Gyukatsu Kyoto Katsugyu Harajuku — Restaurant in Tokyo

I arrived early for lunch and there was no waiting in line.

Ordered the tenderloin which was quite lovely. I prefer sirloin as a cut personally but if you prefer less fatty cuts that are still tender and juicy, I highly recommend it.

If you’re wondering how this place compares to the franchise Motomura, I prefer this place. The crumbs are more pronounced and crispier and their various options of condiments to eat the beef with only elevates the experience. You also get to choose your own cut of beef.

For those of you curious about wagyu in general, I recommend Gyukatsu as being the most reliable way to eat Japanese beef. Now days there are a lot of tourist traps who charge you a lot for Japanese beef only to cook it in ways that leaves the meat tough, dry and flavourless. But with Gyukatsu though, you don’t have those worries. If you want decent wagyu experience then definitely try gyukatsu at this restaurant.

PS, if you’re still a bit hungry after eating your Gyukatsu, I suggest ordering the menchi (minced beef crumbed and deep fried). It’s not as much of a commitment as ordering a whole another cut of beef (which you can do), and still very delicious. They even give you more condiments and more rice...

My family and I stopped here for a late lunch because we were visiting the shrine nearby, and this restaurant was one of the highest rated in the area. There was a wait, but we figured it would be worth it, which it was. The stairs were a bit of an awkward place to wait, but I don't think the business has much control of that, so it didn't affect my rating.

I don't normally like beef, but I was very impressed with the sirloin here. It's certainly better than anything I've had in the United States. The side offerings were nice as well, particularly the onsen egg and the curry. The service was really nice, and the woman who served us was very patient and helpful; the restaurant is a chain, and the service here was better than the other location I'd been to. The space was small, but orderly, clean, and comfortable.

If you're vacationing in the area, I'd recommend trying one of their locations, and if you want to spend the day in Harajuku, choose this one. Just be aware that you will probably have to wait for a table, especially if your group has more...

I arrived around 4:30 PM for dinner and noticed there wasn’t much of a queue at that time. However, when I left at 5+PM, the line had grown significantly longer, so I recommend getting there early.

Unfortunately, the overall quality of the meat fell short compared to Gyukatsu Motomura—the pieces were noticeably smaller and thinner, and the sauces weren’t as good.

The service was also lackluster compared to Motomura. At Motomura, the server was friendly, explained how to grill the pork and which sauces to use, and even changed the grill tray when it started to char. At Katsugyu, while the server did speak English, he served the food without any explanation. There was a poster on the wall outlining the different sauces, so it wasn’t a biggie. But despite the outlet being quieter at that time, the server wasn’t really attentive and did not change the grill tray even when he saw it was charred—but perhaps it’s not a common practice here.

I wouldn’t revisit—Motomura is still the...