Katsukura Sanjou Honten

We loved it! We went twice during our 4 night stay. Would highly recommend the Berkshire pork It was juicy and not fatty. They have a kids meal that is pork and a shrimp. My 5 year old loved it too. If you want a lovely meal close to the action this is it!

Solid reasonably priced tonkatsu with different levels of pork.
Convenient location near shopping area, great place for a break, and you don’t need a reservation! Lively, family friendly atmosphere. Good for groups.
Loved all the trimmings you get. Rice, salad, and lots of different sauce options. The salad dressing for the cabbage is super refreshing.
I’m giving it 4 stars because service was a bit slow and the room was over air conditioned. I also got the regular pork, which was good, but could have been more juicy imo.
It’s also hard for me to compare after eating at Butagumi, which is a higher end tonkatsu restaurant in Roppongi where the tonkatsu was EFFING AMAZING (you should check it out).
Still, I would recommend this place.

Best Tonkatsu I had in my entire life as far as I can remember! It was so good that we actually went twice during our 3 nights stay in Kyoto.
First of all, it’s a fun place to eat at– great atmosphere– lively, casual, and smells great.
Food was perfect. To lays is juicy, not too greasy, and tender. You get to choose sauces, and salad comes with lovely shiso dressing.
I miss it and want to fly back so I can eat their tonkatsu again

This was definitely one of the best meals of our trip to Japan. While we love ramen, getting some great katsu was also a must. This place was a bit hard to find. It’s in a shopping center and the doorway is quite non-​descript. Once you enter the doorway you’re transported into a tranquil zen path setting up an incredible ambiance for a relaxing and delicious meal.
Once seated, they’ll bring a pestle and mortar so you can grind your own sesame seeds with your katsu dipping sauce. I opted for their top tier cut of pork and was absolutely rewarded. It was so flavorful and juicy.
Sometimes after eating fried foods you feel heavy and a little sick. There was NONE of that here. It was so good that when we went to Tokyo we searched for more delicious katsu and happen to find their sister restaurant in the Takashimaya shopping center. This place is great — would highly recommend.

One of my favorite meals so far in Japan! We tried the pork and yuba combo. It came with tea, barley rice, and cabbage. We weren’t offered refills but I’m sure we could have requested them. The sauces were delicious and I enjoyed mixing my own sauce with sesame seeds as well.
The crust on these was unbelievable. So crispy and flaky, but not greasy. The meat was incredibly tender. Really well done. Definitely check it out!

A found this place based on the Unilocal reviews and I was not disappointed at all, I had the prawn and the eggs and they were just perfect!

Such a cool place. I chose it based on reviews here on Unilocal!
I came here on a Sunday night, I arrived for an early dinner but it didn’t matter, staff was ready for me, regardless of the hour.
Katsukura Sanjou Honten is a tonkatsu (pork chop) place, not that unusual here in Japan, but they go beyond the regular tonkatsu place.
Katsukura is a bit tricky to find (the doorway next to Lipton), down an unassuming hallway, through a slightly wider courtyard, then through the sliding doors, and you’re here! A cozy (small) restaurant with one large table in the center (think: community table) and some booths along the wall. Maybe there was another room… I couldn’t tell.
I was greeted, seated, and presented with a menu promptly. I sat at the Community Table, I was lucky to done my homework and knew what to expect. There were still a lot of choices, a number of different kinds of tonkatsu in 3 different sizes.
I chose tonkatsu in the largest portion size (think normal American serving size). Other reviews cover the whole meal in much better detail (grinding your own toasted sesame seeds, mixing your own sauce, in addition to served pickled vegetables, shredded cabbage, barley rice, miso soup (all unlimited),
Katsukua’s actual tonkatsu was very good, fresh and hot, crispy on the outside, hot and tender on the inside. My sauce was okay (I think if the restaurant had provided one, it probably would’ve been better). I loved the array of tastes and textures accompanying my tonkatsu. The pickled veggies were good, the cabbage was… cabbage. The barley rice was different than most rice in Japan, but flavorful and surprising tasty. The miso soup had the most seaweed and tofu I have had in Miso soup in a very long time.
What I like most about his place is that is it hidden away, in the middle of a bustling shopping district, the seating and surroundings is comfortable and peaceful. The service was also very good, attentive, and pretty quick. There are other dishes and choices on the menu, but since it was just me, I didn’t give them a try.
Add this place to your list, if you are in Kyoto, you won’t be disappointed.

