Tonkatsu is a breaded pork cutlet fried until the panko is crisp and almost weightless while the meat stays juicy. Most specialists offer a choice between leaner hire (fillet) and richer rosu (loin), usually as a set with rice, shredded cabbage, pickles, and miso soup. It sounds simple, but the best places treat the breed of pork, thickness of the cut, frying temperature, and resting time with real precision.
My favorite is Butagumi in Nishi-Azabu. They offer more than 50 varieties of pork, from Kagoshima kurobuta to Spanish Iberico, so the meal can become a tasting of different breeds rather than just a fried cutlet. The restaurant is set in a traditional Japanese house on a quiet residential street, which makes it feel like a destination. Start with rosu if you want the full balance of meat and fat; choose hire for a cleaner, leaner version.
Butagumi
Butagumi is the Nishi-Azabu tonkatsu spot tucked into a quiet residential street, the room a converted house. The menu lists multiple pork breeds and weights so you can pick your cut. The cutlets come thick. The crust is crisp. The cabbage is shredded fresh. Reservations recommended.
Must order: The kurobuta (black pig) rosu cutlet, The hire cutlet if you want leaner, A side of extra cabbage and rice
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