A note on the words: tonkatsu is a breaded, deep-fried pork cutlet, listed here as hirekatsu, a lean and exceptionally tender fillet, rosukatsu, a juicier loin cut with a ribbon of sweet fat, and a rib loin as well. Yoshoku refers to Japanese takes on Western dishes that developed during the Meiji era, including beef stew and crab cream croquettes served alongside cutlets here. Oshinko is an assortment of crisp, refreshing Japanese pickled vegetables that cleanse the palate between bites of rich pork, and karashi is pungent Japanese mustard used with tonkatsu sauce.
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Kioicho Tonkatsu Yoshoku Hitomi on Tabelog (English) — opening hours, payment details and the Japanese address are kept up to date there, not here.
Hello, this is Hangover Meshi. Few restaurants are open at the start of the year, but surely on a weekday past the first three days of the New Year, places might be opening here and there? So, looking for lunch, I headed to Kioicho Garden Terrace. Having eaten mostly Japanese food from New Year’s Eve through the New Year, I was looking around wondering if I could find yoshoku, curry, or something punchy and hearty to eat — and there it was, tonkatsu! Tonkatsu. Looking at the prices on the menu outside, I flinched for a moment thinking, “Oh, that is quite steep…!”, but looking it up, it seemed to be a fairly well-known place, and since I happened upon it, why not! So in I went.
Rather than a tonkatsu restaurant, it has an appearance somewhat like an upscale Japanese ryotei.
Choemon hirekatsu — 4,980 yen
Choemon rosukatsu — 4,980 yen
Choemon rib loin cutlet — 5,380 yen
Beef stew with domestic beef — 5,380 yen
Thick-cut tongue stew — 5,380 yen
Beef hamburg steak — 4,380 yen
I see, it appears they serve yoshoku alongside tonkatsu. With crab cream croquettes at 5,580 yen and a rib loin tonkatsu at 5,380 yen, it is certainly a fairly pricey restaurant, but that must mean they compete with top-class ingredients and craft! I began to look forward to it. This time, I decided to ask for the hirekatsu.
Flipping through the menu, it seems there are lunch options for rosukatsu and hirekatsu. The price is around 2,000 yen. At around 2,000 yen, that makes it very accessible for regular lunches! However, another customer was asking about it and they said it was not offered during the New Year holiday period, ha.
The dressing is delicious! A dressing with acidity and sweetness. Certainly, it might have a bit of a yoshoku feel to it.
Quite a substantial oshinko (pickles) set! What is more, every one of them is refreshing and delicious.
Sauce, truffle butter, karashi (Japanese mustard), garlic salt, and rock salt, it would seem. The unusual ones are the truffle butter and garlic salt. The garlic salt is an amazing powder, or rather fine particles, yet it carries a distinct garlic flavor that is impressive!
And then the hirekatsu arrives! Ta-dah!
Whoa, it looks delicious.
First, salt. Picking up the fillet with chopsticks, meat juices come welling out. Taking a bite, the deep umami of the pork spreads juicily, delicious. I do not know quite how to put it, but it is a thoroughly delicious cutlet. Since there are various condiments laid out, next is sauce and karashi. Yes, great. A classic combination. The truffle butter paired with the meat is delicious too! Being a garlic enthusiast, the garlic salt is tasty as well, but for this particular round, regular salt might be just right.
The gently flavored miso soup is delicious too!
They do say great tonkatsu restaurants always serve delicious rice.
Man, that is a truly delicious fillet. I thought 4,830 yen was high, but with this quality, it may well be justified.
And here is the rosukatsu.
Here too, the juiciness of the meat is amazing.
It has more fat than the fillet, but having it with salt makes the sweetness of the fat stand out. So good! Thinking that karashi and sauce would go wonderfully with the fat of the loin, I tried them together and it was insanely good. Sauce is definitely the way! Sauce, karashi, top-quality fat, properly cooked pork, crisp coating, delicious rice — there is no way this combination could be anything but delicious! Highly satisfied!
So, while I initially thought it might be a bit expensive, eating it showed me it was thoroughly delicious tonkatsu. Other famous shops with long lines are extremely good too, but this place seems like you can eat without waiting too long, so if you ever feel like rewarding yourself with delicious tonkatsu once in a while, I think you can drop by here and eat without delay! It was a great restaurant.
Kioicho Tonkatsu Yoshoku Hitomi (Tonkatsu / Nagatacho Station, Akasaka Mitsuke Station, Kojimachi Station)
Tabelog lunch rating ★★★☆☆ 3.8
I ate here and paid for it myself. Nothing on this site is a comped meal.
One more for the road?
