A note on the words: tonkatsu is a breaded, deep-fried pork cutlet. Hirekatsu is made from the fillet, the lean cut that runs along the spine; rosukatsu is made from the loin, which carries more fat. Teishoku, the word you’ll see beside each of them on the menu, means a set meal — the cutlet plus rice, miso soup and pickles. Aka-dashi is miso soup made with dark red miso. Dorobuta, TOKYO X and Iwanaka are brand names of pork, the way a steakhouse abroad might name a breed or a farm.
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tonkatsu.jp Omotesando on Tabelog (English) — opening hours, payment details and the Japanese address are kept up to date there, not here.
Hey, this is Hangover Meshi. I had something on in Akasaka, but it finished early, so I thought I’d do a little shopping in Omotesando. It was a weekday, but there were still a fair number of people about. Before that I figured I’d get lunch out of the way, searched, and up came a highly rated tonkatsu place: tonkatsu.jp Omotesando. It said you can’t book for lunch, so it’s somewhere you can only go on a day when you have time to spare — which suited me perfectly! I turned up five minutes before opening and was startled to find a substantial line already there. I thought about giving up, but I’d come this far, so I decided to wait and eat.
The system is that you write your name down when you arrive; a member of staff checks it, you give your order in advance, and they hand you a numbered ticket. There’s a QR code on it, and if you link it to LINE you don’t have to stand outside waiting in the line — they’ll call you when your turn is getting close.
So I got my ticket and it was number one — which is to say I had just missed the first seating. I should have come a little earlier. So I registered on the system and went off for an aimless walk.
About thirty minutes into the walk a LINE notification came through, so I headed back to the restaurant and inside!
Rosukatsu (loin cutlet) set, Iwanaka pork: 1,890 yen
Rosukatsu set, TOKYO X: 2,390 yen
Premium rosukatsu set, Dorobuta: 3,490 yen
Extra-premium rosukatsu set, Dorobuta: 3,990 yen
Premium loin & mini fillet cutlet set, Dorobuta: 4,690 yen
Hirekatsu (fillet cutlet) set, Dorobuta: 3,490 yen
Is there no lunch course or anything like that? The menu I was handed had the rosukatsu set, the premium rosukatsu set, the extra-premium rosukatsu set, the premium loin & mini fillet set, and the hirekatsu set. Under each one, a long list of the pork brands they could serve that day. Each one is priced differently, so there’s nothing for it but to go on feeling! Dorobuta seemed to be the famous one, so I picked the fillet cutlet in that.
The basic loin, the premium loin and the extra-premium loin mainly differ in size.
Lately something like 230g strikes me as a lot, so a fillet cutlet at around 130g feels just right.
First, an explanation of the salts.
There’s Kuroshio Genryu salt, which they recommend with the loin, and a salt called SAI, which they recommend with the hirekatsu.
Ooh! That clean pink cross-section looks delicious.
A fillet cutlet that looks incredibly tender. Look closely and you can see the juices welling gently out of it.
Sprinkle the “SAI” salt that suits hirekatsu onto that cut face, then eat it so the cut face lands on your tongue — good.
The savoriness and the sweetness of the fillet meat come through directly, and that’s what makes it delicious. It’s tender enough to part softly under your teeth, and that melting texture is lovely. The coating is crisp and light so it never feels heavy, and yes, this really might be as good as they say.
The fat on a loin cutlet is delicious too, of course, but Tonkatsu Aoki, which I ate at recently, was fairly fatty, so I went for the fillet this time — and the fillet may have been exactly right. There are all sorts of tonkatsu places, and loin & mini fillet is common, but fillet & mini loin hardly ever turns up. I wish someone would make a mini loin & mini fillet with the portions adjusted!
So: it’s a genuinely good restaurant, but you do end up waiting quite a while, so it’s best to go on a day when you have time. Since you can’t book for lunch, if you’re short on time it might be better to go in the evening, when reservations are possible, or to pick a similar tonkatsu place that does take bookings.
tonkatsu.jp Omotesando (Tonkatsu / Omotesando Station, Meiji-jingumae Station, Gaienmae Station)
Tabelog lunch rating ★★★☆☆ 3.4
I ate here and paid for it myself. Nothing on this site is a comped meal.
One more for the road?
