The best Tonkatsu in Tokyo
Also spelt ton katsu, pork katsu, hirekatsu and rosukatsu. A curated shortlist, shaped by your votes.
Editorial picks
Selected from published food guides and local reporting. How the list works
-
Number 1.Ponta Honke
- Open
- 11am to 2pm and 4.30 to 8.20pm, shut Mondays
- Where
- 3-23-3 Ueno, Taito-ku, Tokyo (1 min from Ueno-Hirokoji Station, Ginza line)
Katsuretsu is the dish here, fried pale in lard and eaten first plain, then with salt. Monday is the closed day, and the staff will tell you how to eat it, so listen.
What to orderKatsuretsu, the pale-fried pork cutlet
0 votes
-
Number 2.Tonkatsu Tonki (Meguro honten)
- Open
- 4pm to 9pm, shut Tuesdays and the third Monday
- Where
- 1-1-2 Shimomeguro, Meguro-ku, Tokyo (2 min from JR Meguro west exit)
Order the hire katsu if you want the leaner cut, rosu for fat. Dinner only, and no ticketed queue: sit on the bench, the boss remembers your turn. Shut Tuesdays.
What to orderHire katsu teishoku, the lean fillet set
0 votes
-
Number 3.Nishiazabu Butagumi
- Open
- Lunch to 2pm, dinner 6 to 8.30pm, shut Mondays
- Where
- 2-24-9 Nishi-Azabu, Minato-ku, Tokyo (8 min from Nogizaka Station exit 5)
Pick one brand of pork from the long list and take the rosu; the staff will steer you. Book ahead, because the room is small, and note it shuts on Mondays.
What to orderRosu katsu from a single named pork breed
0 votes
-
Tonkatsu Narikura (Minami-Asagaya)
- Open
- Wed, Thu, Sat, Sun only; booked seatings
- Where
- 4-33-9 Naritahigashi, Suginami-ku, Tokyo (6 min from Minami-Asagaya Station)
The lean hire katsu, fried pale and low, is the reason to travel to Naritahigashi. Seats are booked online only and it opens four days a week, so plan it before you go.
What to orderHire katsu, the pale-fried lean fillet
0 votes
-
Ponchiken (Kanda-Ogawamachi)
- Open
- 11.15am to 2.30pm and 5.30 to 9pm, shut Sundays
- Where
- Ogi Building 1F, 2-8 Kanda-Ogawamachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo (4 min from Ogawamachi Station)
The plain rosu katsu teishoku, with the salt rather than the sauce, is what people come for. Lunch queues start before opening and it shuts on Sundays, so aim for a weekday evening.
What to orderRosu katsu teishoku, eaten with salt
0 votes
-
Tonkatsu Hasegawa (Ryogoku)
- Open
- 11.30am to 3pm and 5pm to 10.30pm daily
- Where
- Ryogoku Ozaki Building 103, 3-24-1 Ryogoku, Sumida-ku, Tokyo 130-0026
House-made panko is the point here, so take the deluxe rosu katsu rather than the cheaper lunch. Ryogoku fills up during sumo tournaments, when the wait at the door lengthens.
What to orderThe super deluxe rosu katsu, the loin cutlet
0 votes
-
Tonkatsu Maisen (Aoyama honten)
- Open
- 11am to 10pm daily, last orders 9pm
- Where
- 4-8-5 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo (3 min from Omotesando Station exit A2)
Ask for the hire katsu set in the old bathhouse dining room at the back. The takeaway katsu sando counter by the door is a different queue, and much faster if you are pressed.
What to orderHire katsu teishoku in the back dining room
0 votes
-
Tonkatsu Tonta (Takadanobaba)
- Open
- Wed, Fri and Sat evenings only, 5.30 to 8.30pm
- Where
- 3-17-8 Takada, Toshima-ku, Tokyo (6 min from Takadanobaba Station)
Get the tokusen rosu teishoku and bring cash, since cards are refused. Opening has shrunk to three evenings a week, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, and the queue forms well before the shutters lift.
What to orderTokusen rosu teishoku, the selected loin set
0 votes
-
Agezuki (Kagurazaka)
- Open
- 11.30am to 3pm and 6 to 10.30pm, shut Tuesdays
- Where
- Yamanouchi Building B1F, 3-2 Kagurazaka, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo (3 min from Iidabashi Station exit B3)
Aged Minami no Shima pork from Miyazaki, so order the toku rosu katsu set. It is a basement room off Kagurazaka slope, shut Tuesdays and the third Wednesday, and lunch fills quickly.
What to orderToku rosu katsu set, aged Miyazaki pork
0 votes
-
Tonkatsuya Sato (Jiyugaoka)
- Open
- 11.30am to 2pm and 5.30 to 8pm, shut Mon and Thu
- Where
- 2-15-16 Midorigaoka, Meguro-ku, Tokyo (6 min from Jiyugaoka Station north exit)
Coarse panko, fried dark, and the plain rosu set is the one to have. Closing days move about, so check their Instagram before you walk the ten minutes from Jiyugaoka.
What to orderRosu katsu set with the coarse panko crust
0 votes
-
Ginza Katsukami
- Open
- Lunch from 11.30am; dinner sittings at 6pm and 8pm
- Where
- Ginza Miyako Building 5F, 5-6-10 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104-0061
Katsu arrives piece by piece with a condiment chosen for each, which is closer to a sushi counter than a teishoku. Dinner runs on two fixed seatings, so book.
What to orderThe omakase katsu course
0 votes
-
Tonkatsu Nanaido (new Yotsuya premises)
- Open
- Weekday lunch only, 11am to 3pm, booking needed
- Where
- SA318 1F, 3-18 Aizumicho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo (1 min from Yotsuya-sanchome Station exit 2)
Low-temperature frying in lard, and the Tokyo-X rosu set is the one. It left Jingumae in August and reopens in Yotsuya on 7 September with nine seats, booked through Tabelog, no queueing space.
What to orderTokyo-X rosu katsu set
0 votes
-
Ton-kyu (Takadanobaba)
- Open
- 11am to 10pm daily
- Where
- FI Building B1F, 1-26-5 Takadanobaba, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 169-0075
A basement room off Takadanobaba's student streets, open through the afternoon when nearby shops shut. Ask for the tokusen rosu teishoku. Waits are shorter here than at the neighbourhood's other katsu counters.
What to orderTokusen rosu teishoku with Hayashi SPF pork
0 votes
-
Nihonbashi Tonkatsu Hajime Hanare
- Open
- 10am to 9.30pm, weekends to 10pm, shut Tuesdays
- Where
- Uno Building, 1-11-15 Nihonbashi-Muromachi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 103-0022
Come for the atsugiri yaki katsudon, a thick slab of pork under egg on rice. This is the second shop rather than the original, and Tuesday is its closed day.
What to orderAtsugiri yaki katsudon, the thick-cut grilled katsu bowl
0 votes
New votes usually appear in the counts and rankings over the next 1–3 days. Own one of these places? Tell us.