the meat remains so juicy! Our group chose katsu curry (really nice and rich flavor, more on the sweeter side), the tomato and cheese (surprisingly good and not overwhelming), and katsu don (simmered in egg and sauce). Most of the styles you can upgrade with a $5 set that includes cabbage salad, japanese pickles and miso soup. At the table they have tonkatsu sauce and a sesame dressing for the salad that you can use. Overall, definitely makes for a nice filling meal! I can't wait to come back and try their other styles. Service was very kind and fast, 10/10 would recommend read more

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This was actually probably the best katsu I've had in a really long time. It was pretty packed in there so you have a time limit of 1.5 hours, but they bring the food out quickly. You know the place is good when they specialize ONLY in katsu. There are even different grades of meat; and the cheapest one that I got, which is the hire katsu (the curry version), was still juicy and the breading was amazing. Not dry at all. The curry itself was a good Japanese curry, much better than any boxed Japanese curry. The pieces were also massive, I was very full afterward. They do give a lot of rice at all, would be good for sharing. You can add a salad + miso for $5, which one of my friends did do. read more

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I waited over hour to eat here, and it was worth the wait! The katsu is absolutely out of this world, and I really felt transported to Japan when I saw my tray of food with all its little accoutrements. I got the mozzarella katsu, which was everything I had dreamed of and more. Think of the best mozzarella stick of your life wrapped in pork and then fried to crispy perfection, served with delicious katsu sauce. It was heavenly. My husband and friend got the katsu curry, which tasted a little different than other Japanese curries we've tried, as it's soupier and more sour, but it was still very good, absinthe katsu itself was faultless. We loved the pickles that came on the side, the perfectly cooked rice, and the abundant shredded cabbage with the most addictive sesame dressing that was the perfect palate cleanser for all that heavy katsu. Prices were fair for the quality of the food and the abundant portions (we really had to struggle to finish). Be prepared to wait a very long time. We ended up walking to a nearby bar for some pre-dinner drinks, which helped the wait go by much faster. read more

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A great restaurant for devouring succulent katsu. There are multiple options for your porky preference and each one varies in its leanness and place of origin. The miso soup is strong and compliments the savory dishes adequately, residing as a suitable palate cleansing substitute to its lesser arch-nemesis (ginger). Lastly, they give a generous amount of cabbage in their salad, reminiscent of my time as a giddy gazelle grazing along the North African savannah. read more

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A fantastic restaurant located in Capitol Hill with high-quality food and excellent service and a chic modern atmosphere. There's a variety of options for Katsu and none of them are the wrong choice. We grabbed the Curry Jidori and the Oroshi Iberico. Both dishes were fresh, perfectly portioned, and cooked to perfection. The Katsu was crispy and the Iberico was juicy and tender. The curry was flavorful and the shaved radish and sauce with the Oroshi was paired perfectly. With so many dishes to choose from, I will definitely be back to try more. Note that there is street parking and tables are first come first served. There was already a line forming 15 minutes before opening and by the time we were leaving the wait was 1.5 hours. Recommend to get there early unless prepared to wait a bit. However, this is a place you do not want to miss out on and is worth the wait! read more

