Marukatsu Nara Honten — Restaurant in Nara

The CUTEST and FRIENDLIEST restaurant that I have ever been to. From the beginning to end, the staff were super accommodating and helpful even though we couldn’t speak Japanese. They used printed translation cards to communicate with us and it just felt so homey.

The food was absolutely delicious and filled me to the brim. The Katsu was crispy and light and the meat was super tender. The meals also come with a free miso soup, cabbage and rice refill. Absolutely a superb value.

The cherry on top was the fact that the waitress even walked us out to thank us for our patronage, something I have never seen before. We will always come eat here whenever we...

I love the katsu at this place, and likely the best cost/performance katsu I've yet to come across in Japan. I ordered the oyster and tenderloin katsu set with a side order of scallop. The breading was light, crispy and delicious. You have the choice of white or grain rice and endless refills of rice, miso soup and shredded cabbage.

The highlight for me is the variety of condiments available. Other than the usual suspects (pungent mustard and katsu sauce), they also have tartar sauce, salt+pepper, matcha pepper...

Outstanding -- we did not expect much based on location and the looks of the surroundings and were completely stunned by the excellent tonkatsu and basically everything we tried. The amount of passion that goes into each dish and also the service is palpable! Fellow foreigners, do not worry, they have you covered here with an English menu and a heart warming system of translation cards that make you feel very welcome. Thank you, we will be...