Tonkatsu Nanaido

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Tonkatsu Nanaido (とんかつ七井戸)

⭐⭐⭐

🐷 Tonkatsu / 📍 Gaienmae

📓 Visits: 1

An extremely popular restaurant, so popular that I'd essentially given up on it: the wait was too long and if you tried to go late they would often be "sold out" (aka didn't prepare enough, aka limiting supply).  The big change is that since November 2025 they've swapped premises with the adjacent Yakitori Imai, which is owned by the same chef.  So instead of the small counter and few tables seating 13, they've almost doubled their capacity with a large Tonki-esque counter seating up to 25.

I timed my visit on a rainy weekday when I thought the queue would be shorter, arriving at 11:15 and 5th in the queue.  By 11:23 twelve people were waiting and by the time the restaurant opened at 11:30 there were still seats available until 11:40 when they were full.  The outside waiting area is covered and seated and they even have outdoor heaters (this was early Spring) and provide water while you wait.  Your order is taken while you queue, which again speeds up service.

Most people order the rosu katsu but the signature dish is actually the shamo (the same fowl as you'll find in Imai) and that's the item that sells out first.

Food arrived 13 minutes after sitting down and even though I'm not first I'm served slightly ahead of the earlier customers, presumably because pork takes a little longer to cook than chicken.  The shamo has excellent flavour, much deeper than a normal chicken, and needs the tiniest amount of salt for seasoning.  The panko is hard-fried in lard, which is my preference.  Niboshi miso soup is excellent.  Cabbage is fine.  The rice tastes like it's been cooked in unfiltered chlorinated Tokyo water and is not good.  Refills of rice, soup and cabbage are free (and unlimited at lunch?)

It might be easier if they just took reservations but I have to commend them for expanding the operation and making an effort to make the wait more comfortable.  Once open, they even let people wait inside the restaurant when they are full.

I'm largely done with expensive tonkatsu but the shamo is unique here so I might go back for that.

📌 https://tabelog.com/tokyo/A1306/A130603/13229075/

❓ My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐ 3.85 (4.0 with better rice)

📱 Booking: No bookings.  English menu.  English-speaking staff.

📍 Location: 

3-42-11 Jingumae.  7 mins west from Gaienmae Station, Exit 3.
Map data ©2026 Google

📅 Visit March 2026

Amagi shamo chicken katsu teishoku

💴 Damage: 2,948
⏱️ Time taken: 43m (15 mins queuing)

Comments

  1. AnonymousApril 16, 2026 at 4:08 PM

    Hello what is the best tonkatsu in Tokyo in your experience?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. thetokyogourmetApril 16, 2026 at 7:55 PM

      Thanks for reading. Narikura is the most highly rated, but I don't really like it. Yoda is now the most highly-rated in Japan. It's in Yokohama, so not actually Tokyo, and it wasn't worth the hassle for me. I'd say Tonta is the best and by far the best value. The problem is you're in for a long queue.

      Delete
    2. AnonymousApril 17, 2026 at 12:49 AM

      Thank you. In that area (Takadanobaba) I've only tried Hinata and Fry ya. For Hinata the premium cut (served with truffle salt) is very good, but the standard one is just average. Fry ya the best piece is the chicken they serve as otoshi.

      Delete
    3. thetokyogourmetApril 17, 2026 at 4:38 AM

      👍

      Delete

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