Japan is home to many remarkable food and Japanese cuisine is something that the world loves. We’ve got sushi and sashimi, ramen and udon, omu rice and tonkatsu.
And the latest dish that people in Tokyo are crazy about is gyukatsu – deep-fried breaded beef cutlet. It is very much like the tonkatsu (deep-fried breaded pork cutlet) that we are all familiar with.
Well, because we are such fans of Japanese cuisine, we had to give gyukatsu a go, of course. Here’s where you can try the famous gyukatsu in Tokyo – Gyukatsu Motomura.
Gyukatsu Motomura is arguably the most popular restaurant in Tokyo for gyukatsu.
But be warned that because of its popularity, the queue is averagely at least an hour long. Even during odd hours like 3pm, the queue persisted with food enthusiasts and eager Japanese, all waiting patiently in line for a taste of the trending food.
Gyukatsu Motomura has a simple menu – there is nothing else except gyukatsu. They come in different sizes – 100g (¥1,200 with yam, and ¥1,100 without yam) for the small eaters, 130g for the average (¥1,400 with yam, and ¥1,300 without yam), and 260g for the big eaters (¥2,200 with yam, and ¥2,100 without yam).
We wondered about the grated yam upon deciding on what to order too. It is ¥100 more for a serving of grated yam that you are supposed to drizzle over your rice, but we thought it was more unnecessary than tasty. The gooey yam actually did not taste like yam. While sweet, we thought the rice was fragrant enough to be enjoyed on its own without the yam. So we’d say do without it.
On to the star that got everyone patiently queuing up for. It was stunning surely, and it made us wonder why no one had thought of breading beef and deep-frying them earlier. The beef slices are served rare and good to eat, but there is a small grill for every diner and you can grill it further to your preferred doneness. Don’t over-grill yours though, else the beef would be too tough and dry to taste good.
Like tonkatsu, the gyukatsu set come with a pile of cabbage, barley rice, miso soup, potato salad and pickles.
There are several accompanying condiments on every table that go great with your gyukatsu. Among them all, we liked dipping our gyukatsu into a little soy sauce. The umami goodness is stunning, and it’s exactly what we are missing now as we pen this post.
When in Tokyo, you definitely have to give gyukatsu a try. While the long wait in line at Gyukatsu Motomura may be deterring, it is surely one dining experience that is unique and hard to come by.
That said, we are surely hoping for more restaurants to introduce gyukatsu because we certainly do not want to wait another hour for a serving of deep-fried breaded beef slices!
Gyukatsu Motomura
Shinjuku-ku, Shinjuku 3?18?10 B1F
Tel: +81 3-3797-3735
Mon to Sat: 11am – 11pm
Sun: 11am – 9pm
Nearest Station: Shinjuku
Is that the picture from the shinjuku’s branch?
i heard the restaurant is very small, do you know how many seating available for shibuya or shinjuku’s branch? thanks
@Ivan The photo is from Gyukatsu Motomura’s Shibuya outlet. And yes, the restaurant is very small. I am guessing at most 30 pax? Which also partly explains why they have a perpetual queue all the time.
hi,
do you know if kids are allowed? (2-5years old)
thanks
Yes kids are allowed. was just there with mine yesterday.