Niigata Katsudon Tarekatsu - Shibuya Store — Restaurant in Tokyo

Struggling to understand the good reviews for this restaurant it was a completely disappointing and uncomfortable experience. Firstly the katsu was paper thin and the Ebi fry bizarrely started out an acceptable size then became wafer thin with a ratio of 80% panko and 20% ebi this is completely unacceptable. My Japanese wife of 21 years makes a much better katsu and my father in law who ran a restaurant for much of his life in northern japan makes ebi fry on a completely different level to what is being served here. This is clearly a tourist trap when we came it was full of foreigners its interesting how social media/reviews can generate hype about a place which is actually pretty awful

In addition to this a guy came in and asked for a party of 15 to be seated (there are only 12 seats in the restaurant) so the server (owner?) told him that they would have to start off with 5 people at a time. So the first 5 people came in i heard him bad mouthing the request to seat 15 people with his colleagues not knowing that we understood what he was saying in Japanese, totally unprofessional. Then more of this loud party came into this small restaurant to wait inside and they were just walking back and forth to speak to their friends while we were trying to eat! It was the most uncomfortable experience i have had in 22 years of coming to Japan once or twice a year. The server/owner should have told them to stop and asked them to wait outside it was completely unacceptable and the first time i have experience something like this in Japan

Then i heard him take the orders of the other people waiting while we were still eating! The bell rang when they had finished cooking the order and i was still finishing my food! I caught him looking at me as if to say why cant you just finish we now need to seat some more people of this group which we stupidly already cooked the order for even though there were no available seats! That food was then presumably left for 5-10 minutes while i was still finishing my food, as soon as i had there was no time to avoid indigestion I was feeling very uncomfortable and just wanted to exit the shop. It was the first time in 22 years of coming to Japan that I did not say "arigatou gozaimasu" as it was that bad of an experience

Personally i would say avoid like the plague but i am sure this negative review in the midst of all these glowing reviews will be brushed aside, never mind perhaps some people may...

Awesome pork fillet katsudon. First time to try this kind of katsudon. I ordered the rice bowl with the 6 pieces of the thin pork fillet. It was perfect for me since I wanted more meat. Drizzle some mustard on the pork fillet and it is magnificent. The set comes with miso soup. I ordered a small side salad.

The small place is a bar type of eatery. Everyone is at the bar. A young woman acts as the receptionist, order taker and giver and cashier. Very efficient. Right in front of everyone is the kitchen where one can see the three cooks inside silently but masterfully making the delicious food.

Since this is Japan, the restaurant isn't noisy eventhough it is small. Everyone showed respect by not talking loudly with their companions and just concentrated on enjoying the food.

We had to wait in line to get a seat because, like I said, it's a small place. We waited around 20 to 30 minutes.

A set of food costs around 1000 yen, more or less.

No sodas but there are alcoholic drinks available.

When looking for this place, look for the big sign on top that says Thai Restaurant because there's one on the second floor of the building, and the sign is so big you cant miss it. At first I even thought hought this restaurant was Thai because of the big sign of the Thai place. Tare-Katsu is located on the ground floor and has a small sign with a pig logo. There is almost always a line...

where do I even begin.... If you are trying to find good katsudon in Shibuya (or just Tokyo in general), GO TO THIS RESTAURANT. IT WAS LIFECHANGING. I come from Queens in NY, and we already have pretty good Japanese food. But when I tell you that this was THE BEST KATSUDON that I have ever had, I am not exaggerating. The katsu is perfectly cooked and portioned, and it doesn't need any extra sauce because it is already seasoned to perfection. I ordered the double layer pork filet katsudon which is the most expensive item on the menu (i know big back whatever), and even then it was a very reasonable price for the portioning they give! Also, the ambiance of the restaurant is also SO AMAZING! The restaurant is kept clean, the lighting is very cozy the staff is very friendly. It is a very intimate and small space with limited seating of about 10 seats around the kitchen, so although you may have to wait a few minutes to get seats depending on how busy it is, the wait is WORTH IT! I would highly recommend this to locals and tourists looking for cozy, comforting katsudon. NIIGATA KATSUDON TAREKATSU... AISHITERU!!!! I LOVE YOU!!! I will come back here once I visit...