While in Japan you kind of have to eat tonkatsu at least once, right? We found this randomly off Unilocal and so glad we did! It was a bit difficult to find amongst the many shops and our gmaps walking directions was not giving accurate directions.
So we finally stopped and asked a stranger in English which way it was. We showed him the address and name and was was kind enough to direct is the right way. Love it. The main entrance is actually behind all the other store fronts. There’s a tiny sign and you walk down the small hall which I thought I could spot right away. So wrong.
But we had finally made it inside and it was worth it. The ambiance of just the walk into the front entrance felt so authentic like you really felt like you were in Japan.
The Katsu was pretty much one of the best. The serving size was nice and large and the panko crumbs were perfect in texture. Most Katsu is very greasy but this was great. Plus I loved how you grind up your own seeds. It’s a fun something added to the experience. Plus all you can eat miso and lettuce and rice? Loves.

What a hidden gem! So happy I read about this place before hand cause I would never have know it even existed. I have to admit that though I knew about this place I actually walked past it and totally over looked it. Its on this little alley that you have to look out for.
I came in for lunch and had about 7 or 8 people in line in front of me. I was seated at a big communal table. The whole meal was such an experience. They give you a bowl with sesame seeds which you just to crush yourself and then get to add whatever sauce you liked to it. I ordered the largest tonkatsu. It came out with shredded cabbage and rice, which refills are free so eat as much as you want. I wanted to take my time and enjoy the meal but the meat was so tender and delicious I couldn’t slow down. If I could I would come here everyday!

Always my The Best Tonkatsu ever!
Recommend ‘Hire (filet/​tenderloin) katsu zen set’and Chawan mushi.

Walking through the little walkway/​alley away from the big shops, I was surprised to find a large restaurant tucked away from the main street.
The specialty here is obviously their pork cutlets (Tonkatsu). With it you get rice, miso soup, pickles, potato salad and a huge amount of cabbage. And before your meal, you are given sesame seeds to crush, in something like a mortar and pestle, which are used to create your tonkatsu sauce with the sauces on the table. Overall, the meal was very delicious — meat was flavorful and juicy. And service is very attentive, especially on that busy Saturday night!

Got the tenderloin set. The meat was not that tender. I’ve had better at the location at the Kyoto Station or even back home. Service was sub par. They barely came by. We were seated at the back. The other customers seated next to us had to wave down the servers for things like tea, more cabbage and ordering. I have had much better quality and service elsewhere. Recommend trying Maisen in Tokyo instead.

Holy crap is the meat tender and delicious here! This place is straight up hidden away in a little alley. I almost regret not trying some more Tonkatsu places in Japan because if this was the example, then Tonkatsu is just at a completely different level (which isn’t a surprise or anything).
Whatever they do to make the meat so tender and juicy while managing to make the outside crispy and light is unbelievable. I don’t even need to mention anything else, go here for the pork. Oh, and order the biggest size, japanese pork. You won’t regret it (and the cut size aren’t that big to begin with).

