Kyoto Tonkatsu Katsuda Shijo Kawaramachi — Restaurant in Kyoto

This is a MUST for anyone visiting Kyoto who is a fan of Wagyu beef!! We were given a recommendation to eat here by our hotel staff, partly because it was one of only a few restaurants open on New Year’s Eve in Kyoto. We arrived at 6:30pm and there was already a line outside waiting to be seated (there are a very small number of seats at the bar). The weather was very chilly and it started to rain on all of us standing outside. The chef, who we could see through the window was incredibly busy trying to keep up with demand, ran outside and gave every one of us in line our own hand warmers to help with the chill. He apologized for the wait and thanked each of us for choosing to eat there, a truly heartfelt gesture and sentiment. When we were seated, the entire wait staff catered to our every request with true joy, bringing an exceptionally warm atmosphere to life and making us feel like family. But the food, oh my, the food… I ordered the Wagyu Beef Set with Wagyu tenderloin and cutlet, and it came breaded and deep fried portobello mushroom, sweet potato, and egg. The sauces were so good, we just kept staring at each other. The Wagyu medallions we enjoyed melted like butter in our mouths. This was legitimately the most delicious meal I have had in Japan, and in the top five I have enjoyed worldwide. Best of all, the prices were extremely reasonable for a meal of this caliber. If you are visiting Kyoto, and you love Wagyu beef, you absolutely have to make this restaurant a...

Wow!!! That’s the easiest way to sum this experience up. First, I got the double A5 tenderloin set and added pork to it. The steak was the best steak I’ve had since being in Japan. You definitely should splurge and get the A5 tenderloin. It really is so tender and delicious and with the crispy crust, its texture plus flavor plus indulgence. With the salt on top, cuts through the richness in the right ways.

The pork was also amazing. I saw someone’s pork brought out and it looked so juicy and was glistening that I had to add it. It was tender and crispy crust and so worth the extra 600 yen.

The veggies were eggplant and corn and the corn stole the show. It was the right sweetness and tasted fresh. The eggplant was also juicy and crispy and seasoned well.

The egg with rice and curry sauce is a matchup that is dreamy.

There was another sauce that you grind up your own sesame seeds and mix in the sauce and it’s really great on the rice. Just great a sauce no matter which one you choose.

This is worth a repeat visit for sure. Put it on your list. And treat yourself to the A5 tenderloin!!!!

I forgot to take pictures of the other stuff because I dove right in but had to take a pic of the Wagyu because it was my first time having...

Overall very strange experience - I came around 9pm on April 1st and while there was an open seat and I was alone, there was a couple in line in front of me. I asked them if it was ok for me to take the seat they said yes, but the staff still told me to wait outside? Which was fine, but the service only got worse from there. I couldn't seem to get anyone's attention to order, there were 4 young staff but none of them looked like they wanted to be there (one of the female servers was dry and expressionless to customers but when her friend walked in she was all smiles and excitement, very off putting). We arrived near closing so maybe they had a long night, but what the other reviews talk about about a nice owner man doesn't seem to be the case at least when I went.

There doesn't seem to be a lot of quality control of the food - my wagyu was smaller and cooked through compared to the people beside me, and the pork was so tough I couldn't chew through it. Again, because it was difficult to get the attention of any server I didn't choice my concerns. Surprisingly the chicken with stuffed cheese was the best, and the veggies were also delicious.

Overall I hope there is more quality control and training...