Katsu-ya — Restaurant in San Francisco

i was shookETH. i got a whole bento box when i THOUGHT i just purchased the sando.

service/employees were nice! moderate wait time during lunch hours (15 mins wait time, ordered in person) sooooo--

i'll tell u what i love: -the aesthetics. this sandwich and the sides are gorgeous. it's too beautiful to eat even. -the unexpected sides/bento box. i know i was paying 17$ (cries curse you inflation) for a sandwich but i didn't know i also got sides with it !! the sides really compliment the sandwich as well as gives a variety of texture and flavor profiles which helps spice up the eating experience. i don't like salads but i think it's good to have since a lot of the sides n sandwich can be sooo heavy. -the miso soup + mac salad + sesame balls with spicy sauce. i think the sandwich can get cold fast and most of the sides are cold, so having the soup heals the soul. their mac salad is solid and the balls are so unique! it's more chinese in my opinion, as the insides are white paste--which i love and the sauce compliment the balls nicely. -very filling. i had to force half of the sandwich, all mac salad, 3/4 balls and drank all the soup (cus i wanted to carry JUST the other half of wich) and i still have so much leftovers of the veggies. i was so stuffed.

what i didn't like: -the location. it's not the best, lowkey sketch and gives a very grimey feeling just being there, so i literally bought the food and went to a park instead :/ -the sandwich itself is very lacklustering. i now understand why they have all the sides, the sandwich's flavor profile is just dull and nothing from the sando stands out. there are the sauces, but i live by my rule that things should still taste good without adding anything prior. there was a brown sauce, assuming it's tonkatsu sauce that's already on the sandwich, and a greenish white one i didn't try (since i'm sitting on bench in a park). eating it with the soup is my best combo.

tbh, this overall experience was for the gram/is a one time deal, as my biggest qualm with this place is the tasteless, but so aesthetic sandwich. so i won't frequently patron them unless i'm reaaaally craving...

I got a deal on DoorDash so I thought this was a good opportunity to try something new. I’ve been eying Katsu-ya for awhile.

I got the chicken katsu sando, which comes in a bento box. The sandwich itself was good. The chicken had a good crunch along with the shredded cabbage. The katsu sauce was bold in flavor. And the bread was pillowy soft and just right in thickness. The “salad” it came with was just more of the shredded cabbage. The mac salad was pretty good and it needs the pickles and daikon that are included in the bento to offset the fattiness of the mayo.

The sesame balls with red bean were interesting. The dressing it came with tastes a bit like that pinkish salad dressing for salads in bento boxes. So it was savory-sweet. I think I prefer the sesame balls on their own, or maybe just less of the sauce. It was still good though. Even in the dressing after the walk home, the sesame balls maintained a good crunch. The miso soup was delicious, even though it got cold from the walk back.

If I could, I would just get the sando and miso soup. But it seems the bento boxes are set. It’s a good amount of food for $17 (SF standard nowadays), but I’m glad I got the...

Went an hour before close for a late lunch. A couple of staff were working in the back. There was one other patron waiting for a to-go order. There were several DoorDash orders. We ordered a katsu sando and a chicken katsu sando set meal for dine-in at the kiosk up front. The dining area was being thoroughly cleaned (tables moved out of the way, chairs stacked up). We sat at a table that looked set (napkins, cutlery, spices), but moments later was told by staff that the dining room was closed and that they were only doing to-go orders. They asked if we wanted ours to-go, and since we were quite hungry, we accepted. That was an understandable, but awkwardly inhospitable restaurant experience. Please clearly indicate with a sign if the dining room is going to be closed. We had to park several blocks away.

The food came quickly, and we found a bench to eat at a block away. Miso soup was good, sandos were pretty tasty, the set meal additions were OK. The katsu sandos were tepidly warm. I'd have liked the sandos to have...