I’m giving Katsukura 5 stars because it wel deserves it. Unilocal is really what made this place appear on my radar. The location is well hidden, located down some narrow alley, which opens into a stone garden and behind a sliding door. It’s tricky to find for a good reason.
We ended up spending a lot of time in Katsukura. Not because the service was slow, but because the restaurant has an enjoyable, zen-​like atmosphere. We were seated at the giant center table, which has at least 20 seats and a couple of plants in the middle. After being presented with the menu, we drooled over the options and I decided I would try both the tenderloin AND prawn (spoiler: I made a good choice).
Other than the meat (if you’re vegetarian, sorry, not the most exciting place to visit), the rice, cabbage, pickles, and miso soup are unlimited. They’re here to help compliment the main reason you’re here, the tonkatsu. It’s presented well, sitting on a small metal rack (I’ve never seen that before) and you are taught to create your own sauce by grinding sesame seeds and pairing that with sauces from the common pots in front of you.
The prawn was incredibly juicy and instantly, it brought me back to my childhood when I had tempura in Japan for the first time in my life (and thought it was heaven). The tonkatsu was just as juicy, fried perfectly (not dry or hard like a brick), and the sauce I made complemented it well. I could tell this was high quality meat, breaded and prepared with a lot of attention, and fried to perfection. This was a good combo and I highly recommend getting both prawn and tenderloin, even though it’s a little bit less meat than if you got just tenderloin.
The cabbage, well it’s cabbage, but the barley rice is addicting. I usually don’t eat a lot of rice for health reasons, but I kept asking for more servings of rice just because barley rice is delicious. And the pickles (located in the common pots) are a great Japanese tradition that I am a huge fan of.
All in all, Katsukura is amazing and definitely worth many many visits. The price is steeper than if you went to random restaurant in Kyoto, simply because the quality at Katsukura is what makes it so delicious. And of course, tonkatsu by nature is expensive, but not quite as expensive as high quality unagi.
I can’t wait until the next time I’m back in the area. I hope by that time, people still aren’t aware that Katsukura exists and the lines aren’t out the door ;)

Unilocaled my way to this cool wee restaurant last night and I’m glad I did. It’s tricky as hell to find. If your looking. It is in the mini covered shopping precinct next to the Lipton tea shop. It is a small corridor right next to Lipton, it is very hard to spot, but worth the trip.
It specialises in what u know back home as Katsu. Breaded meats, eggs, etc, with the most amazing outer crust from the crumbs. I had pork cutlet and a egg and ham croquette. Both were excellent.
Alongside this you get three sauces, sesame seeds (you grind yourself), pickles, potato salad, cabbage, miso soup and rice. You get free refills on the soup, cabbage, and rice.
The restaurant is small and the queue goes out the door, but the food is great and they have a English menu, so it’s possible to pick your meal with only a small degree of head scratching as you work out what you should be ordering. Staff were also very friendly.
Well Worth a look if you are in this area of Kyoto.

This place was confusing to find but once we spotted the alleyway it was tucked deep inside. This place is crazy delicious. I ordered the chicken katsu and prawns. Omg it was yummy, the crispy batter was perfect, something I’ll try to perfect when I get back to LA. My husband really enjoyed his chicken katsu. I love the ambience, staff and of course the food. Thanks for the great service and memorable meal.

Excellent restaurant de Tonkatsu (comprendre: de viande panée).
Ici, le porc est à l’honneur. Et on choisit son plat en fonction de la partie de la viande que l’on veut et de la quantité souhaitée (100g, 120g, etc…).
Au Japon, on né mange pas souvent de la viande. Donc, quand on vient là, c’est pour se faire plaisir et choisir de bons morceaux. Sinon, autant aller ailleurs!
Si vous choisissez une pièce de viande, elle sera automatiquement accompagnée d’une montagne de chou et d’un gros bol de riz (les 2 étant à volonté). Et à chaque aliment sa sauce: sauce pour la viande, sauce pour le chou, sauce pour le riz…
Tout est absolument délicieux et les morceaux de viande (si vous avez tapé dans les bons morceaux) sont fondants à souhait!
Personnellement, je recommande leur Katsudon: un bento de riz recouvert d’un morceau de porc pané mélangé à de l’œuf et des oignons… un vrai régal!!! XD
Par contre, dans ce plat là, pas de montagne de chou, puisque vous avez votre montagne de riz, lol…
Bref, c’est super bon! ^^

