Hearty Tonkatsu Brunch at Katsukura Kyoto @ The Cube, Kyoto Station

After the exciting time spent at Universal Studios Osaka the day before, we took things relatively slow the next morning. We woke up leisurely after 930am and went Kyoto Station to reserve our seats for the train ride to Tokyo the next day using our 7 days Japan Rail Pass. 😀

By the time we were done with our seat reservations it was only about 1030am and not many of the stores/shops were open (they usually open at 11am). We walked around Isetan and The Cube looking for a place to eat a hearty brunch and finally settled on Katsukura Kyoto which is located at The Cube.

Katsukura Kyoto @ The Cube, Kyoto Station, on the 11th floor

Kyoto-style interior of the restaurant tastefully done with warm wood hues

A seat at the corner

View of the Tokyo Tower

Katsukura Kyoto is an extremely popular chain of tonkatsu restaurants based in Kyoto and specializes in tonkatsu - deep fried breaded choice cuts of pork served with rice, miso soup and freshly shredded cabbage.😋😋😋

Tip: For the extremely hungry or those with good appetites, rejoice! There is free (extra) servings of rice, soup and cabbage.

Apart from the usual tonkatsu sets, Katsukura also serves a unique Yuba rolled seasonal vegetable cutlet together with the pork fillet, which was what I had and M had the regular tonkatsu. The tonkatsu was juicy and fresh on the inside, yet crispy on the outside, and not oily/greasy... In addition, the seasonal vegetables were rolled and fried to perfection as well, retaining their own flavor even when fried and complimenting each other well. Simply a delight!

Yuba rolled field vegetables cutlet and tenderloin cutlet zen-set (1,560¥)

Unlike most places serving tonkatsu where the sauces come pre-mixed (either the spicy or sweet one, at Katsukura Kyoto you get to blend your own sauce according to your preference; adding to the dining experience. We had no idea how to go about mixing our own sauces and we were one of the first customers (i.e. no example to follow), so we just winged it and added everything into the sauce bowl after grinding the sesame seeds. We ended up using the same sauce we mixed for the tonkatsu and shredded cabbage, which apparently there is a salad dressing for it. But it still worked out in the end. 😅😂

The sauces and hot green tea

A table full of food!

Overall, service was prompt and polite, as per Japanese standards, with smiles in between adding to the dining experience. The meal was an enjoyable one and the prices are pretty reasonable for such a generous portion and free extra servings of miso soup, rice and shredded cabbage. The rice was cooked with barley (or was it barley rice), anyways it was yummy. So much so that I had at least 4 bowls of rice; it was certainly a hearty meal!

Katsukura (かつくら)

Website

Kyoto Station Store: Level 11 of The Cube (connected to the Isetan department store)
Opening Hours: 11am-10pm
Phone: 075-365-8666

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