A note on the words: yoshoku refers to Japan’s distinct tradition of Western-style comfort food, and hamburg steak (hambagu) is a seasoned minced-meat patty served on a plate without a bun, usually eaten with rice and miso soup. Menchi-katsu is a breaded, deep-fried patty of minced meat, kuroge wagyu refers to premium Japanese Black beef, and teishoku is a classic set meal.
Table of Contents hide
UCHOUTEN on Tabelog (English) — opening hours, payment details and the Japanese address are kept up to date there, not here.
Hello, this is Hangover Meshi. Ever since I first got into hamburg steak (a Japanese-style minced-meat patty, served without a bun), when thinking of hamburg steak the name that came to mind was “UCHOUTEN” in Ikebukuro. I figured it might be pretty crowded, but since I was near Higashi-Ikebukuro, I decided to go. Lunch hours are 11:30 to 14:30 and they don’t stay open continuously through the afternoon, so I wondered if there might be a massive line…! Arriving around 13:15, there wasn’t any line at all, ha! Lucky!
There was only a single party of two ahead of me. I was shown right to a counter seat with zero wait time!
Things like this really do happen sometimes.
The kuroge wagyu hamburg — 1,200 yen
Kuroge wagyu hamburg with a seafood cream croquette — 1,490 yen
Kuroge wagyu hamburg with a mini menchi-katsu — 1,490 yen
The Nanshu-brand pork loin katsu — 1,100 yen
The kuroge wagyu menchi-katsu — 990 yen
Well, it just has to be the kuroge wagyu (Japanese Black beef) hamburg steak, of course.
After a short wait, miso soup and rice arrived.
Boom! It looks delicious! It also comes with a fried egg.
I like that this is eaten with chopsticks. A style where you eat it paired with rice and miso soup.
Cabbage, macaroni, a fried egg, and the hamburg steak.
Splitting it open with chopsticks…
Meat juices gushed out. It looks wonderful.
Taking a bite: yes, delicious.
The hamburg steak is seasoned with quite a good amount of spice, and it’s delicious.
The demi-glace sauce is rich, and the meat itself has strong savor and quite a rich, deep flavor. With the pepper and seasonings packing a solid punch, it gave me the impression of a hearty, punchy meal. Well, that’s what makes it go so well with rice. Delicious.
In the second half, breaking the yolk of the fried egg slightly and combining it with the hamburg steak mellows it out, and that too is delicious.
This goes so well with rice and miso soup. The miso soup is a slightly rich daikon (radish) miso soup.
I feel like this ranks top-notch as a classic Japanese-style hamburg teishoku (set meal). Delicious.
By the time I left, there was a waiting line outside! I see, perhaps it really was just good luck that I slipped in at just the right moment. If you can eat a hamburg steak this good without waiting much in line depending on the timing, that’s a huge advantage over other hamburg spots! And when you want a rich, hearty hamburg steak, this is definitely the place to go!
Another thing that crossed my mind: a beef hamburg steak really is delicious, isn’t it, ha?
UCHOUTEN (Yoshoku / Toden-zoshigaya Station, Higashi-ikebukuro Station, Higashi-ikebukuro-yonchome Station)
Tabelog lunch rating ★★★☆☆ 3.7
I ate here and paid for it myself. Nothing on this site is a comped meal.
One more for the road?