This meal was one of the best meals my husband and I had in our trip to Japan. Thanks to the Unilocalers for the help with finding this spot, because it wasn’t totally easy without the photos. (Check it out — there is a narrow hall before you get to the main space.)
They have an English menu and directions in English, so never fear!
Our pork was really delightfully cooked. The smallest size was good for a midday snack, though I’d suggest the medium or larger quantities if you’re going for a meal (and if you eat as much as I do on a regular basis — ha).
I love the process that goes into eating the tonkatsu. The visual directions are definitely helpful, but be sure to grind the sesame seeds using the grooves at the bottom of the bowl. (It’s not like a regular mortar and pestle.) Try experimenting with the sauces and vinegars. Also, remember you can ask for additional cabbage (amazingly simple yet fulfilling) and rice.
This spot has such a calming atmosphere. You definitely feel like you’re having a special food experience — as everyone else around you is simultaneously.
Definitely a wonderful choice.

Truly a hidden gem in the Teramachi area. Thanks to Unilocalers’ recommendation, we had a chance to taste some really good tonkatsu!
I liked the crisp of the loin tonkatsu, but the prawn was even better! Make sure you give that a go ;)
Even though most of the clientele were locals (another sign of a good restaurant), there were English menus so you know exactly what you’re ordering. No surprises there.
My favorite part, besides its being hidden, is that they provide free refill of the cabbages, miso soup and rice. Perhaps you can order a larger portion of you’re starving and looking for a big meal!
Highly recommend this place if you’re in the area!

Best tonkatsu we’ve ever had! My wife and daughter are both from Japan so that is saying a lot. We all had the pork fillet set. It comes with all you can eat cabbage, miso soup, pickles and barley rice. Plus, its affordable.

We love the light batter of the tender pork cutlets and prawns and the three types of dipping sauces. We love all three!!! The grinding of the sesame seeds to add to our dish was a bonus. The rice was soft and moist. Miso soup was good. The cabbage was also very fresh and crisp. The potato salad was kind of out of place but surprisingly good. I am giving it 4 stars because the complimentary tea was awful. It reminds me of cigarette ash :(

Through a tiny little pathway lies one of my favorite places to take people visiting Japan. Order up some deep fried pork, chicken, or beef cutlet by weight. I usually go for the largest order of deep fried chicken. The next part of the meal is why I love taking people here, they let you grind up your own sesame seeds by handing you a pestle and mortar! Just don’t pour your sauce into the mortar and you’ll be good to go.
Then help yourself to unlimited rice, miso soup, green tea, and shredded cabbage. The soup and green tea are of very good quality and bottomless. The shredded cabbage and rice are basic, and really act more as palate cleansers and fillers but they’re fresh and bottomless as well. They have different honey pots filled with different sauces and dressings for your meal. I also highly recommend eating up the pickled vegetables that are at your table. I’ve taken every single person who has visited me in Japan here and every single person left this place stuffed and completely satisfied. It’s delicious, hearty, and a fun experience.

This was one of the best meals I had in Japan. So glad I found this through Unilocal!There was a bit of a wait when we arrived around dinner time on a weekday so I would imagine that this place would be pretty crowded on the weekends.
I got the chicken katsu with prawn. SOOO YUMMY! It was also fun to create my own katsu sauce, I recommend putting a bit of mustard in the sauce for that extra kick.
The highballs here weren’t the best. Pretty watered down.

Located in Kyoto’s Sanjou Hoten, Katsukura has by far the best Tonkatsu I’ve eaten to-​date. The batter is light, the meat is so tender and everything else in between is magical. You want to grind your own goma and mix it with the katsu sauce. Very tasty and not oily at all.
The two times I’ve been to Kyoto I’ve had to come here each time. Even my local Kyoto buddies tell me, if you want Tonkatsu in Japan, you’ve gotta come here.
Go early, the line gets quite long and the place isn’t too big. It’s worth it like everything you eat in Japan.

We came here and had an authentic Japanese pork katsu plate! The pork katsu was huge, but a quarter of it was purely fat. I didn’t eat the fat part, but the meaty part was quite tasty. Dip it in the sauce, and you’re set!
You have to create your own sauce by grinding the sesame seeds in the bowl, and then putting the soy sauce into the bowl to make sesame seed paste. Dip your katsu meat in the sauce & pair with rice. Simple enough!

