Japanese Cuisine in Tokyo: 7 Best Tokyo Fried Pork Chops (Tonkatsu)

Tonkatsumaisen is a 50-year-old restaurant, known as the best fried pork chop restaurant in Tokyo. It has 10 branches in Japan. The fried pork chop here enjoys its enduring popularity not only because of its considerate staff, but also because of its selection of ingredients. It uses Kurobuta, praised as the best black pig in the world, so the pork chops are super delicious. The chefs here give each pork chop a full rub down so that they can be wrapped in egg yolk and flour in a relaxed state. Finally they wrap them in special breadcrumbs and fry them in special oil. Then they are presented to you as a bowl of delicious pork chops. Due to this restaurant's high popularity, there are long queues every day. However, if you choose to sit at the bar, you may not need to wait. The restaurant has a strong Japanese style, and there are plenty of private rooms and tatami seating. The waiters are always ready to help, and will introduce the latest dishes and set meals to you. Per capita consumption here is around JPY 4000-5000 yen.

The appearance of the restaurant is ordinary, with a small white sign saying "Navikura", but it has the best fried pork chops in Tokyo that must be eaten. During meal time the restaurant is often overcrowded, but you can order when lining up. The restaurant is decorated in a simple but ingenious style. The open kitchen allows the diners to see the pork chops being cooked, which makes dining more interesting and makes the diners feel more assured about the quality of the ingredients. In order to serve the freshest dishes, the chefs won't start chopping up the cabbages until you order. The pork chops fried at a low temperature are healthy and delicious. A pork chop set meal here is around 1,000 yen.

Katsukura is a Japanese-style pork chop restaurant that originated in Kyoto. It has many branches in Japan. Many tourists think "nashiro" is the name of the restaurant. But in fact, "nashiro" just means "famous". The restaurant is actually called Katsukura. This branch in Shinjuku Takashimaya is rated by Tabelog as the highest-rated branch in Tokyo. The restaurant uses lean fresh pork chops. After being marinated with special sauce, the pork chops are fried with pure vegetable oil. After being drizzled with the special dipping sauce, and complemented with the Japanese pickles and Chawanmushi, the tender and refreshing chops taste phenomenal. The cost per person is around 2000-3000 yen.

Wako is a Japanese-style restaurant that mainly focuses on pork chops. It is also the largest pork chop chain in Japan, with more than 250 branches. The restaurant not only cares about taste, but also attaches a great importance to nutrition, health, and safety. The service and decorations in the restaurant are warm and have a very strong Japanese style. You can order just the fried pork chops or order a set meal. The set generally includes pork chops, vegetables, rice, cabbage salad, clam miso soup and a side dish. Rice, miso soup and cabbage are served without limitation. The dipping sauce here is very special. You can choose chili sauce, tamari, mustard and other sauces according to your own taste. Among them, the chili sauce is very hot, and you should definitely try it if you're a big fan of spicy food. They also use Ponzu sauce to accompany the salad, which is very special and rare to see.

Kimukatsu is a new pork chop restaurant that has been a new star in TV and magazines. It has several branches in Tokyo, and the branch next to Ginza Mitsukoshi is the most conveniently located. Here, the pork chops are made of local Japanese pigs. The biggest feature is that each pork chop is fried with 25 thin slices of pork. Each piece of meat is only 0.5mm thick! It is incredibly tender and juicy, fragrant, refreshing, and chewy. The set meal here is around 1500 yen.

Tsubakurame, a famous thick pork chop restaurant in Shinbashi, is a small Japanese pork chop restaurant hidden in the lanes of Tokyo that's much like a family-style eatery. The biggest feature here is the use of ternary pigs from Hirata Farm, which are known for their savory flesh. The breadcrumbs used in making the pork chops are also ground with specially made bread. The addition of glutinous rice to the steamed rice has made it a firm favorite of the people in Shinbashi for a long time. The pork chop set meal is 1280-2300 yen.

Marugo is a well-known pork chop restaurant in Akihabara. It has always been highly rated on Tabelog and ranks fifth among the pork chop restaurants in Tokyo. You can't imagine the crowds of people who line up to eat here every day. It's highly recommended that you go there in advance. The restaurant has been working tirelessly to maintain its high standard of cooking, including the tenderness of its pork, the proportion of fat, the freshness of the meat, the crisp taste of the breadcrumbs, the aroma of the oil and so on. These strict standards guarantee the quality of the pork chops and the good reputation of the restaurant. The pork chop set meal is around 2,150 yen.

A popular fried pork chop restaurant, famous for the good quality of its pork and the hot oil it cooks with. They look golden, but the pork is still tender and pink, which is sure to make you drool.