| とんかつ成蔵（杉並区） Tonkatsu Narikura (Suginami-ku, Tokyo) Minami Asagaya, Asagaya／Tonkatsu  The white tonkatsu was a shocking experience that I still can’t forget. My concept of tonkatsu was overturned when I went to this restaurant. Lunch: ￥5,000~￥5,999 Dinner: ￥5,000~￥5,999 （@Narikura_1010）/ X (twitter.com) |
Tonkatsu Narikura is so famous among tonkatsu lovers that there is no one who does not know about it.
This time, we report on Tonkatsu Narikura, which is now rated “the top tonkatsu restaurant in Japan” by a major gourmet website.
Please check the official website and the Google map at the bottom of this page for business hours, holidays, and reviews.
Tonkatsu Narikura” in Takadanobaba, which I found by chance.
My first encounter with Tonkatsu Narikura was completely by chance.
I was looking for a place to eat on my way home from visiting an acquaintance’s house in Mejiro in July 2012, when I stumbled upon the restaurant.
Tonkatsu Narikura is now located in Minami Asagaya, but at the time it was in Takadanobaba under the name “Tonkatsu and Kushi-Age Narikura.
Tonkatsu Narikura opened in 2010, but at that time it was still only known to a few tonkatsu lovers, and if you went there, you could get in without having to wait.
Shockingly delicious white tonkatsu!
It was after 8 pm when I arrived at the restaurant.
Today, the restaurant would be full even at this hour, but when I visited on that day, there were few customers.
Looking at the menu, the price was a little high for me at that time.
In my memo of record, I wrote, “I splurged a little and ordered the special filet set meal for 2,400 yen” (the price is as of July 2012).
We had to wait for a while, but were surprised to see a “very white tonkatsu” in front of us.
In my diary at the time, I wrote, “This tonkatsu restaurant is just as shocking as Tonta (Takadanobaba). “
The meat was surprisingly delicious, and I was impressed that I could eat this fillet for 2,400 yen!
The first white tonkatsu I had at Narikura was truly shockingly delicious.
In no time at all, it became a nationally popular restaurant!
At the time, my business partner was located in Takadanobaba and I frequented the restaurant frequently, but from 2014 I was transferred to Nagoya by myself for 8 years and was unable to visit.
During that time, Tonkatsu Narikura became well known by word of mouth and became a very famous restaurant in Japan.
Although I frequented the restaurant quite a bit at the time, I consider it extremely unlikely that the owner, Mr. Mitani, would remember me.
This is because neither Mr. Mitani nor I ever spoke to each other.
Becoming Japan’s No. 1 in Tonkatsu
I wondered whether it would be appropriate to publish an article mainly about the restaurant before its relocation, but I created this article with the thought that the restaurant has probably evolved even further into the tonkatsu it is today.
This is the root of Tonkatsu Narikura, which became Japan’s number one tonkatsu restaurant, and in a sense, is what it looked like in its rookie days.
In July 2019, Tonkatsu Narikura moved to Minami Asagaya and became a restaurant that is hard to visit, as it is now by reservation only.
Prices also seem to have doubled since then, but that’s what it means to be the best in Japan, and that’s how it should be.
I am not sure if Mr. Mitani’s dream has come true or not, but if I ever get a chance to visit the restaurant, I would like to ask him what he was thinking back then when he was frying tonkatsu.
Access, Reviews
For access, hours of operation, holidays, and reviews of Tonkatsu Narikura, please see the Google map below.