Tonkatsu is one of my favorite Japanese food and definitely on the list to try when in Kyoto. Heard Kastsukara was the place to go. So off we went on our journey to find the place. Other reviewers said the entry was easy to miss and easy to miss it was. I spent 15 minutes walking around when the phone said it was right there. I could smell the aroma of the fried pork but where was it!?! I walked back into the shopping arcade and finally spotted it! The only sign is the small table displaying the food and yes, it is right next to the Lipton shop as described by another reviewer.
The entry leads to a small stone path to a wood sliding door. Inside, the warm wood interior with shared table and regular tables the back and greeted immediately by the host. We decided to sit along the communal table. The service was polite and helpful as we didn’t speak much Japanese but it looks like they were use to it with menu and instruction on how to prepare the sides that came with the meal. We were familiar but watched a lovely elderly Japanese lady enjoying her meal and just followed suit.
We ordered a chicken and two pork meal. You can eat as much cabbage as you want by calling over the server. Again, the only thing that we don’t have in the States is the assortment of pickle condiments what was on the table. It was delicious and went great with the meal. The Tonkatsu was crispy and moist on the inside. The batter was just perfect and light, non greasy. We tried the different sauces but settled on their ‘original’ sauce. I can say the table was very happy and loved their meal choices.
So far the culinary journey in Kyoto has been a delight and we want more!

Estando en Kioto fue difícil encontrar buenas opciones para comer, ya que andábamos algo atareados visitando los templos y todo lo que cerraba a las cinco de la tarde, por lo que acabábamos siempre en medio de la nada culinaria a la hora de la cena. Este sentimiento de estómago vacío y hambre mortal influyó algo en mi valoración de este sitio, pero sólo un poco, porque lo cierto es que estaba de escándalo.
Buscando en internet descubrimos que muchos visitantes recomendaban este minúsculo local dentro del courtfood de la estación de Kioto y allá que fuimos sin mucho más miramiento. Por supuesto, era el único con una larga cola de clientes sentados en las sillas que hay en la entrada, sin embargo, tuvimos que esperar sólo unos veinte minutos para disfrutar de la fabulosa cena. Digo sólo porque había mucha gente delante de nosotros, pero un camarero nos preguntó, nos facilitó el menú y nos tomó nota antes de que entráramos, por lo que, una vez dentro, todo fue como la seda.
El restaurante está decorado al modo japonés tradicional en su versión más moderna: madera de abedul blanco, linear, minimalista, con ikebana, iluminación cuidada y una pulcritud que llama la atención. Por los ventanales se observaban las luces tranquilas de la antigua capital.
El resto fue comer y cantar. Nos trajeron un montón de tinajas con salsas variadas para las que necesitamos ciertas explicaciones. También un mortero para moler las semillas de sésamo, arroz, sopa y el crujiente y sabroso tonkatsu. Qué rico, por favor. Aún se me hace la boca agua al recordar el balance entre lo crujiente de fuera y la ternura interior, del buen sabor de una fritura que no es pesada mezclada con esa salsa del Paraíso. Amabilísimos todos, la comida deliciosa y el precio no me pareció caro.
En este tipo de situaciones me siento mal al no poder dejar propina y casi dan ganas de obligar al camarero a que la acepte, pero esto en Japón no se hace, está incluido en el precio que ya has pagado.

Top-​notch Tonkatsu in Kyoto!
I was immediately taken with the zen-​like environment of Katsukura. Located down the end of a narrow stone pathway and tucked away behind a sliding wooden door, this tonkatsu purveyor has lovely atmosphere and food to match.
Tonkatsu (breaded pork cutlet) is a fun meal to eat in Japan as it comes with unlimited helpings of shredded cabbage, rice, tea and a variety of sauces for the tonkatsu and its accompaniments. With my lunch I also tried a vegetable croquette which was wonderful.
This restaurant is a perfect pick for quiet conversation and cozy enough that you’ll want to stay awhile.
Bottom line: Really nice lunch for two under $ 30.