Tonkatsu Maisen Aoyama — Restaurant in Tokyo

When we arrived, they had a long line that went around ropes like at a popular ride at Disneyland. They had the very realistic wax food in the glass case, so that you can see what their food would look like. Once we got inside, the line for the table continued inside, along the wall. They have counter seats and another room in the back with lots of table seating.

Once we settled in at our seats, we received a small cup with Daikon Radish Soup. It was nice to warm up the body and soul with such healthy sip!

All the condiments for the pork cutlet was at the counter, and we got to have a great view of the kitchen. The staffs working inside the counter are the servers. Just flag down one of them and they will come over and take care of you.

I ordered Wakaba-Zen Set. The amount of food you get for the price is amazing. No wonder they have a long line of customers waiting to get in… This set comes with Pork Cutlet (Katsu), Sushi, Chilled Soba Noodles with Chicken Dipping Sauce, and a Side Salad.

The quality of sushi was amazing. The salad was fresh. The soba noodles were cooked just right. The dipping sauce for the soba noodles were nice and hot, and had large pieces of chicken and some veggies. They were so good!

Katsu was delicious! The batter was thing and crisp, lightly fried, the meat was tender and juicy, with a nice crunch with each bite! Most katsu dish come with a mountain of shredded cabbage, to cut the fat. They had sesame dressing which was great!

My husband ordered Aoyama Saika Variety Bento Box. This one was beautiful and impressive as well. It comes with Pork Cutlet (Katsu) Kyoto-Style Grilled Sablefish, Two kinds of Sashimi, Side Salad, Pickles, and Miso Soup.

The sashimi was very fresh and delicious. The sablefish was so delicate, flaky yet juicy, packed with flavor. Japanese egg omelet pieces were flavorful. Still, the pork cutlet took the spotlight. It was delightful!

Since everything was so delicious, my hubby couldn’t resist getting a couple of side items. We added Deep-Fried Prawn and Cream Prawn Croquette. They were both sooooo good! The batter was again and crisp. Loved every bite!

We had such great dinner here. No wonder they have long line of people waiting to dine here. Everything we had was delicious...

EDIT: I now give this place 3 stars instead of 5. A few weeks ago, I went here and they messed up my order. I asked if they could change it to what I had ordered, but they said no. Why wasn’t I allowed to get the food I had ordered? Why was I stuck with the mistake of the woman who put in the order incorrectly?? I wasn’t happy, in fact I was quite angry, but I had waited almost an hour so I stayed.

I also went back to the restaurant today, and thankfully the woman (same woman who got our order wrong last time) got our order correct this time. But when I got my meal, the tonkatsu was really small. I believe it was 1/4 smaller than it should’ve been. I was mad and I didn’t even bother to ask for a bigger one because they wouldn’t even change their mistake last time.

—————————————————

This is the best tonkatsu I’ve ever had. Words cannot begin to describe the exquisiteness of the flavor. They use a very tasty batter for the breading of the tonkatsu, and the meat itself is very delicious. Not only that, but their sweet sauce also enhances the taste. The spicy sauce isn’t nearly as delicious though. The rice is delicious and it seems of high quality.

If you go during lunch time, they only have a limited amount of orders per item, so it’s best to go early if you want the lunch deal.

You’ll have to wait in line for a little bit, but you get a menu and your order...

As with most things in Japan for food related adventures, if there's a line outside with what appears to be many locals mixed with some foreigners, it should be a good experience at the very least. This was no exception to this train of thought.

We actually came across this restaurant by chance due to a sudden change in our plans. After walking around the area and quickly Google searching for a feed around peak dinner time, we decided to give Maisen a try for some tonkatsu.

Admittedly the line was quite long, but for a Sunday night in December, this was probably the norm. After being allowed to enter the building and sitting down in a post queue waiting area near the swanky open air bar-like seating, we were taken to the back of the building where we sat at a generously sized table. This was unexpected as we had a whole bunch of shopping that we needed space to put aside during our dinner and was pleasantly surprised.

We ordered two tonkatsu sets with sashimi and soba noodles which was divine. Cheese skewers and a small serving of pork sando were also ordered and went down a treat too. Do note that if you'd like to request for more cabbage, you can do so at any time or wait for a staff member to come around and offer to do so.

TL;DR - if you like tonkatsu, this place is most definitely worth a try despite waiting in line. You...