Tokyo’s “Delicious Tonkatsu” restaurants.

日本語	中文	한국어
index page	About this site	Terms of Use

This page introduces “tonkatsu restaurants” in Tokyo that hossie found very tasty.

9 restaurants in Tokyo that serve delicious tonkatsu
About the origin of tonkatsu and the restaurant where it originated
If the administrator had to choose one pork cutlet restaurant, this is the one to go to.

9 restaurants in Tokyo that serve delicious tonkatsu

About the origin of tonkatsu and the restaurant where it originated

Tonkatsu has its roots in the Western-style “cutlet” dish that became popular in Japan during the Meiji era (1868-1912).
The word “katsuletsu” is a corruption of the English word “cutlet,” which originally referred to the meat on the bone of sheep or beef, and from there came to refer to a dish made by coating lamb or beef and baking it in butter.
It is said that “cutlet” was created by Motojiro Kida of the long-established Western-style restaurant “Rengatei” established in 1895, and there is a theory that tonkatsu also originated at Rengatei.

On the other hand, another theory that “this is the original” is that a chef named Shinjiro Shimada, who was a chef at Ponchiken in Ueno Okachimachi, is the originator of this dish.
Mr. Shimada, who was in charge of Western cuisine at the Imperial Household Agency, is said to have evolved from “pork cutlet,” a thin piece of meat coated in batter and stir-fried, to “tonkatsu,” a thick piece of meat deep-fried like tempura.
Mr. Shimada was also the founder of “Ponta Honke” in 1905, and his taste has been passed down to the present day.
Ponchiken” has a restaurant of the same name in Kanda Ogawamachi, but this restaurant opened in 2012 and is unrelated to “Ponchiken,” the birthplace of tonkatsu.

Today, there are many famous tonkatsu restaurants in various parts of Japan, such as Kamata Gosanke, Narikura in Minami Asagaya, and Marugo in Akihabara, but there used to be many famous tonkatsu restaurants in Ueno.
When I was young, the three most famous tonkatsu restaurants in Ueno were “Ponta Honke,” “Futaba,” and “Horaiya,” and I was able to visit all of them, but Futaba went out of business around 2012.
I often found that the restaurant was closed even if I visited there, but it seems that they had a policy of “not opening the restaurant on days when good meat is not available.
It was a great restaurant full of craftsmanship.
I would like to try their tonkatsu again, but it is a wish that will never come true.

If the administrator had to choose one pork cutlet restaurant, this is the one to go to.

I am sometimes asked by acquaintances, “Which tonkatsu is the best?”
This is sometimes a difficult question to answer.
This is because everyone has different tastes in food, and what may be the best restaurant for me may not be so for others.
For this reason, I do not ask the question, “Which restaurant is the best? I try to answer, “This is the restaurant that best suits my taste.
In the case of tonkatsu, that restaurant is “Ponta Honke” in Ueno.
Ponta Honke is the only restaurant where I can feel the history and tradition that no other restaurant can surpass, as well as the pressure and spirit of a long-established tonkatsu restaurant.

Ponta Honke: 3-23-3 Ueno, Taito-ku, Tokyo

index page

about this site