Tonkatsu Narikura - Best tonkatsu we ever eaten (as of Nov 2024)!

Tonkatsu Narikura とんかつ成蔵

We have finally made our first visit to the legendary tonkatsu restaurant in Japan, Tonkatsu Narikura! Awarded with many consecutive years of Tabelog & Hyakumeiten awards, plus a Tabelog score of 4.26+, I believe any tonkatsu lover or foodie will know of this restaurant and/or chef Seizo Mitani.

We just barely be able to make it for this visit, we even purposely have a day time stopover at Tokyo to run a few errands (this is one of them), that means I MUST be able to reserve a slot on this date + morning timeslot to dine, which is very restrictive combo to say the least.

Just FYI, this is a fully reservation only restaurant, booking done on Omakase site. I almost missed the chance due to the website lagging during the weekly release of upcoming slots, but glad we are still fast enough for the reservation!

**Close up on the batter**
Tonkatsu Narikura とんかつ成蔵

Uoshoku Snow Aging Pork (¥8000 for 3 piece set)

Some backstory before the review, before my visit, Jon (another Tonkatsu lover) from one of the Japan Travel group chat I’m in has been asking me to try Narikura for the longest time, but the missus and I just don’t have plans to go Tokyo for the past few trips in 2022 and 2023.

So this time in 2024 we really went out of our way to do a half day stopover at Tokyo. (But sadly, Jon and our schedule doesn’t match to dine in together, missed by 1 day.)

He also told me on your lucky day, you will have additional choice to choose from either Tokyo X or Meishanton or other unique pork breeds (with surcharge), else the default is the Uoshoku Snow Aged pork. To be very honest, I am praying that on the day I went have both Tokyo X and Meishanton, or at least Tokyo X, because Tokyo X is one of our (me and missus) favourite pork breed and we used that to do tonkatsu benchmark for specialised/boutique tonkatsu restaurant.

The missus can see the disappointment in my face when there’s only the default Uoshoku Snow Aged pork breed for that day. I did asked the staff, whether there’s Tokyo X or Meishanton, and yeah it’s a no for that day. Cause we also did not get any email notification that our date of visit got any unique pork breed available that day either.

That means we will need to gacha on another trip to Tokyo + able to book a slot successfully again in future!

But I digress, let’s move on to the review, which will be rather short cause’s it’s almost all pros and no cons, you will just need to experience it especially if you’re a discerning tonkatsu lover or foodie.

Review

Let’s start of with the batter because it’s his signature and so so good + consistent, there’s no point for me to input the same words for all 3 cuts of pork. So here goes.

Batter: Narikura’s signature “snow white” tonkatsu which he does it by deep frying slowly at a low temperature for a longer time. Panko is so light and airy (doesn’t absorb much oil at all due to this technique), when you eat the tonkatsu, the feeling is like the panko just disappear in your mouth. Most importantly, the batter is consistent throughout the whole 3 course and different cuts of pork.

In our opinion, his batter and cooking technique really set him apart from his peers.

1st Course - Rosu (+¥100 surcharge)

Rosu aka loin of pork.

Taste: Very juicy, rich and umami taste throughout.

Texture: Tender and nice feel like a bit of “bouncy” when bite in together especially with the fat portion.

Thickness: Approximately 2.5cm thickness for this cut.

Overall: Definitely my favourite cut out of the 3, as I’m the rosu cut guy. The balance of meat and fat ratio, the juicy, rich and umami taste, yet still balance taste plus a very tender and “bouncy” texture feel. Mamma mia!

2nd Course - Hire

Hire (fillet) aka tenderloin of pork

Taste: Juicy, mellow buttery rich taste with some sweetness.

Texture: Extremely tender, a light bite you will be to cut through the meat. Due to chef’s superb cooking technique, which can give a hire cut such juiciness which normally a hire cut won’t have. You can see easily light pink on the inside and how moist the meat is from the photos.

Thickness: Approximately 3.5cm thickness for this cut.

Overall: I’m a rosu cut guy, but I can safely tell you I’m liking this hire cut and can eat it any day and anytime of the day. Cause it is just prepped and cook to that high level.

3rd Course - Bara (+¥100 surcharge)

Bara aka belly of pork.

Taste: This cut is not for the faint of heart, it hits you right in the face! It has a strong and rich taste; juiciness, fattiness, and umami level is through the roof.

Even though I’m eating Uoshoku Snow Aged pork breed, which I feel is already more of a milder profile pork breed in compared to say Hyogo Awaji Golden Boar or Kagoshima Kurobuta. But somehow chef still can prepped and cooked until such flavours!

Texture: Extremely tender almost to the point of going to melt in your mouth, I will say 1 more level of tenderness it will be melt in your mouth. Can see the meat to fat ratio is like about 50:50 or 40:60. When bite into it, can feel the juice or natural fat/oil burst out in your mouth.

Thickness: Approximately 3.5cm thickness for this cut.

Overall: Very rich and robust cut even for a person like that me that likes it strong and rich. I will say again, this cut is not for the faint of heart. But still, if you never tried before, still a must try to try it at least once to see whether is it for you as I don’t think mainstream tonkatsu restaurants even has this cut.

Rating: 4.5/5

Here it is, our blog’s first ever 4.5 Stars rating!

The rating is the same across the board for all 3 cuts of pork, it is just that dang good, each cut has their own distinct character and taste, while the batter is consistent great throughout all 3 cuts of different thickness and shape.

We really hope and need to go back to Narikura in future, and pray that the day we re-visit has Tokyo X and Meishanton pork breed to choose!

**Uoshoku Snow Aged Pork**
Tonkatsu Narikura とんかつ成蔵

Closing Thoughts

Normally I don’t write much of this, but while writing this review I kept thinking how chef Seizo Mitani does his craft.

From his signature “snow white” tonkatsu panko, to his preparation and cooking technique (deep frying slowly at a low temperature for a longer time), custom config of his panko, etc.

How he as a chef try to strive for perfection and to keep on improving on his craft.

Before we get flamed, we definitely can’t compare in anyway to chef Seizo Mitani, but just more on the thought process and concept wise.

As the missus and I are amateur home bakers, I personally has OCD and a very detailed minded person. Throughout our 2+ years (as of now) baking journey, going through many trial and error, also trying to perfect our recipes by tweaking ingredients amount, choosing the right or better fitting ingredients, timing, temperature, folding/mixing techniques, etc.

So in a way, I can sort of relate a bit to the thought process of chef Seizo Mitani.

[E-Tips or Buy Me A Coffee]

Greatly appreciate any digital-tips (click the button below) if you find my blog articles helpful, and to support our efforts and operational costs (to keep this site ad-free).

buy me a coffee

Address: 東京都杉並区成田東4-33-9

Opening Hours: 10.40am-2pm, 5.30pm-9.10pm on available reservation days

Payment Method: Cash and Cards

Website: https://omakase.in/r/qw473765

Tabelog: https://tabelog.com/en/tokyo/A1319/A131905/13236380/

(Last visited: November 2024)

Food - Japan, Food - Tokyo, FoodShiro AngJanuary 19, 2025shiroang, shiro ang, food, japan, 日本, photography, sony alpha, a7r4, a7riv, review, good, best, top, tabelog, 食べログ, sonygm, gmaster, lens, tokyo, 东京, tonkatsu, narikura, とんかつ成蔵, uoshoku snow aging pork, tokyo x, meishanton, 梅山豚, 雪室熟成, ウオショク, 4.5 starsComment

Blog