Grabe Katsu — Restaurant in Oaxaca

Chef Kyle is making delicious and authentic Japanese and Filipino food from a hole in the wall in Colonia Reforma. This is a two table restaurant with a small bar that's actually in the kitchen, which means hanging out at the bar here, at least today, can be rather warm. Every aspect of this place has been well thought out, from the fragile handmade dishes with delicate glazes, to the simple well executed menu. There aren't a lot of choices, but it's ok. Every one of them is a winner. The salmon katsu salad I had tonight was delicious: crunchy kastsu beside a bowl of tender baby greens with sesame dressing. I'm waiting for him to offer a tempura version for the older folks like me. I believe this is just a starter restaurant for Kyle and his staff, and expect them to do great things in the restaurant business...

Two visits. Both pleasant. The restaurant is hard to find. It's small but on a corner. Two bars with shelves for eating. A covered patio with two tables. I started both meals with excellent gyoza. Then, first visit, I had lumpiang Shanghai. They're tiny cripy rollos with meat. The second visit and I got menchi katsu. That's hamburger breaded and covered with a sauce. I think the sauce is called Katsu. It was good. For dessert, both times, I got a baked banana in cream wrapped in a pastry shell with a sweet sauce. Very tasty. A photo of the dessert below.

The people there are friendly, helpful, and very nice. Pretty much what you expect in Oaxaca. The chef is filipino and the owners are local.

My only negative is a slightly limited menu. Try it. You'll...

Great meal for a different flavor! We had the gyoza, tuna poke and the chicken katsu.

Poke was fresh with a delicious soy sauce. It has crushed nuts which is a nice addition.

The gyoza were lovely and come with a nice ginger sauce.

The chicken katsu was wonderful! Moist chicken, perfectly cooked. It comes with rice and miso soup which was a surprise. The sauces are very yummy.

The staff is also very friendly and helpful even though our Spanish...