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We had an outstanding meal at Kobuta and Ookami. This restaurant served some of the best tonkatsu I've had anywhere, including Japan. This restaurant specializes in it -- Japanese deep-fried pork (and chicken) cutlets. You won't find anything else on the menu here. That's all you need to know. If you want details, keep reading. I noticed right away from our server's accent that he's Thai. It turns out that Kobuta and Ookami is owned and operated by Thai people. Kobuta and Ookami is Japanese for piglet and wolf, which make up the restaurant's logo. The wolf looks a lot like the wolf from the 2006 video game Ōkami. This is the first location. It opened in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle in September 2021. A second and much bigger location opened in Redmond in May 2023. For this visit, we parked for free around the corner on E John St. Our party of four showed up on a Wednesday at 11:54am. At that time, the restaurant had several open tables and we were seated immediately. We left by 1:14pm. During our visit, it got busy, but never 100% full. This location is fairly small. I guesstimate the dining room and bar can seat about 35 people total. This place is popular. They'll accept reservations for parties of six or more, booked at least 24 hours in advance. Unlike the Redmond location, which allows you to book online via Toast, you have to call this location at 206-708-7856 to book. Kobuta and Ookami offers six main styles of katsu: regular, miso (served with Nagoya-style miso sauce), nabe (served in a clay pot, like a boiling soup), oroshi (served with grated radish and ponzu sauce), tomato and cheese (served with house tomato-miso sauce and grated Parmesan cheese), and curry. Within each style, you can choose different types of katsu - from different cuts of pork to chicken and prawns. It's rare for a Japanese restaurant in America to have different pork options for tonkatsu. The restaurant also offers a decent selection of sake, including sake flights, as well as Sapporo and Asahi Japanese draft beer, Ramune, Kobe Kyoryuchi Cider, and cold-brew iced teas. Below is a list of what we ordered and shared, with prices to give you an idea about cost. * Miso Katsu Iberico ($31) - pork tenderloin cutlet with Nagoya-style sweet miso sauce; served with rice, miso soup, shredded cabbage, and housemade pickles * Nabe Katsu Kurobuta ($31) - pork loin cutlet with vegetables simmered in savory sauce and an egg in clay pot; served with rice, shredded cabbage, and housemade pickles * Oroshi Katsu Kurobuta ($28) - pork loin cutlet with grated radish and ponzu sauce; served with rice, miso soup, shredded cabbage, and housemade pickles * Curry Katsu Kurobuta ($27) Set (+$5) - housemade dark chocolate curry; served over rice and housemade pickles plus the set that adds shredded cabbage, housemade pickles, and miso soup Everything was delicious. In general, the ingredients were fresh and high quality. The portion sizes were generous. We left the restaurant full and satisfied. All the dishes were presented beautifully on wooden trays. There is a fine attention to detail here. When it came to the different styles of katsu, they were really different. In other words, not cheap or lazy ingredient swaps, which I appreciated. I didn't have a favorite nor do I have a recommendation. It's all about what you like and/or are in the mood for. When it comes to the pork cutlets, the Kurobuta is the fattier cut while the Iberico is the leaner cut (the menu doesn't mention this). The Miso Katsu came with a mini mortar and pestle, which was kind of fun. We grinded and mixed the miso paste with sesame seeds ourselves. The sauce was sweet, rich, and flavorful. I enjoyed it. The Nabe Katsu had the most elaborate presentation because of the clay pot, complete with a burning flame underneath. The soup stayed simmering and hot. Along with the tonkatsu, the clay pot contained a yellow egg yolk, two kinds of seaweed, two kinds of mushroom (shitake and hon-shimeji or white beech), and maybe one other vegetable (I forget). The broth had terrific flavor. It was packed with umami. The Oroshi Katsu was the simplest and lightest of the four different styles we ordered and it was still very good. The tonkatsu was topped with lots of finely-grated radish and the ponzu was served on the side. It was tangy and gratifying. The Curry Katsu was filling and comforting. This is a good one to order in the fall/winter along with the Nabe Katsu. I could see why the Curry Katsu was the only one with the "Set" option as additional because the Curry Katsu plate by itself was already a substantial portion. The pickles, included with every dish we got, were refreshing and tasty. The pickles were small and included items like eggplant and/or zucchini (I think), jalapeno peppers, radish, and lotus root. As for the cabbage, there was lots of it and each serving came with tomato and lemon wedges (no lemon with the Curry Set). Excellent service. read more

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I came here excited to eat thick katsu, but was not prepared for the mountain of cabbage! The cabbage ended up being very refreshing and a nice accompaniment to the fried pork. I tried their classic rosu katsu ($20) and my partner got the classic kurobuta katsu ($27). Quite honestly, I couldn't tell the difference between the two, so if you are not a pork connoisseur and are just looking for a slightly fattier cut, I would recommend going with the rosu. The sesame seeds that you freshly grind yourself are such a nice touch and add so much flavor to the dish. I found that the katsu was a little underseasoned and ended up relying a lot on the sauce for flavor. Unfortunately this meant that I did not get to appreciate the crispy breading as much since I dunked my katsu pieces in a lot of sauce. It sounds like the other dishes might be more flavorful (such as the cheese katsu or katsu curry). I liked how everything was fresh and good quality, so even though I found my dish to be a little bland, I would happily come back to try something else from their menu. read more

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So I was very very excited to check out this place based on the online reviews and the menu and waited outside the restaurant 30 minutes before opening time (we were second in line), which was the right move because by the time the restaurant opened for lunch a huge line had formed and not everyone was able to be seated. First off, I love the interior decor and the way the space is arranged inside. The staff were all very friendly and attentive and came by to check in pretty regularly. In terms of the food though, I found myself feeling a little disappointed with the katsu dish I ordered. For the appetizer I ordered the kaki furai which tasted phenomenal and the dip that it came with was absolutely delicious (some sort of lime aioli dip). For the main dish I ordered the hire oroshi katsu and I found myself feeling disappointed with the sauce selection they had for the katsu as well as the seasoning of the katsu pieces. Their house made tonkatsu sauce was a little too sweet for my taste and I found the ponzu sauce to be a little too bland to pair with the katsu and the oroshi. I really wanted to love the katsu because I was so excited to try it and had high expectations, but unfortunately it fell short for me. I still think this restaurant is worth four stars though because the appetizer dish was absolutely delicious and I only got to try one dish on their menu. read more

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