Tonkatsu Jun-Chan

Tonkatsu Jun-Chan (とんかつ じゅんちゃん)

⭐⭐⭐

🐷 Tonkatsu / 📍 Gaienmae

📓 Visits: 1

Iron Chef Jun Kurogi is one of Japan's most high profile chefs.  A meal at his kaiseki restaurant will now cost you an incredible JPY 121,000.  Last week he opened a tonkatsu restaurant.

The restaurant is open for lunch only and uses the same space as Japanese restaurant Shikaku (which operates at dinner only) in The Aoyama Grand Hotel.  It's a big space with several shared counters, seating up to 28.  An eclectic mix of tourists, crying babies, tonkatsu die-hards, Instagrammers and probably the best looking clientele of any tonkatsu restaurant in Japan, surrounded by dishes from customers who have already left but which staff have yet to clear away.  You can choose between 200g rosu, 200g rib rosu or 150g hire for JPY 2,700, JPY 3,500 or JPY 3,200, respectively.

The cabbage is mixed with shiso and red cabbage and doused with a fragrant dressing.  The rice is Ryu no Hitomi, a unique type of Japanese rice which has 50% larger grains than usual Japonica rice.  Unfortunately it was hard and tasted like it hadn't been cooked in enough water.  The flavour from the pork (I chose the hire) was just OK.  The panko was the thin type and wasn't crisp.  The tonjiru might have been the best ever: a meal in itself, niboshi base and packed with vegetables, quality off cuts of pork and konjac.  A portion of curry sauce (not pictured) is also served.  It was improved by adding a little salt but still had very underwhelming flavour.  Refills of cabbage and rice are free.  I'm assuming refills of tonjiru are charged.  While you wait for the tonkatsu to be served, which will take around 20 minutes from ordering (more for the rib rosu), a good dashi maki is served.

Overall this was thoroughly disappointing and to top it off 10% service charge is added to your bill.  There's a clear attempt to differentiate a meal here with a usual tonkatsu meal but it wasn't an overall improvement.  They could have done much better, and so can you.

📌 https://tabelog.com/tokyo/A1306/A130603/13300422/

❓ My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐ 3.4

📱 Booking: 🟩 Same-day booking via Tabelog or TableCheck up till 11am but on my weekend visit I just walked in and was seated immediately.  English menu.  English-speaking staff.

📍 Location: 4F The Aoyama Grand Hotel.  On 4F to the left of the maitre d', at the end of the hall and through the curtain.  3 mins from Gaienmae Station Exit 3.

📶 Free WiFi? ✅ Yes

📅 Visit September 2024

Hire katsu teishoku 3,200

💴 Damage: 3,520 (3200 + 10%)
⏱️ Time taken: 45m